Handlebar cam success

I wanted to be able to take some pictures and video of my trip along the way to share the experience with those who couldn't (or just plain wouldn't) join me.  I didn't exactly want to buy a helmet camera- although they can be very nice, I didn't want the added expense or weight.  I hit upon the idea of using my iPod touch that I will already be carrying.  It shoots HD quality video and can upload it to YouTube or Vimeo or whatever else I might want to do.

I was able to purchase a mounting attachment from a company called Ram Mounts that affixes the iPod to your handlebars.  The mount has a quick release feature and the device can be swiveled to several different positions. The issue for me was that the mount is intended for folks to be futzing with an iPod or iPhone so the mount holds the device close to the handlebars.  This is fine if the device is mounted upright- however a video shot from an iPod this way looks very tall and thin, so that's a little annoying.  If you have the device mounted sideways in order to get a landscape shot, the mount is too close to the bars and the handlebars obstruct the video.  So I created this really official aftermarket add on to hold the mount higher and further away using zip ties and some blue plastic tubing.  Oh yeah, that's classy!  Check out a resulting test video:

I posted the test video in a standard format, but I do have the ability to post them in high definition.

Looks like a plan. Smells like a plan. Might be a plan?

Some folks might take my continued presence in State College as a sign that I will never leave.  Many people look at my spindly legs covered in peeling sunburn, poison ivy boils and bug bites and wonder how I would ever expect to cycle my way out of town.  And some people shake their heads when they ask me "so what's your plan?" and receive a blank stare.  (For those of you who don't know me, I typically walk around with a blank stare regardless to intimidate mimes and evangelists who might otherwise stop me on the street.)

Well have no fear, there actually is something resembling a plan rattling around in my void reserved for a brain!  And I thought I would finally share it with those who might care to ruminate, elaborate, vacillate, or castigate about it.  Lest anyone think that I have been sitting around getting fat and lazy in the meantime, rest assured that I have been biking, climbing and running as well as adjusting to my new diet of catfood and dandelions.  Eric Durante and I did complete a successful excursion to Donation Rocks a week ago.  Although we only managed to get one pitch of climbing in before it began to rain, I think it still counts as cycl-climbing (not to be confused with pyscho-climbing).  I even managed to get my sorry self back up and over Pine Grove Mountain in the pouring, chilly rain.  But I digress...

My good friends, Jeff Carlson and Eric Durante, devised an intruiging bike tour through southeastern PA that enchains many PA microbreweries.  A map with the general route and waypoints can be viewed online.  Personally, I thought that this would be a splendid introduction to bicycle touring because not only will there be excellent daily goals to acheive (aka. make it to the next brewery before it closes) but I will be in the company of good friends.  Also, I can hopefully impart a bit more bicycle maintenance knowledge from Eric before we part ways.  The schedule for this foray is May 20th-30th.  We are still accepting applications for those who want to join.  Please write your name, favorite color, and a poem about beer and bicycles on a sheet cake and drop it off at Jeff's house.

Assuming that 1) I live through ten days of continuous cycling and 2) I haven't decided to saw my bike in half and open a hotdog stand, then I will strike out on the open road towards the wild, wild West.  The course that I am planning to take is PA, WV, OH, IN, IL, MO, NE, CO, and UT.  Of course along the way I will try to stop by as many friends' and family's places and stop at a few climbing destinations as well.  (If I don't manage to stop by your place, it isn't because I don't like you.  It's more the fact that a deviation in course that would add an hour or two by car can easily add two whole days to my trip.  You probably thought I was a jerk anyways...)  Once I arrive in the land of sandstone, Mormons and weak beer, I plan to go to Salt Lake City to attend the Summer Outdoor Retailer Show.  For those of you who don't know, OR is the biggest collection of outdoor gear manufacturers where retailers and sales reps join to look at new products.  Somehow I will sneak into the show, try to weasel free sock and granola bar samples and act professional enough that someone might offer me a job in the future (I'm not holding my breath).

Now, assuming that 1) I've lived through 60 odd days of cycling and 2) haven't been thrown in jail for indecency or trespassing at Outdoor Retailer, my former coworker, Jason Erdman, and I are going to drive up to either the Wind River Range (pic) or the Tetons in WY.  (Yes, I said 'drive'.  Sue me.)  The plan will be to engage in a week of alpine shenanigans.  The Winds are one of my all time favorite places on this earth and this would be my fifth trip there.  After this interlude, Jason is going to abandon me at some remote trailhead looking like a lost hungry puppy and drive back to SLC and catch a flight home.

Again, assuming that I haven't 1) been eaten by a mountain lion or succumbed to another fate or 2) sawn my bike in half and opened a hotdog stand in Pinedale, WY, I will continue on my travels.  My brother, Greg, is getting married in Columbus, OH on October 1st.  Therefore, I could just laze about out West and catch a train or plane there to make it on time.  But knowing how dumb I am, you wouldn't expect me to do that, right?  If I'm still holding together in one piece and I can make it work timewise, I am going to bike to Columbus.  The rough route is to ride WY, SD, IA, IL, IN, OH.

At that point, I will stop, saw my bike in half, open a hotdog stand, and get really, really, into collecting stamps.  

A cruel trick

I went out riding yesterday on a 35 odd mile ride in Rothrock State Forest. I wanted to clear my head but also see how my bike performed on gravel roads. The entire ride (save for the ride through town) was beautiful and quiet and serene. My serenity was somewhat disturbed after I had made the first of several 2-3 mile climbs. On a mountain bike you can FLY down these roads without a care. With a rigid touring bike, I felt the need to check my speed the entire way down to prevent blowing out a tire or bending a wheel rim on the stones, potholes, and washboard sections. Being denied the fun (and relief) of racing downhill was the only drawback of the day.

A new chapter

I may have said before that I sold my house in State College. I may have joked a bit that I am homeless. Well neither of those facts really hit home until right now. I just returned to an empty house from helping my parents move a few states away. I'm sitting in my childhood home and packing my stuff up for the last time. I may be feeling a little nostalgic but it isn't a feeling of homesickness tied to a specific place. Rather I no longer have a place that I identify as 'home'. That will take some getting used to. The closest thing that I have now is the back of a pickup or my tent.

I knew this day would come eventually and now it is here. As my friend Clay would tell me, "now there's nothing left to do but go riding.". As my less tactful climbing partners would say, "shut up pansy and get on with it!"

Man v.s. Incline

Well I guess it had to happen sometime. Eventually I had to stop writing silly posts about thunderstorms and wall paint and go riding and climbing. Yesterday was the inaugural test of the idea. Aaron 'the Doctor' Regberg, Kevin 'the Librarian', Jeff 'the Machine' Carlson and I met at the grocery store yesterday morning to stock up on such essentials as sugar cane juice and baguette for our ride. We were all on touring bikes, but the Doctor and I were the most heavily laden with enough food for two picnics and a rope and rack of climbing gear.

Our objective was Donation Rocks where a local conservation organization, C3PA, was holding a crag cleanup. To get there, we would ride 25 miles with a large climb in the middle, Pine Grove Mountain. I think that PGM is a 700 foot climb. I was afraid as I wouldn't know the difference between 700' or 2000'- they all scare me. Starting the climb, I dropped down to my lowest gear and instantly started doubting myself. Fortunately the Doctor had the cure: we rode alongside one another at a steady pace singing Joan Jett songs. Before long we found the Librarian and the Machine waiting at the top. Then the fun began! We raced down the backside of the mountain in thick fog (see picture) and that momentum and high spirits carried us the next 15 odd miles.

After 6 hours of building trails, clearing brush and getting a little climbing in, it was time to decide. We could start riding back and probably finish in the dark, partially dead. Or we could stay for a barbecue and beer and beg a car ride for ourselves and our bikes back to town. Man that burger and beer tasted SO good! My first combination bike/climb event was certainly a success.

Reality sinks in like the Titanic

My title is totally tongue in cheek of course- I am going to fail way quicker than the Titanic. It made it a thousand miles or so before it ruined people's lives. Ha ha. Actually I am quite excited to have nearly fully loaded my bike up and taken it for a quick spin! It almost makes me believe that this will work. The above picture shows the bike with nearly everything that I will be carrying. A set of approach shoes and food will also be riding in my rear bags. Where you see my helmet I will have a sleeping bag and pad strapped to the rear rack.

The bike is going to be certainly a little less responsive with sixty pounds of stuff on it. I saw that coming. Hopefully Freeze/Thaw can rig some training wheels on the bike so I don't totally yard sale. Also a parachute for long downhills will be handy cause the brakes are slightly slower now. Biggest news of all: it looks like my bike is leaning against my truck. It isn't. I figured out how to 'kickstand' my bike with the trailer. It totally looks like your bike is going to fall over the first time you try it, but you must believe!

p.s. The irony is not lost on me that I have my bike pictured with my truck as the backdrop. Downsizing, anyone?

Ride the Lightning

Yes I unashamedly borrowed the album title from my favorite Metallica album. Yes, Eric, And Justice for All kicks ass too. But 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' is my favorite song of theirs. And my choice of title will make sense shortly.

I have lately been in a funk that I couldn't shake. I had a grand plan whenever I quit my job and whittled my life down to the barest essentials. But the past several weeks of inaction have sapped my motivation and enthusiasm. Which is all too bad really since this should be the grandest time of my life in a short while. But I believe that will sort itself out once I get out on the road.

Today was the first day to break forty degrees in a few weeks. It actually got up to sixty or so today. As I read the forecast aloud I decided to get out for a real ride. My mother was quick to note that afternoon thunderstorms were predicted. Still at it after all these years, Mom... I ended up going for a four hour ride at a random pace and a random course. I didn't bring a map but just rode in the direction I wanted to and eventually reversed my path. After a little while I got into an incredible groove and my spirits lifted. Even after the rain and thunder and lightning started, I was still grinning and waving to strangers and dogs. Upon riding back home, I passed several fire trucks on my parents' road. Apparently lightning had struck a tree only a hundred yards or so from their house.

Things that I learned today:

1). I need to be moving. I really shouldn't be sedentary for long. I am happier riding through a lightning storm with wet socks and a saddle sore than getting a lap dance while seated. Okay, that could be a stretch.

2). Thick wool socks can absorb somewhere between ten and a billion times their weight in water.

3). Outdoor Research makes a great product for the bicycling mountaineer, the Foray jacket. I was incredibly impressed with how much I could vent it while riding in a complete downpour and stay dry and comfortable. Whenever I climb with it on I'm sure it will allow me to climb 5.11 at altitude.

4). My dog is really afraid of thunderstorms.

5). God may be trying to tell me something? First a tornado and then a lightning strike! Or the world is coming to an end and it's not just me that has to worry...