Monday, May 27, 2013

still rolling

I haven't had a lot to write about here lately. It was a later than usual start to a serious riding season, and the hope for an early summer bike tour have kind of gone by the wayside. So, with my sights set firmly on Colorado in August with CRMBT, I've been taking video and pictures with my GoPro camera in hopes of capturing some great climbs and descents on that tour.

It's become apparent that I'll need another sd card for a week-long tour, and with storage capacity and battery life in mind, I'll still be taking a lot of pictures with my old camera and saving the videos for  a few highlights each day. The hardest thing so far is learning about editing and enhancing what I've shot, but it's been fun too.

While it's been great to be back on the bike more often, and the weather has been pretty decent overall, the videos and pictures I've taken on most of my recent rides show evidence that those rides have been mostly flat, and in mostly overcast conditions. In other words, they all kind of look alike.

So, I'm still riding to get stronger to be ready for August, and I'm hoping to be able to share more of the experience with words, pictures and videos. If you want to see a sample of the videos I'm playing with, check this out. But, you'll need to click the bars to stop the music on my blog because I also added music to the video.



Or you can follow this link to watch it on you tube.


Sunday, May 19, 2013

saturday ride

I can't believe it's almost 3 weeks into May, and the 33 miles I rode yesterday was the longest ride of the year to date. I met Roger at a trailhead for Mill Creek Parkway and we rode a loop that I like, but in reverse. Then a few miles on the trail before heading home to cut the grass before the rain moved in.

While we were riding I took the opportunity to shoot several short videos with my new GoPro camera. I'm still trying to figure out what I can do with it. It's become obvious that it's easier to shoot short videos with all the importing, exporting, downloading, and editing. I'm not good with this, but I want to be able to supplement the photos I take riding up mountains with video of riding down.


If anyone has any advice on easy to use software, or tricks to make working with videos easier, I would love to hear it.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

in a relationship

 One of the results of my transition to a vegan diet is I've been visiting several websites looking for tips and recipes to make it easier and more enjoyable, and sustainable. I read The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, and subscribed to her site, The Kind Life. Sometimes she's a little out there, but she has a lot of good ideas, links, and encouragement for all kinds of vegans. And when there's something new on her site subscribers get this personal, automated kind of announcement. I felt kind of weird the first time I got an e-mail from her.
__________________________________________________________________________

Hi Jeff,
This yum-looking recipe for homemade granola from one of our Kind Lifers looks delicious!
Vegan Breakfast Recipe: Peanut Butter Granola
This looks like a delicious recipe...
Love,
Alicia
 ___________________________________________________________________________
I'm glad that she feels so comfortable with me. But being in a relationship with Alicia means that, from time-to-time, she will point out something else you can do to be kinder to animals and the planet. She tells me how I can improve myself.

 God, Alicia, I already have a wife!