fly6

This is a pretty nifty light: Fly6 Kickstarter

I am not normally one to pump stuff on kickstarter, but in this case, I make an exception. The product is simple. It is a rear facing super bright LED tail light for mounting on your seat post with a 720p hi-def camera built into it. It comes loaded with an 8 gig class 10 Sandisk microSD card (which can be replaced with a larger one) and is able to loop after the card fills up like a standard dash cam can. It is for all intents and purposes, water tight. Don't take it swimming, but a soaking that a bike would take in normal use should be fine.

Providing proof of close or dangerous passes aside, this could be fun filming shenanigans behind you on the road or trail from your riding buddies.

It will be good fun.

I backed it.

merry christmas, ho ho ho!

Just one thing to share with you all tonight:

May  you have a safe and happy holiday.

get a bloomin' move on

A true classic from a true classic. Watched an old movie tonight.

It is hard to beat the classics.

on parents and parenting

This is a cross post from a thread in google+ about this video:




I said:

"I think that people should be left to make their own choices for their own reasons without being judged. I have friends with kids who are brilliant parents. I have friends with no kids who are brilliant at not being parents. I for one would feel something missing if my daughter had not been born. In no case is there a value judgement being applied here by me about which "path" is the right one. There is no right one. Just different ones. Collectively, we are all too quick to jump to judgement about choices that others make without bothering to take the time to actually consider that perhaps they know exactly what they are doing.

In fact, my childless friends all get along with my daughter very well. They all without exception like her, respect her, and enjoy spending time with her. But they all know themselves. They all know (with one or two exceptions - people who want kids but who have not got them for reasons which are nobody's business but their own) that they do not want kids of their own. But they all know that they like young people.

There is no contradiction here. I credit my friends with having enough brains to know themselves and know what motivates them to being happy people."

And with that thought, sing with me please:

"If you're tacky and you know it quote yourself! <clap clap>

If you're tacky and you know it quote yourself! <clap clap>

If you're tacky and you know it and you really want to show it

If you're tacky and you know it quote yourself! <clap clap>"

Thank you, thank you, I am here all week, don't forget to tip your waitress...

minecraft videos ftw!

many a laugh can be had therein

video games and violins

Just found this performer this morning. Enjoy.

Skyrim

Assassin's Creed III

Zelda

Halo

Check her channel on YouTube.

Why Chris Hadfield, The Barenaked Ladies, and the Wexford Gleeks simply rock

One of the niftiest things I have seen in a long time.

This is one of the reasons I really like Chris Hadfield.

http://music.cbc.ca/concerts/Chris-Hadfield-and-Barenaked-Ladies-ISS-Is-Somebody-Singing-2013-02-05

I would have embedded the player, but Blogger won't let me since it is not from YouTube. Follow the link, it is worth it.

The first Grand Tour of the year is coming. I love this promo.

***

I have been doing a lot of different (for me) training this winter on the bike. Instead of doing a whole lot of nothing - something that happened a lot in the past - or just riding outside when I can, I am trying to ride in to work several times a week, and am riding on a borrowed trainer in the basement for around about an hour each evening.

What makes this workable for me is YouTube.

I park the bike and trainer in front of the computer monitor, turn up the speakers a little bit, and watch while spinning away.

Slowly, I am working my way through the various stage races and classics from the 2012 season in Europe, all thanks to kind folks who upload things from ITV4 and EuroSport.

Wonderful stuff. Very inspiring.

I wonder if I will fly by my bandwidth limits for February?

cornering a cyclocross bike

Not my video, but a good one.

Once in a while, I like to share something that I stumble across on YouTube because once in a while, something really resonates with where I am right now. And this video resonates.

I have been biking for a long time (over three decades) and love riding in the dirt and fast on the road. Well, fast for me :)

If I have a failing in my dirt riding, it is in looking down too much. I have a hard time trusting my peripheral vision. I have known for years that where you look is where you go, but at times, I forget that. When I don't forget, things go much better.

New to me on this video though is the notion of the weight shift hard over the back wheel inducing an over steer power drift under control. The idea, if I remember rightly, is to unload the front end, load the back end by shifting your weight backwards, and let the bike slide a bit while pedalling evenly at a high cadence. Maintain a constant torque output and a chunk of speed. The ass end of the bike might slide out a bit, but in theory it is easier to control and more speed should be maintained.

Well, this morning, while out mucking around on my commuter mtn bike equipped with studs on a very twisty paved but snow covered lane way, I tried it. I maintained more speed that I normally would through a curve, forced the eyes up to where I wanted the bike to go, did a subtle weight shift backwards, maintained high cadence and torque pedaling, and guess what? The front tracked beautifully, the back obligingly stepped out, and I powered out of the corner on the snow significantly faster than I would have otherwise and felt totally in control. I also applied a bit of downward pressure on the outboard (in this case left as I was turning right) end of the handlebar which helped plant the front a bit.

It felt like an all wheel drive car drifting - slight under steer, relatively a lot of over steer, and way more speed.

I will have to try it in the dirt come spring on the mtn bike and the new cross bike.

What fun!

videos worth watching

YouTube thought I would like to see this. YouTube was right.

The biggest thing I picked up from it, besides a big grin from how well filmed it was (mostly - the transitions between the same scene in different seasons, while well done, got a little old) and a big appreciation for the incredible skill the riders in the video showed was this: keep your eyes where you want to be. Despite my many many years of riding in the dirt, the one trap I keep falling into is looking low. This video really makes it obvious what a huge mistake that is.

Personal riding goal for the year? Look up, look longer, look farther.