{"id":2236,"date":"2026-02-09T07:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T07:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/?p=2236"},"modified":"2026-02-09T07:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T07:07:51","slug":"preparing-for-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/preparing-for-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"PREPARING FOR ROME"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Every long journey starts long before the wheels turn.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This week\u2019s video \u2014 <em><strong>Spannering the Vespa: Protecting My Rear<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 might look like a simple crash-bar install on the surface, but it\u2019s really part of something much bigger. It\u2019s one small chapter in getting both <strong>Phoenix<\/strong> and me ready for a journey that\u2019s been quietly building for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SPANNERING THE VESPA \u2013 PROTECTING MY REAR\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7MDTxXqDHyQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In June 2026, Vespas from all over the world will roll into Rome to celebrate the brand\u2019s <strong>80th birthday<\/strong>. For me, that means riding from London to Rome and back again \u2014 around <strong>2,500 miles<\/strong> all told \u2014 not as a rush, but as a proper journey. Roads, weather, caf\u00e9s, campsites, cities, quiet stretches, and the inevitable unknowns in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>That\u2019s where the spannering comes in.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crash bars aren\u2019t glamorous. They don\u2019t add speed or style points. But they <em>do<\/em> add confidence. They protect panels, give peace of mind when parking fully loaded, and \u2014 just as importantly \u2014 they force you to slow down and fit things properly. Alignment, clearance, balance. No rubbing panels. No shortcuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That mindset matters when you\u2019re preparing for something this long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">THE JOURNEY, NOT JUST THE DESTINATION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This Rome trip isn\u2019t about ticking a box or chasing an event. It\u2019s about the whole arc:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Preparing the scooter properly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Testing systems and setups<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Carrying only what\u2019s needed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Riding day after day, adapting as you go<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Each Spannering the Vespa episode is part of that preparation. Front rack. Rear rack. Seat. Crash bars. All small details \u2014 but together they turn a nice scooter into a reliable travelling companion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in many ways, the preparation is as meaningful as the ride itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s something grounding about taking responsibility for your own machine. About knowing how things fit together. About trusting what you\u2019ve built because you took the time to do it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WHY I SHARE IT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I film and share these moments not because I think they\u2019re extraordinary, but because they\u2019re <em>real<\/em>. This is what it looks like to plan a long ride properly. No drama. No hacks. Just patience, thought, and the quiet excitement of something big on the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re following along \u2014 whether you ride, photograph, or just enjoy the idea of slow travel \u2014 thank you. That support genuinely matters more than numbers or algorithms ever could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A SMALL NUDGE (AND NO PRESSURE)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A few people have asked how they can support the project as it builds towards Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to, there\u2019s a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/davecarrera\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/davecarrera\">Buy Me a Coffee<\/a><\/strong> page linked below. Anything there goes straight back into the journey \u2014 film, fuel, coffee stops, and keeping this whole London-to-Rome idea rolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/davecarrera\"><strong>https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/davecarrera<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But please know this:<br>Watching, reading, and being part of the journey is already more than enough.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rome is coming.<br>Phoenix is getting ready.<br>And the road between here and there is where the story really lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>See you in Rome \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getting Phoenix tour ready is about more than fitting bars and racks. Its getting ready for the scooter rally of my lifetime. Rome June 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,290,10,213],"tags":[364,363,23,362,265],"class_list":["post-2236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journals","category-lifestyle","category-news","category-ride-outs","tag-alps","tag-june-2026","tag-photography","tag-rome","tag-vespa"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ChatGPT-Image-Feb-9-2026-07_03_53-AM.png","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2238,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236\/revisions\/2238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesphoto.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}