Ride Video

[h2olawyer]

Just thought I'd post a link to a clip of my latest ride.? November 2, I went from Fort Collins to Walden, CO & back.? The road is Colorado Highway 14.? It runs through the Poudre River canyon, over Cameron Pass, traversing North Park and finally ending at the junction with US 40 at Muddy Pass (a smaller continuation on the east side of Rabbit Ears Pass - about 25 miles east of Steamboat Springs, CO.

On the day I did this ride, the wind - which always blows in North Park - was especially strong.? Wind gusts of 40 - 50 MPH & almost all were direct cross winds.? Made for some touchy moments.? ?::)

I shot video all the way from the beginning of Poudre Canyon to Walden.? The Video here is a short stretch about 25 miles up the canyon - within 45 minutes from my house.? Round trip for this ride is about 4 hours & 200 miles.? Much of the canyon is posted at 35 - 45 MPH.? Normally, it can be ridden at around 10MPH over the limit.? The scenery is fantastic!

Enjoy!

http://home.comcast.net/~h2olawyer/images/Videos/NARROWSRIDE1.wmv

Music is "The Driving of the Year Nail" by Leo Kottke

H2O

[Extent]

Nice, always love a good riding clip, (even if it's in wmv format :p)

[Mutt]

Nice ride. Ok Colorado should be on the list for 25th anniversary rides. I really like those cheese graders on the right about half way through. Don't leave the road on the right side!

Mutt

[hfarley]

That was a very nicely put together video and music. The scenery was beautiful Can I ask, what is your setup? What type f camera do you use? What software for the video? Etc... Where do you mount the camera? Basically if I wanted to do something like this what all would I need? Thanks!
-Heather

[h2olawyer]

Thanks for the kind comments.? You asked such a simple question, I just wish the answer was as easy.? Here's the general info:

I use a JVC GR-D72U digital video camera.? This rides in a waterproof, padded, armored box in my tankbag.? (modified Pelican Case)? A bullet camera from www.HelmetCamera.com hooks into the analog video port on the camera.? The helmet camera comes with a very rugged protective case.? It attaches to either the bike or helmet using a special industrial velcro.? It requires quite a bit of force & twisting to remove it.? That type of velcro is amazing stuff.

I mounted the helmet cam to my fairing, below the headlight, on the centerline of the bike.? To edit the video, I use Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.? The software does photos, videos & music.? It also will burn CDs & DVDs.? The connection from the digicam to the computer requires a Firewire card & cable.

I chose the Helmet Camera Extreme Plus kit because I intend to use it for making skiing and river rafting videos as well as motorcycling.? I wanted a fully waterproof system.? If you aren't going to be using it for activities where the equipment may become submerged in water, the Extreme kit or other companies offerings will work just fine.? When I got mine, the highest resolution available from them was 420 lines but they now offer a 560 line camera.? They have a lower 380 line resolution cam as well for less cash.

There are less expensive bullet cams out there but they didn't seem as well protected as this one.? If I was going to be doing just motorcycle video, I'd have gone with one of the cams available on eBay.? Try a search for "helmet camera".? There were several to choose from when I was looking last spring.

Also, I've found that having a wired remote on the digicam would be nice.? The JVC has an infrared remote but I can't use it through the box & tankbag.? Sony cams have a wired remote & I think Canons do as well.? Not a big deal but it would make it easier to start & stop the video while on the road.? I use about a minute of tape at the beginning of each ride I video getting everything sealed up after starting the camera recording.

The helmet camera also requires a power source.? It comes with a setup to use 8 AA batteries.? This works well with rechargeable batteries.? For use on the Vision, I installed a power port & use a cigarette lighter power adapter from Radio Shack to power the helmet cam.? I also use a larger capacity battery on the digicam & can get about 6 hours of shooting / replay before it needs recharging.

If you have any more questions, just ask.? Overall, I'm very pleased with the system.? The picture & audio quality are much better than the clip I posted.? Digital compression decreases the resolution in order to make the files smaller.? Still, that clip is about 13MB.? In order to deal with the large file sizes, I recently got an external 100GB hard drive that is dedicated to just working with photo, music & video files.? It holds about 7 hours of uncompressed, raw video.? Adequate for my needs at present but I'll probably need a larger one in the next year or so.

H2O

[Riche]

That Leo sure can play a 12 string. When I first heard him, 70 or maybe 72, it sounded like two people playing.  Nice video H2O

[h2olawyer]

Leo is amazing.  I first heard him in the mid 70s.  He played several shows in Steamboat in the early 80s & he's even more amazing live.  That way you're positive its just him sounding like two or more guitars & not some magic of studio engineering.

H2O

[hfarley]

Thanks H2O! I am probably going to look into the Ebay idea. I would only be using the camera on a dry day for just the bike so something a little less quality wise would probably work for me. I am familiar with Roxio so that should be fairly easy to use. I appreciate the info, it is getting those squeaky wheels in my head starting to turn. As my husband would say, Oh No! LOL!
Keep the video's coming and thanks for the input!
-Heather