12.23 Studios

(03/04/24)

Ok, we have another stretch of late winter atmospheric rain storms hitting the state, not just the Bay Area, stopping me from getting out and riding. What's left is more planning for the episodes of the vlog...

As it happens, during my last monthly session with the hospital's 'diabetes group' the topic was goals, and mine was 'to visit three spots to see the Spring Superbloom before the end of May.' The other patients and doctors in the group want to see pictures, so these day trips will also make excellent episodes (I haven't mentioned the vlog yet, BTW)...

I have two episodes in pre-production now, so the 'Superbloom' set fills out my immediate goal for the vlog's launch, cool...

Since so much of the vlog involves planning right now, I went back to the subject of an early podcast episode, 'Leave No Trace' to confirm the principles when it comes to bike touring:

Plan Ahead & Prepare
Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Fnd
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Others

Because I'm limiting my flower viewing excursions to nearby locations in the Bay Area, I won't be going into the backcountry, so there's no issues with campfires, and I only expect to see two-legged wildlife, but the principles still apply, so aside from trip planning, the others boil down to not being a jackass who clomps about or rides through the flowers, leaves trash, and ruins the view while taking those all-important social media selfies...

(03/08/24)

We had another break in the weather, but I had business to do that kept me off the bike. It was still a great day for a short walk in the neighborhood. I saw this splash of pre-Spring color on S. Van Ness St. and couldn't resist taking a practice shot with the phone [plant: Santa Barbara ceanothus]. I'm chomping at the bit for the rain storms to go away so I can do a Superbloom ride...

(03/12/24)

Ok, we're into Daylight Savings Time and it looks like most of the week will be dry, cool...

As part of 'Plan Ahead & Prepare' for going on Spring Superbloom rides, I took the list of gear for day-long Scouting rides and pared it down to just the essentials for a daybreak-to-noon trip just for taking photos and a few videos....

Scouting rides involve gear like the trunk bag and panniers, the front rack bags, the small backpack and the handlebar harness, but for a Superbloom ride I just need the backpack for half my gear; the rest can go in the pockets of my cycling jacket and fishing vest or I'll be wearing it (like the fanny pack tool kit)...

Here's most of the Superbloom gear - Nikon camera, solar charger & USB cords, front & rear lights, handlebar phone camera, busted screen phone as B-Roll camera, tripod, GPS head unit, mini first aid kit, a few small trash bags, and a few wipes. Add the tool pack, my new phone and action camera, and about 10-12 road snacks, and that's about it for heading out to enjoy the flowers...

(03/15/24)

I had errands and personal business keeping me off the bike for the past few gorgeous days, but the weekend is clear. I packed all the Superbloom gear into the small backpack (including the road snacks) and of course it weighed more than I expected, so I think I'll use the trunk bag instead and take the tool kit off my waist...

The trunk section becomes a camera gear bag...

The left pannier is reserved for the fanny pack tool kit. 2 liters of water is plenty for half a day's leisurely ride...

The right pannier holds the bag of road snacks and the other misc. items for cleanup. It's just enough to balance out the tool kit...

(03/16/24)

Ok, I got up early, had a quick breakfast of coffee and chicken salad and lugged my bike outside. I decided to go up to the Presidio and the easiest vista to reach, Inspiration Point. There are three routes marked on Google Maps, but they all have serious uphills on the way, and the trunk bag's extra weight was noticeable on the blocks I had to hike a bike up the closer I got to the Arguello St. Presidio gate...

Finally, I pushed the bike through the gate and rode the short distance on the bike path to Inspiration Point. It was a small spot off the trail with a couple park benches and a view for tourists. The only Spring colors available were from the bushes that made up part of the vista...

I only stayed long enough to catch my breath before heading back. This is the view of the Bay...
There are a couple more places in the Presidio to get an ocean view, but I'll try them on a weekday when the cyclist and jogger traffic isn't as heavy

I only consumed a few road snacks and less than half a liter of water, but this ride wasn't enough to remove anything from this particular list of gear just because there were a few steep hills...

(03/17/24)

Screw that; I'm only riding in town and nearby, why lug more than I need...
I'm taking one of the liter bottles off, removing the power pack and USB cables, as well as the camera cable cause I'm not carrying the laptop. The fanny pack tool kit as well...

I don't really need the extra tools for riding in town; the patch kit is enough...

Yeah I'm fickle, so what?

(03/26/24)

Ok, as the last few days of cold wet weather mark the transition to Spring, I'm working on the first two episodes of the vlog and waiting for take my next ride up to the Presidio, but one part of the new show is stuck - music videos. I planned to feature at least one band/artist each episode, not focus on static songs with just an album cover, but I'm just not getting any videos from indie artists in enough genres to make it worthwhile. I also decided not to go hunting for band videos this time because music isn't a major focus of the show like before; it's about cycling, traveling, sometimes camping...

So far I have one artist video to feature in the first episode and maybe one static music video for the second. The few video submissions after that were songs that would only work in a varied half hour set. In three months that's not enough for a vlog with any kind of regular schedule (I'd like to do a minimum of two vlogs a month)...

In other words, I'm gonna feature the two songs in the first two episodes, but afterwards any music will either be available through legal online sources, or music I come up with to use as background...

Since 2005 I've produced podcasts that featured indie music, and I hoped to keep doing that for the new vlog, but, things change...

(03/29/24)

I have one more bit of tech to chew over for doing the vlog - gear for shooting the B-Roll footage and occasionally of me while on the bike. The current mini tripod is only for stationary use; for B-Roll, I'd prefer a flexible mount I could put on a fence post or wrap around a pole to ride past. A selfie stick for low-angle action shots works too. With the Quad Lock handlebar mount, that would give me three different types of B-Roll footage - pretty basic, but just fine for cycling...

Riding footage is more involved, but I'm going to keep it simple - mount the selfie stick on the handlebar assembly, attach either the action camera or the handlebar camera for the video, and record vocals with a separate digital audio recorder and a lavalier mic. The last thing I'm gonna do is ride one handed, trying to maneuver while holding a camera...

For a flexible tripod, I like the GorillaPod style mounts like this 'GripTight' model, but we'll see if I can find this one locally...

There's a ton of different selfie sticks out there, from cheap junk sold on Amazon and expensive gimbal models with AI up to camera drones that give you delusions of Hollywood, but I just want a stick with phone and GoPro mounts and a ball joint that'll capture my face and the scenery behind me. This model is sold at Target...

There are lower priced voice recorders, but I'd prefer this TASCAM DR-10L Micro Portable Audio Recorder with Lavalier Microphone. I definitely like the secure screw-in port for the mic jack...

At the moment I don't have a burning need for all the gear, but I'll start with the selfie stick...

I went up to the downtown Target to get one of the only two selfie sticks in stock. It's another cold rainy day but I need to stretch my legs...

The model is a selfie/tripod with a Bluetooth remote and no missing parts...

The smartphone clamp is incorporated into the base. I like the extra rubber screw cover that helps hold the phone in place...

Later in the day, I checked and saw that the GorillaPod GripTight tripod is sold at the local REI, and the TASCAM DR-10L is sold at the Guitar Center in town...

(03/30/24)

The morning turned out better than expected, so I decided to stretch my legs some more...

On the way to the REI store I admired a few early plum blossoms on Bryant St...

REI didn't have that particular tripod in stock, so I went to Guitar Center. They had the Tascam field recorder, except it's the Pro model that's $30 more, so the flexible tripod will have to wait until May...

The Tascam DR-10L Field Recorder Pro. A quick unboxing had no surprises, but I don't wanna do anything with it until I get some AAA lithium batteries and another MicroSD card for it...

Apparently the Pro model adds the ability to record in 32-bit float, extends battery life from 10.5 to 24.5 hrs, has a headphone output to monitor recordings, and expands the MicroSD card size from 32GB to a massive 512GB (a 128 or 256GB card should be plenty)...

My first attempt to tie the selfie stick to the bars using a pair of straps that came with the action camera...

It's pretty secure, but this is only a first try - I'll have to readjust the mount when I have the control panel for the bikepacking solar gear installed...

The field recorder and lavalier mic components assembled. I'm glad the mic cable is just long enough to tuck the main unit into a cycling jersey back pocket and secure it with the included belt clip...

The screwed in mic cable connection is solid...

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