Base Camp Journal
(02/03/24 - 02/06/24)
Ok, the first month of the new year brought many adjustments in my flow - getting used to the freedom from the podcast grind; the shock of seeing how badly my blood sugar numbers were after all that indulgent holiday noshing; the joy of squeezing a few days of riding out of a handful of sunny days in between the atmospheric river onslaught.
A 'hot salad' of sauteed squash, carrots, onions, bell peppers and Polish sausage...
Switching up the veggies - cauliflower, baby carrots, shallots, mushrooms, bell peppers and Polish...
By the end of January, my new routine had begun to take shape - I'm leaning heavily into the real food regimen, almost going back to the Spartan keto carb count from before, along with my doctors prescribing a glucose test kit so I can closely monitor my numbers...
Those sunny days of cycling were actually part of my mandatory exercise routine, once I saw that even a half hour on the bike brought my numbers down to my target range. I'm doing light calisthenics indoors when I can't ride. It could have been worse, but in as little as a week I've shown enough progress to make sticking my finger every day worthwhile...
Meanwhile, I had to admit that the smartphone camera sucks for documenting my rides. I tried to make it work while riding the Embarcadero Loop, but the footage was just too crappy and distorted, even if it wasn't mounted to the handlebars...
This is the best I could get from the footage, and took a lot of processing...
Anyway, I thought of trying the half step of getting a chest mount for the phone, but no, just bite the bullet and get an action camera as well...
I researched GoPro alternatives and decided on the Akaso Brave 7 LE, a reasonably priced decent camera for cycle vlogging that has image stabilization. I'm pairing it with the GoPro Chesty chest mount. Both items got good reviews and feel solidly made - I wasn't about to go for some flimsy no-name crap from Amazon just to save a few bucks...
So, on a heavy gray Saturday, I got both items while putting in some walking exercise. I spent the rest of the weekend on the unboxing, 'read the manual' and setup stages...
After installing the battery and a 32GB microSD card, I customized the settings and plugged the Akaso into the power bank to top off the battery...
I mounted the camera to the Chesty with one of the many Akaso accessories included...
The GoPro Chesty is a very comfortable piece of gear. I put it on like a t-shirt and unclip the base plate to take it off like a shoulder holster...
As I've started working on the new video blog episodes, I saw that I still need to document my progress with all the details that won't go into the vlog, and getting on with updating the website - turning the 'Walkabout' podpage into an archive, creating a new video blog page, and swapping out the Bike Shop with this Base Camp Journal...
I've also traded up from Windows Movie Maker to the open source program Shotcut, and I'm just starting to play around with LMMS, a music creation program, to add background sounds. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for another break in the rain to take the new camera for a spin...
(02/07/24)
The day after I uploaded the new webpages, we got a sunny, chilly day, so I geared up and took the new camera out for a shakedown ride. Things went great, but the angle was too low so I had to scrap the footage. The video quality was otherwise excellent...
Back home it was quickly apparent that the existing camera mount limited the angle adjustment, so I dug into the bag of Akaso accessories and found an extension that works with the GoPro hardware. This extra piece gives me enough room to clear the forward tilt while riding the bike...
(02/11/24)
Ok, it took until Super Bowl weekend, but I finally got my first batch of cycling footage done. The action camera performed beautifully. Once I do the indoor segments I can start on the second episode and select the topic for number three...
Meanwhile, I'm still working out the other production details, like what kind of background to have behind me. One video suggested using an AI fake image, but I tried to generate something simple like 'an old black mountain bike with front and rear racks with bike touring gear leaning against a wall' and the results were downright creepy:
I had a visceral reaction just looking at these nightmarish wheels...
I'll do just fine using my bike and DIY gear...
(02/13/24)
While I was shooting over the weekend, I had a mishap with my phone that ruined it as a backup camera and navigation tool. This Moto G Play was the 2021 model. I planned to get at least another year out of it, but even though it still works, it's done...
So, I spent a few hours on Monday getting the replacement - the Moto G Play 2023 model. It's a slight upgrade, on sale for a third less than before the holidays. After trudging from the phone store and the Best Buy, I decided not to spend $40 to clone the apps and data from the old to the new model, instead spent most of last night using Google to transfer data and reinstalling most of my apps, customizing, etc.
Before I use this phone as a backup camera and navi tool, I'll get a case and lanyard mount first. Until then, I'll keep it zipped up in my pocket during rides, and I still have the very old Moto E4 as a handlebar-mounted 'B Roll' camera...
(02/18/24)
Most of the past week was plagued by rain, keeping me off the bike, but there was a break during the weekend that allowed me to get footage for the second vlog episode. The scripts are coming along as well, and if I can stay on schedule, I'll have three or four episodes ready before the launch either on or right after the first day of Spring.
The meta part is still pending, but I'm slowly working it out. There are just so many options to consider when comparing my ideas to other bike touring blogs out there...
Youtube Channel 