Last night was Pizza Night at our house. I made a short time-lapse video of making the pizza with the GoPro camera. I love making pizza and we have been using Daiya, and pineapple to top our pizza lately, which is great. But as you can see in the photo, we also love just sauce covered pizza, and even our bread stick style, just olive oil and salt. It’s always fun to make homemade pizza.
This abnormally warm winter has brought us some great days for bike rides all over town. Here is a video from one of those days, riding along the river bike paths.
Angel and I have already started playing around with the GoPro HD HERO we just got. We tried the Time Lapse Photography feature out as Angel made soup yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We set the camera up on a shelf, taking 485 photos over the course of an hour, at a rate of every 10 seconds. We compiled the photos together and made this nice little video. Enjoy!
This is just one fun thing that we are able to do with the camera. The Time Lapse Photography feature allow photos to be taken every 2, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds. I think we will be able make a lot of fun videos with this feature.
Saturday December 31st, 2011 was the REI Year-end Garage Sale in Eugene. This is a big sale at REI, where they sell slightly used gear, returns, and display items. This was the first time I have been able to go to one myself, and let me just say it was well worth the short wait in line to get in. There was a lot of great gear to pick up there and I got myself some presents that I’m quite happy about.
ALPS Mountaineering Mystique 2.0 – MSRP $199.99 bought at $9.83
This is the first real tent I have ever bought, but it seems like it will be perfect for me: 3 season, fits 2 people, pretty light at 5lb 2oz total, packs pretty small. I’m quite excited, the only thing is the tent was not cleaned up before packing away after the last use, so it smells like the outdoors (Angel claims it smells like mossy earth and radishes). No visible mildew, but I should clean it as soon as possible. If anyone has any ideas on how to clean it in the middle of winter, indoors let me know. The biggest problem right now is all the rain we’re getting, so I can’t set it up outside to clean it out and hang. So I’ll need to do this inside maybe in stages. If I can’t get it cleaned out well enough it’s no big loss, it was $9.83.
Novara Arosa Bike Gloves – MSRP S29.50 bought at $9.83
These gloves fit very well and should be a great cool and dry weather glove, when my Novara Stratos Bike Gloves are just too warm. On the tag, the reason for return was “not warm enough”, but these will work well for me. They just needed a little stitching fix, and now they are perfect. I can’t wait to get to use them this coming spring.
Merrell Chameleon3 Stretch – MSRP $120 bought $19.83
The shoes are hardly broken in and all the tread is there, including the fine tread that wears off fast. They should be great for hiking and walking.
GoPro HD HERO Camera – MSRP $239.99 bought $99.83
It was a big surprise for me to find this, and it was a hard decision to get it but I did. Angel and I shoot lots of videos together and we have always talked about getting one. This price was too fair to pass up. I can only imagine no one got it before me because: A. They didn’t know what it was, or B. They don’t do video editing themselves. The camera is in perfect condition. The reason for return was “didn’t like product”, and I don’t really know why they didn’t like it, but I like it already. It has HD video up to 1080p at 30fps, with 127º wide viewing angle. 60fps at 720p and WVGA resolutions allowing smooth slow motion playback with 170º wide viewing angle. With a waterproof case allowing it to go to depths of 180ft (60m), my Fuji XP10 depth is only 10ft (3m). Comes with mounts, including a one for vented helmets. This should get a lot of good, fun video footage that we can use. Great for long bike rides, or trips to the coast. Can’t wait.
I’m excited to get to use these new items and after I will write reviews for them, so stay tuned. There will be new videos as well with the help of the GoPro Hero.
Yesterday after reading a blog post from Eugene Bicyclist about the Fern Ridge Bike Path flooding at the underpasses below the streets. (Read Here) I decided to I wanted to check this out for myself, being my first year in Eugene. Before the ride, I constructed something I’ve been meaning to try out. I mounted my Fuji Waterproof XP10 camera on the the end of some “bull-horn” handle bars I got from a friend. I used a camera mount from a cheap small tripod and attached them to the end of the bar. It seemed to work out alright for the first day. This should give us a new perspective to add to the videos Angel and I make.
Here are 2 short video of the first test with the camera mount.
I got my Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic Panniers shortly after getting my Surly Long Haul Trucker in May of 2010. I tried one other set of cheap panniers for a short time, but decided I needed something a lot better. Ortlieb is one of the best cycling/waterproof bag companies around. The Back-Roller Classics MSRP is $165 for a pair. The panniers are made of a PVC-coated polyester fabric, with 2 inner pockets: 1 large, and a smaller mesh zippered pocket. On the outside there are large reflectors. These panniers roll closed and latch, and come with a shoulder strap that can be secured by a hook on the front. The bag is completely waterproof. The Back-Roller Classics use Ortlieb’s QL1 attachment system. These are super simple panniers to take on and off the rack.
Here is a cool video showing how to attach the bags, with some funky music.
I’ve had the panniers for almost 2 years, and they have held up really well. They fit almost everything inside, and have a capacity of 2,441cu.in. (40L). I have been able to carry tons of groceries. If a little added space is needed I just keep the top open and it stays pretty stable. I also tend to use the shoulder straps to strap down the odd items onto the rack, which is an added bonus. In my main pannier I keep my small essentials in the mesh zippered pocket: spare patches, lights, pens, and my spork. All my other repair essentials are in a small saddle bag. In the larger open pocket I keep my map, bandana and wrench. At the bottom of the main bag, I keep my rain cape and jacket, then anything else goes on top of them. Everything else goes in other one when I need to carry more, or balance the weight. Being waterproof is a must for the Pacific Northwest weather.
The QL1 System is perfect. It keeps the bags secure on the rack without rattling around. There is no fear of them falling off, but they are still super easy to take off when you pull up on the release handle. The shoulder strap is easy to use, but if you want something more comfortable, try out the Ortlieb Carrying System (read more about that lower on the page). I would recommend these panniers to everyone. I hope to get the Ortlieb Front-Roller Panniers to match once I get a front rack for my LHT.
Ortlieb has come out with new graphics on their Back-Roller Classic Design sets, MSRP $170 per pair. The Wave, Dot, and Splash designs come in 3 different colors each, more than doubling the Classic color choices from 6 to 15, 19 if you include the 4 special Civia/Ortlieb Designs (only sold in singles). With all the colors and designs you should be able to find the right set for you. Angel plans to get herself one of these new designs. I think they look great. *Update: Angel chose the Splash in the Aubergine (purple) with pink splash graphic. Read about and see photos HERE.
I also use the Ortlieb Carrying System which allows you to attach a removable backpack mount to any single Ortlieb Pannier. The panniers work well on the bike, but could be a little easier to carry off the bike. That is where the Carrying System comes into play, turning your pannier into an excellent backpack. I recommend this system for anyone who wants a pannier on the bike and a backpack off the bike.
If you are looking for a lighter PVC-free pannier, Ortlieb has a Back-Roller Plus version of the same pannier design made of strong Cordura fabric and their QL2 System. The Plus come in 4 different colors and cost $200.
Ortlieb (and Ortlieb’s sister companies: Tubus, and Racktime) have lots of other useful products and accessories.
Like many others today, I received my iPhone 4s. I plan on trying out and reviewing a lot of the Bike Computer/GPS apps that you can get for the iPhone. Along with some different bike mounts/cases. This will hopefully good comparison of what bike apps for the iPhone, to help people chose the one that is right for their needs.
With all these Apps and accessories you can get the iPhone is a perfect choice for cyclists. This phone has great GPS/Mapping capabilities, battery life, and a great 8mp camera with 1080p video. It would be great to do everything on bike tours.
I have enjoyed the phone so far. Just waiting to get some cases to feel safer using it on the bike before starting the reviews. Here are the first videos I took with the iPhone when I was riding along the river on the bike path.
I was watching TV tonight and there was a pretty funny commercial on. Toyota’s commercial for the 2011 Venza. The Commercial is about a teenage girl talking about how adults are anti-social. Meanwhile the parents are mountain biking with friends, and she is sitting on Facebook like most young people. There seems to be a lot more bikes in car commercials within the last couple years.
::Update::
Here’s another Toyota Venza commercial with the same girl talking about how old her parents are.
Before I moved to Eugene, before I even thought of moving to Oregon, before I really knew Angel. Back around February of 2008 I came across this video, and loved it. I remember how good I thought it was. The video was a prequel to newer bike videos like the Roll on, Oregon video from the BTA, and the If I Ride Video from People for Bikes. These videos just make you feel happy watching them.
I came across this video yesterday again, while looking through old files of mine. Shortly after starting the video I realized that the background was Eugene, OR. That this whole video was shot here, in Eugene, where I ended up moving 3 years later. From a video I loved and enjoyed watching, to the new city I love and enjoy living in. It’s a happy thought to know that I moved here to a place I can see my self being for a long time.
The music. Not only that but yesterday we rode by Viva Vegetarian Grill and the guys from Explosions In The Sky eating there. We didn’t learn till later that it was them but we saw them. And almost stopped for ice-cream but didn’t.
I will continue posting some more old videos that I used to really like.
I grew up in central Illinois. In August of 2007, I bought my first real “adult bike” after needing a bike to save money on gas. Since then I have had many bikes. In April of 2010, after moving out to Oregon, I got my beloved Surly Long Haul Trucker. I have put a lot of good miles on the bike. This blog is about my life in Eugene.
Last night was Pizza Night at our house. I made a short time-lapse video of making the pizza with the GoPro camera. I love making pizza and we have been using Daiya, and pineapple to top our pizza lately, which is great. But as you can see in the photo, we also love just sauce covered pizza, and even our bread stick style, just olive oil and salt. It’s always fun to make homemade pizza.
Bread Bike 