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Photo and Video > The First Ever Mountain Bike Drone Video?

The first ever mountain bike drone video? It could well be! This was shot with a home made FPV plane back in 2011. It was very hard to get the shot because of the wind, which meant that the minimum speed of the drone / FPV plan was much higher than my maximum speed. It was fun though!

If you´ve found your way to this old, old post, remember drone footage has become mainstream over the last decade. The quality of the GoPro cameras, which I was using, as well. If you want to see a bit more of the Basque Coast with more recent technology then please have a look at our Plastic Adventure Video which has some amazing drone footage.

Alistair Roberts and his family have spent their summer holiday mountain biking in in the Basque Country with BasqueMTB for the last 3 years. The first year Keith, his dad, and Alistair were just learning to mountain bike but after two more holidays to this part of Spain they are riding some of our harder mountain bike routes. During their holiday this year we have ridden Cheeky Larrun, Nutcracker, All Along the Watchtowers, Dutch Courage, Carlos’s Ridge, The Damned, the Hives and Reverse All The Way Home. For those of you who have had a holiday with us before you will know that some of those trails aren’t easy propositions!

Alistair

Alistair is all grown up. He graduated in Aerospace engineering and is now has a successful career. Not a surprise!

The First Ever Mountain Bike Drone Video?

This year Alistair brought his new toy to Spain with him… a FPV plane. This is way more than a remote controlled plane, it has a GoPro camera mounted in a servo controlled cradle which is linked directly to a set of video goggles that Alistair wears. The camera moves to match Alistair’s head movements and records everything. All this means that Alistair flies the plane as if he was actually in it, seeing everything first person. He has already recorded some great footage in the UK, here in Spain and further into the Pyrenees which you can see on his Vimeo Channel.

After talking with Alistair for a while we hatched a plan to capture some biking footage. At that point we thought it would be the first mountain bike drone video! There were a couple of limitations; firstly, although the plane can fly in wind it makes the camera footage bumpier and is harder to maneuver; secondly the plane can only slow down to around 20 kilometers per hour. With this in mind we walked up to Carlos’s ridge, running down the border between Spain and France, one still evening to capture some footage. We only really got 2 runs in due to the wind picking up and a slightly late start which is a real pity because I think we could have captured some more really great footage between the FPV plane, a GoPro on the bike and a normal camera on a tripod. Next time we will shoot more but this is really just a story of how we shot the film and hopefully gives an idea of the possibilities.

For this mountain bike drone video I’m riding my Cove GSpot… if any bike can take on an aeroplane then it has to be the Cove GSpot!!

Alistair has configured and built the plane from parts as part of his final year project at school. He has secured sponsorship from the military and industry to pay for everything and has adapted the plane to suit his needs. He has also spend a lot of time learning to fly it, no easy task!  I’ve got to say I’m really impressed with everything Alistair has achieved in this project. Alistair could probably be hired to film for you, he is based south of London and you can see the rest of his work and get in touch with him through his Vimeo page here: FPV Videos by Alistair Roberts.

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Established 2008, basqueMTB have been offering amazing mountain bike holidays across the Pyrenees, San Sebastian and Northern Spain. Dedicated shuttles, the most experienced guides and more than a decade of experience organising our award winning mountain bike holidays, come and visit us and see what all the fuss is about.

Email: doug@basquemtb.com
Tel. +34 662 614 470
Agencia de viajes CI NA-148
Registro de turismo activo y cultural UETAC055

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