Huge smiles all round last night for the second Fiaccolata di Natale – Christmas torchlight procession organised by the Vespa Club Barga. Last year damp weather (to put it mildly) caused the cancellation of the annual event but this year the rain kept away and more than 50 Vespas joined the procession as it wound its way from Piazzale Fiat down in Barga Giardino up into the narrow streets of Barga Vecchia.
This year added to the high sound of the Vespas was a far deeper, throaty and much more powerful note as over 20 motorcycles joined in for the occasion. The torch bearing cavalcade made a brief pit stop for refuelling, thanks to the Vin Brule on offer from the Lake Angels outside of the Teatro dei Differenti and then once more mounting their saddles and roaring off into the night.
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Just on a side note, any idea how it is possible to hold a burning torch in one hand and still control a bike or vespa through the narrow streets ? The obvious answer was to have the pillion passenger holding the torch but from a single riders some creative answers to this problem were seen during the evening. They included attaching the torch to the helmet, taping it to a backpack, to the bike itself and one person was seeing with a flaming torch gaffer taped onto his shoulder. Nothing like living dangerously is there ? All proceeds will go to charity.