Something a bit different here. My camera was destroyed by the dog so I decided to replace it with an Action cam. I have to say that it is a good replacement for my old Olympus TG-6 and it takes excellent still and video shots. The only downside is the wide angle default lens which is great for video but not so good for still shots. This isn’t a problem as its so easy to crop images to act like a zoom which have incredible detail.
The initial user experience wasn’t so good. The screen protectors would not come off cleanly and it took me ages to remove them and I was worried I would scratch the screens doing so. The second stressful factor was that the camera had to be updated before use. Firstly, you have to figure out how to open the door to insert the battery and SD card. This is not obvious. Secondly you get an error saying that the battery is too low to update so you have to connect to a USB power source. This update is not super straightforward and easy to do but eventually works fine. There are many steps and the software to do this often reported errors and that it was unable to find the camera messages. The whole process took about 20 minutes. My next complaint is that when charging from your computer there is no indication of charging progress. It simply has a message stating “USB connected”. GoPro states “This can take up to 4 hours if the computer is used and up to 2 hours if a USB wall charger is used”. GoPro states to use an USB wall charger that outputs 5V and 1A (5V 2A recommended for HERO5 and newer cameras). Alternatively, you can use a computer USB port. Seriously they should include a 2A charger with this just like they should include a paper user manual. It is not just GOPRO that is guilty of this as it seems to be an industry wide policy. Such chargers seem to be less than $10 on Amazon but you don’t know this when you buy your camera and shipping is around $7 on such items. All the chargers in my house do not indicate what their rate is. I am not convinced my PC was charging at all as the battery indication when I unplugged it was less than when I started the update process and the charge indication goes down when saving photos.
I am not impressed by the battery, SD card and USB door, It is extremely fiddly to open and without reading the online help not something you could figure out on your own except for chance. Having said that I have got used to it,
Onto more complaints. When you hook up your camera to your PC to get the photos and videos it doesn’t do it like all my other cameras and simply show the sd card, It shows it in some weird way (MTP Client Disk Volume) that doesn’t give you the normal options such as “Open With”, I also found that trying to delete a file with file manager just caused it to hang and eventually crash.
I am very pleased with the Video and Photo quality which is after all what I bought this for. Stabilization is also excellent. My only slight criticism is that auto WB seems a tad focused on the blue end of the spectrum and some images can look a little washed out straight from the camera. It seems a little over exposed. It can be easily fixed in post and with a bit of experimentation in pro mode I bet it can in the camera too. Finding Pro mode gives a ton of options and tweaks to make your pictures and Videos really pop. It seems to go into video mode when taking selfies in Photo mode occasionally. I haven’t figured out why it does this but it isn’t a problem as when you screen capture a single frame from this video it looks stunning. It really does take good pictures and videos. The lack of a decent zoom is simply not a problem as it is possible to crop stuff without losing any real Quality.
I have to say I used the camera on an overcast day and the exposure and White balance was perfect with Auto settings. It seems to depend on the weather and subject a lot.
Five things that are my favorite Cycling advances since riding as a teenager.
GPS Cycle Computers
GPS logging, reliability, size. Compared to the clicking gubbins I had as a kid and then Avocets with their magnetic sensor rings.
Lights
The lights I had as a teen were truly awful. Wonder lights and Eveready Night Riders. Heavy, Poor light output, clunky mounting, bad battery life and terrible reliability. Flying down a hill in the dark and the lights go out after hitting a bump. Rechargeable technology also sucked back then
Clipless Pedals
I don’t miss toe clips and straps one bit and those awful cleats that wore very quickly. Hard to get in and adjust and uncomfortable. Not something I think I could ever go back to.
Cotterless Cranks
I hated cotter pins and bolt on cranks was such a huge improvement. There have been further advances such as captive nuts that allow you to remove your cranks with an allen wrench. Some of the removal tools had a habit of getting cross threaded back in the day and were fiddly.
Braze Ons
Now this doesn’t apply to most Carbon bikes but not having to have cable clips on your top tube, gear levers, Bottle cages and front mechs held on by bands that ultimately hurt your paint was a huge win.
When I went to get Fatty out of its summer storage I discovered a serious crack in the non drive side seat stay. I dont remember seeing such a crack when I cleaned it and put it into storage in the spring and the bike was a low 1000 miles. Now I did fall off it at very low speed in the ice over winter but I cant imagine that part of the bike could have come into contact. I am very disapointed in the whole situation. The manufacturers Framed wouldnt do anything as the bike was over 5 years old, I got some quotes for carbon repair and with shipping it was going to be over $500.
Because of the odd sizes of Farbike hubs it is really difficult to find a replacement frame for a cheap price. I also do not want carbon. I honestly have been put of it by my framed experience. I have been looking at some Aluminium and steel fatbikes such as the Kona, Salsa and Surly models. They are all over $2000. I have a carbon 29er but I am really worried about riding this in the snow.
To be honest I cant help thinking a steel single speed would best suit my winter snow and gravel road riding due to its mechanical simplicity. I wish I had kept my Kona Unit 2-9. I am wondering if 2,6 inch tyres running very low pressure tubeless would be ok for the type of snow riding I do, I was an idiot and sold this bike cheap when it was basically like new. These too are a lot more expensive these days but cheaper than a fatbike. I havent managed to find any for sale on craislist.
I bought these because they look fast and were pretty cheap. I had a nightmare of a job getting these on my rims and spent 3 excruciating hours trying to do so. Why do they have to make them so tight ? It worries me that if you needed to change a tube at the side of the road it would be next to impossible.
The good news is they ride really fast on the road with almost no noise and seem to grip really well (even in the wet), I have only tried a limited bit of gravel riding with them but they felt fine.
In the month of August I am planning to ride 1250KM for charity. My dad has Alzheimer’s and I want to do anything I can to help end Alzheimer’s. I reckon that requires 25 miles a day for the whole month.
I really enjoyed my time with the Hutchinson Mamba CX. Although I would say I have done about 85% road with these tyres they have performed really well on tarmac and gravel. They roll really well and seem to give an excellent ride at 60psi. I have had them as low as 30psi in the snow and they still felt ok but you could tell they were soft. I got around 1600 miles out of the rear and 3000 out of the front. I could probably get a few hundred more miles out of the front but I seem to be getting flats all the time and there is little tread for gravel. Unfortunately they have gone up a ton in price and are now over $70 each. I will have to find a cheaper alternative.
[THIS IS A BLAST FROM THE PAST – I think this is from 2010]
I have has a goal since December 23rd 2007 when I bought my Catrike 700 to finish a double century on it . I entered 3 doubles with a view to riding the trike but always changed my mind at the last minute and rode my titanium DF bike instead. I found the trike to be pretty tiring even on hilly centuries (5000 ft + climbing) and doubted if I could do a 200 within the time limits imposed.
With my first triple crown in the bag I decided to ride one last double for the year and this time I was going to ride the trike no matter what. Fate nearly dealt me another cruel blow as just 4 weeks before the Death Valley Double I came down with a respiratory infection that put me off the bike for 3 weeks ! Fortunately it cleared up the week before the double so Death Valley was a go.
Its always interesting trying to sneak a trike Into your hotel room
(Trike in Hotel Room)
Mile 0 to Mile 24.5
(Waiting for the start)
I decided to start with the first wave of riders at 7am to try to get as many miles in as possible before the heat hit. The first couple of miles were down hill so I was heading up the pack for a while.
The first 3% plus gradient saw me lose the pack and I was on my own to enjoy the excellent roads up to the first checkpoint at Stovepipe Wells. This would be the last time I drafted anyone.
(The end of my pacing for the day)
I stopped for no longer than necessary to fill my bottles and empty my bladder. I was feeling OK but a bit sluggish. My average speed was well up on my target to beat the 17 hour cutoff.
(Highway 190)
(Highway 190 on my own)
(Stove Pipe Wells)
[Mile 24.5 – 54.5]
We doubled back after Stove Pipe Wells on Highway 190 to ride up to the turnoff to Scotty’s Castle.
(Highway 190)
As soon as we hit this road the lovely smooth asphalt was no more and we were on rough Chipseal with the occasional expansion ridge. I find rough roads like this to be sapping on the 700. The 17” wheels really don’t seem to roll well over it and my average speed started to plummet.
Along this section I had my only mechanical problem of the day when the bumpy roads made my rear view mirror fall off. Fortunately I got a help off the sag wagon and didn’t lose too much time repairing the problem. I also met another Catriker doing the century
(Mike on his red expedition in the distance)
(Desolation]
The next rest stop for me was at mile 54.5. We had started the long climb to Scotty’s Castle at this point and the heat was starting to kick in.
(1000 feet above sea level)
On this part of the ride we had joined up with the century riders so there was plenty of company and long lines at the portapotty
(Waiting in Line at the portapotty)
[Mile 54.5 – 68.2]
I think I was riding a little hard on the next section as I caught and passed several DF’s and suffered a minor bout of leg cramps just as the gradient started to kick up. The two riders in the picture below I saw on and off all day. I passed them on the downhills and they left me everywhere else.
(Gradient Kicking up)
I throttled back and tried to spin the best I could. The closer we got to Scotty’s the steeper it got and I was very glad of the rest stop there.
(Scotty’s castle in the distance)
[Mile 68.2 – 94.6]
I realized time was not on my side so I made the briefest of stops then set off on what was by far the most grueling part of the course. There was about another 7 miles of climbing before we were supposed to reach the flat section that ran for 21 miles to the next rest stop. The climb seemed to go on forever.
(21 miles of hell)
I was hoping that once I got to the summit I would be able to make some time up on the 21 rolling miles to the turn. Unfortunately the road was rough chipseal and it was an absolute misery for me. I just couldn’t seem to get any sort of pace going and the desert played tricks with your mind. It was hard to figure out if you were riding uphill, downhill or into a wind. The road also seemed to run on forever with the horizon never getting any nearer. Lots of people seemed to suffer flats or other mechanical woes on this section.
[Mile 94.6 – 121]
By the time I reached the Check point at highway 95 I was at a real low point. For some reason the first 5 miles after the rest stop seemed easier and my pace picked up slightly but eventually it became a grind again. I could see a cyclist way of on the horizon but the downhill back the Scotty’s took forever to come.
The descent down to the lunch stop was totally wild. I was for the first time in 40 miles actually enjoying myself and I caught and passed a DF like he was stood still. It was very bumpy and at times things got a little scary but it felt good to be getting my average speed up. The Catrike 700 was built for downhills !
(The Lunch stop)
[Mile 121 – 130.1]
After a welcome Subway for lunch I set off descending again like a thing possessed. Everything went well till I hit the turn off for the Ubehebe Crater. The road stared off OK but quickly became a horrendously rough bumpy road . Every 10 feet there was a ridge in the road (about 1” high) that was nasty enough to launch me out of the seat on the trike. After 3 miles of this I was going insane and was shouting at the road (good job I was on my own). I also noticed that I could feel the cross member under my seat which became quite uncomfortable for the rest of the ride. As if the road wasn’t bad enough being rough it looked like you were going downhill but were actually climbing. The last steep bit was bad enough for a guy to snap his chain.
(The Ubehebe Crater)
[Mile 130 – 169]
After riding the 5 miles back from the crater on the rough road again there was a long and pretty fast downhill to the next checkpoint. Going down the hill the light began to fade and at about mile 150 it became necessary to use lights. The next 18 miles were undulating with a slight downhill and as there was no moon it was absolutely pitch black. Somewhere along this section I lost the will to continue. The road seemed to go on forever and with no landmarks to mark your progress time seemed to pass very slowly indeed. The road was also pretty rough and it was very difficult to see where the edge was. As I pulled into the rest stop I was planning on abandoning there and then. I sat down for a long while, drank a coke and ate some of the nice food provided. I couldn’t face the 6 mile 2100ft climb up hells gate. I heard someone mention that the next 6 miles were on pristine smooth road and decided to go for it.
[Mile 169 – 175.6]
The climb up Hells gate was tough but the road was smooth as glass and as such pedaling the trike was a pleasure. It was pitch black and as you laid back in the seat your eyes were filled with an incredible array of stars. The milky way was very bright and every now and then a shooting star whooshed across the horizon. You could see tail lights of other riders miles in the distance and it just became a strength exercise to get to the top. The road builders had kindly set up mile markers so you could see how slow you were climbing. The grade was relentless and got steeper as you went up. For the last 2 miles of the climb I was in bottom gear but I still caught and passed a few struggling DF riders.
[Mile 175.6 – Finish]
At the rest stop I ate a couple of PBJ sarnies, got some lovely bottles of ice water and prepared myself for 11 miles of descending in inky blackness on an unfamiliar road. The descent was such an incredible rush. I had to keep braking to stay within the comfort zone of my lights but it felt like I was doing 70MPH. Some of the turns caught me by surprise but I managed to sat on the road (just) . I caught and passed several DF riders and although it felt much faster I only did 40MPH. The worst bit was near the bottom where the sand had blown across the road, a passing car had raised a dust cloud and it was like riding in fog. In no time at all I was back on wonderfully smooth highway 190 for the 10 miles to the finish. I was hammering back along the 190 chasing taillights of other riders in the distance whilst watching the incredible star display overhead. I slowed dramatically on even the slightest climb but still touched 30MPH in places. I managed to catch several DF riders but unfortunately the last mile was uphill and my goose was cooked.
I was so happy to finally reach the end and complete my first Trike Double Century in exactly 15 hours. My Garmin registered 9204ft of climbing (it felt like more). When I tried to get off the trike my legs were like jelly and I nearly fell over. It was the hardest 200 I have ever ridden but definitely the most memorable.
There is a great dirt road along the North Shore of Lake Walcott that is extremely lightly used. It is gently rolling and quite rough in places. There are also some sand washes you have to watch out for, I didnt see a single other human being on this ride but just a coyote. I had planned to try to get to a cutoff road that goes up to Minidoka but turned round as I wasnt feeling great. I really must have another go at this.
This was with my Akaso camera at 1080p 60 frames but unfortunately Youtube ruins it, The original looks superb
Races are pretty non existent in Minidoka County Idaho so when I saw this event I couldnt resist having a go. At first I thought it was a Time Trial but as the date drew near I found out that it was a mass start event. I entered it with my wife Sandra on my 72″ gear Wabi Single speed. The beauty of the lowish geared single speed was that it kept my effort level down and I couldnt push too hard.
The event is two laps of a very flat 11.69 mile course round Rupert Idaho.
We set off pretty fast but a small group pulled away from us after a few miles. I was just trying to keep up 20MPH plus which is spinning on a 72″ Gear and a pace that was comfortable for Sandra. One guy came with us but as we turned onto the North 300 he dropped back and we were alone for the rest of the event. I kept expecting us to get caught and rode at a good tempo pace. We rode the first lap at a pace of 34:08 (20,6MPH) and my average pulse was 152bpm. The second lap I kept the same pace and we finished with a 34:02 (20.6MPH) with a pulse of 154bpm. I was super happy how consistently we rode and put that down to the 72″ gear. About 50 feet from the line Sandra flatted but she was still able to finish.
I think I finished about 5th but they never published the results so who knows. I certainly could have ridden faster on gears or with my other fixed gear bike (48 x 15) which I have lapped at 33:05 on my own and I had to slow at junctions. Next year I think I will ride the 48 x 15.
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