A bloody MNR!

It was my goal this past weekend to experiment with the GoPro on a tripod along the trail. But sleep prevailed and I ended up at the Psycowpath banquet. You know, you just might see me out there in 2012 racing again. on the Mukluk or on the Trek Fuel. It's anyone's guess.

At the Pyscowpath Banquet at Platte

So anyway, the GoPro was fully charged and I still had the Muk-Rack on my bike. I did a simple attachment of the camera to the top of the rack using the helmet mount that I have. It was a little wobbly, but I was already running late to MNR so I said good enough.

The GoPro must have a fixed shutter speed and aperture. Because no matter how much light was directed towards the lens, it still picked up the same amount of movement and exposure length. Yup, just checked, for you camera geeks out there the aperture is a max f3.6, 1/2 second exposure. Anyway, what is really cool about the camera is that you never know what kind of an image that you're gonna get. I actually like to use it more for the photography than the video. But then again, that was my goal this past weekend. To experiment with the video.

I met up with the gang as they were finishing up the South Hill. We then proceeded to ride both north sections backwards in the dark. There is this really odd feeling as your instinct tells you that you are riding a certain part of the trail and it should be a climb going backwards, but instead it seems that you are going downhill instead. The trail is smooth and perfect. No dust whatsoever.

Night time photography yields some interesting results

Unfortunately there was an accident on the trail tonight. I believe that it is the same log that Mike F broke his chain and then endoed a few weeks ago. This time, it was Paul who ended up face planting on the log. He misjudged the distance of the log and went down. He cut up his left brow pretty bad. Fortunately, besides the bleeding, Paul said he was alright and we rode back to the kiosk. Kids and adults... always wear your helmet and sunglasses or safety glasses. Paul said that he was poster child of wearing a helmet tonight and I have the feeling that the safety glasses saved his eye from hitting the log.

Ouch, Paul faceplants on the log crossing! from Misterlime on Vimeo.

I'm not Spiderman

I'm not Spiderman, but I sure felt like I was Spidey after riding through Calvin Crest on Sunday at noon. Spiderwebs on your bike, in your face, arms, mouth, ears. Everywhere! And some were stronger than others, almost felt like fishing line strength before breaking. Or maybe it was just because I was biking so fast! Haha, doubtful. Funny thing is that I read on the THOR facebook page that somebody had ridden CC that morning. Wow, those spiders work fast! And to tell you the truth, on my second lap I was still getting spiderwebs in my face. I'd stop and see webs, spiders and dead bugs all over the front of my bike and on me. Spiders crawling on my frame holding on for dear life. What an experience!

 

 Spider in the middle of this one! Click to see bigified version

It was hot Sunday and by the second lap it was even hotter. Because of this, I took my time and tried different positions with the GoPro. Purposely hopped off the bike trying to find the correct reroutes, etc. Anything to cool me down since NO breeze gets through the woods. Out in the main parking lot, there was a very nice breeze in the shade.

The gullies and the bridges

Do not pass GO 

As for the reroutes, the one after you finish the tower climb is simple and well marked. But the other reroute over the gullies and around the two bridges was not. First lap, I ended up walking my bike up the hill and rode down the fire road after getting stopped by the tape across the trail. Somehow on the second lap, I got turned around in that area, but found myself on the reroute east of the gullies and bridges heading the right direction.

And that root that sticks up like crazy after the tower climb, yes, the one that worries people. It seems to be sticking up more than when Cody and I rode CC earlier in the season. And now there seem to be one or two others before and after it starting to stick out of the ground. Just go fast over them, no big deal!

Paul reminded me that Calvin Crest is closed to riders on August 7, 2011. Save yourself the trip and feed your biking addiction elsewhere.
http://www.calvincrest.org/Mt_Biking_Trails.php

This time, the GoPro was mounted at the front of the downtube. Perfectly out of my knees' way and easily adjustable after going down the trail. The videos were pretty choppy. I used too many extensions to hold the GoPro out to the side, so every little bump was magnified.