Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Evolving as a cyclist: racer to tourist to A/V geek

First off let me say I always respected the skills of the AV geeks when I was in school. The term geek has become more of a role description than a term of disrespect. It conveys a level of dedication beyond the ordinary.

After a few weeks running the helmet camera I have concluded that my life is pretty boring. Much as I enjoy my commute, most of it is just long minutes of scrolling landscape to the accompaniment of wind noise, broken only by the unlovely sounds of my efforts to dislodge respiratory congestion. For some reason these come through with perfect clarity when my witty quips to passersby sound like someone muttering in a sack.

My plans for a "Commute with Cafiend" video series are on indefinite hold until I find the time to learn how to edit these things quickly.

For what it's worth, this video shows a pretty good run through the most fun section of the rail trail. Right at the beginning you get to see one of the rail cars, which are the reason we still have to live with the rails. It continues on out Eagle Causeway (without an eagle) and through the turns by Allen A Beach. From there I usually go back out to the roads. When I have time I will stay on the trail for another two or three miles to a quieter set of roads for a longer but more serene run home than on Route 28.


I took the camera off my helmet late last week. It's like a lottery ticket: maybe it'll win something. Usually it won't. I'll post a few other successful scraps later. Mostly it illustrates how routine bike commuting can be. Even the few boneheaded motorist maneuvers I captured don't look like much after the wide angle lens has exaggerated the distance and squished the offending vehicle to a speeding bug.

6 comments:

  1. In truth, your commute sounds a lot more thrilling than mine. Oh to decide whether you can catch the light on green or to turn left and catch the alternate light?

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  2. The commute is filled with potential adventures. The trick is to make them compelling video. I should try to tap into the entertainment industry talent that gathers in Wolfe City in the summer for some hints and tips or my own reality show. I can talk bleepy.

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  3. What a nice ride. I'm jealous. :)

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  4. I don't think I'd ever film my commute - 5 miles of traffic and concrete. Although maybe if I caught some of those bad drivers on film, I'd have some legal recourse.

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  5. That is a serene path. Part of my trip includes fairly quiet, wooded country roads, but most is busy highway or campus streets.

    BTW, watching full screen, the movement of the camera almost made me ill. :)

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  6. Yeah, Dan, don't do that. It's one of the annoying things about the camera. On the handlebar it REALLY jiggles. On the helmet it still dances around, especially -- as you observed -- in full screen mode.

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