Helmet Camera Change Around

Since the end of last year I have been experimenting with a cheap helmet camera. I figured if I'm going to cycling up hills and ask for people to make donations to charity I should at least prove I'm doing what I say I will. Besides, there is always the chance that the resultant videos could be mildly entertaining.

With this in mind I purchased the worlds cheapest helmet camera. Its been a useful experience but as I sit here trying to edit together some form of light hearted trailer for my forthcoming rides I realise it is as crap as it is cheap.

Not only has the camera come with a manual written in gibberish of the very worst kind the battery doesn't seem to hold it's charge for very long and the damn thing gets red hot as soon as you start to charge it. Probably because it was churned out in some Chinese sweatshop the camera is also convinced that we are still living in 2008 and insists on date stamping every damn video it records. I don't speak gibberish well enough to figure how to get rid of the date stamping.

So, with a heavy heart and a groaning credit card I decided to upgrade to a camera that comes from a manufacturer whose name I recognise, and can pronounce, and bought an Oregon Scientific ATC Mini camera.

Key highlights:

• I can understand the manual
• It has proper buttons and warning lights I can understand (it actually beeps to let me know I've pushed a button)
• The helmet mount is a boot lace free zone and has actually been designed to fit onto a bike helmet.
• The quality of the film is much higher (720P High Definition although I can detect some pixelation at times. )

The one main downside is that the camera is quite a lot larger than the one it is replacing and I now look like I'm cycling round with a small brick on my head. Mind you, one of the reasons I decided to go with the Oregon over the more popular Go Pro Hero camera is that the latter looks like an even larger small brick. In silver. It is also half the price of the Go Pro but returns the sort of picture quality I want. So far I've had it out on one ride and the quality seemed OK, the camera does seem to be a bit slow in adjusting to differing light levels but everything else seems as expected.

The old Chinese knock off will live on however. I think it's small size means that it is well suited to being mounted in unusual places, perhaps on the back of the bike pointing downhill to help capture the steepness of some of the climbs I'll be taking on. At least there the over sensitive microphone won't make me sound like an elephant having an asthma attack.

                     The old camera complete with high tension boot lace retention technology

                           The new camera with it's 'look at me I'm filming stuff with my head' looks.

The new camera is a bit obvious to say the least and I feel a bit of a tool just riding around with it.  I'd like to make my excuses now about the appalling aerodynamics ruining my speed but who am I kidding?

I Want Your Money

Well actually I want you to give your money to two very worthy causes.

In December 2010 I lost my mum to breast cancer. It was very advanced when it was diagnosed and neither she or the family had time to come to terms with it before she died. After spending some time grieving I've decided it is time to do something positive in her memory and hopefully raise some cash for charity along the way.

The challenge is quite simple; after reading the book 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs I have decided to take on every single climb in the book. Some are steep, some are short, some are plain epic and they are dotted throughout the UK so most of them are nowhere near where I live. Every single climb has been given a rating out of ten by the author Simon Warren with ten  being the most severe. There is even an eleven, which is very 'Spinal Tap', up in the Cairngorms which I intend to keep til last; mainly because it looks scary. I'm not aware of anybody else taking on all of the climbs in the book and documenting their efforts so my ride/s could be a first.

Because of the varied location of the climbs and work commitments I will be taking a bit of time over getting to them all. I hope to have completed them by the summer of 2013. I'm starting in March with the climbs in the South West near to where I live. My mum had a love of the wilder parts of the UK where some of the climbs are to be found so in many ways it is a quite fitting challenge, besides cycling is about the only thing I know how to do. Sadly my recent training rides have shown me it isn't something I do with a great deal of speed. Lets just say I have a build that is optimised for gravity...

                        A lot of pies and beer have been sacrificed for this mighty figure of a man

The charities I've chosen hopefully speak for themselves. Cancer Research UK work hard to try and make sure people won't have to go through what my mum did. They concentrate on making sure that cures and effective treatments for a range of cancers can be found. That sort of effort always deserves support.

I'm also riding in support of Cyclists Fighting Cancer. They help families with children affected by cancer put some joy and fun back into their lives by providing free bikes and equipment. Riding my bike has helped me a fair bit over the last few years, I reckon its time to pass that on.

I have a Virgin give me all of your money type website up and running called Cycling Uphill Slowly so feel free to donate if you feel inspired to do so. You might just feel sorry for the fat idiot trying to take on some of Britains hardest climbs, whatever, all money is good.

I start on March 18th this year, a day after what would have been my mums 67th birthday. To get things started with a bang two of the toughest climbs in the South West will be the target for the day: Porlock hill and the road to Dunkery Beacon. A timetable of climbs to be tackled is being put together and I'll post it on here as soon as it is ready.

Each ride will be the subject of a video, photos and the like. This is partly to show I'm taking on the climbs and partly to inspire anybody who fancies having their own go at them.

Right, I reckon thats enough from me for now. More updates to follow.

Coming soon...Project Bianchi

I figure I'll be needing a nice lightweight bike for the really steep climbs next year and I just happen to have the frame from an old Bianchi road bike laying around in the garage. It was a great bike when it was new and hopefully will, seven years on, be a decent bike once again. Its an aluminium frame and still seems in pretty good condition bar the odd scuff and scrape. Just got to decide what bits to build it up with.

World's Smallest Voice Recorder...

...at least that is what it said on the box that I had delivered. I was a bit worried as I thought I had ordered a very small video camera that I could mount on my bike helmet to film my sufferfest of steep hill climbing. Turns out the package I received from Morgan Computers is a Somertek Micro Digital Camcorder; its just that nobody told the box designer. Turns out nobody taught him how to speak English properly either:

“Airframe stylish compact design to blend with the unique use of multi-function clip for your portable installation more convenient and can be caught in the backpack, hat, clothing or any other place you want the location of any implementation point of view the whole scene video/ monitor, but also easily applicable to a variety of occasions, recording/ monitoring”

The above is exactly what is printed on the top of the box. In fact the whole box is pretty amusing to read but I was more concerned if the £25 I had spent was a waste of money. I know that more expensive helmet cameras are available but I thought I would dip my toe in the water with a cheap option. Plus I'm tight.

Well, it is certainly small, in fact it is too small for any of the buttons to be labelled but after stabbing away at them I can confirm it does record video and it does it pretty well. Numerous lights also flash, I've no idea why though as the same person who designed the box was obviously let loose on the manual. The microphone is quite sensitive (that'll be the voice recording “unique use of multi-function” coming to the fore). In fact the microphone is so sensitive that my grunting, gasping and spluttering up the steepest parts of my test ride were picked up quite clearly. I obviously have some work to do on building up my fitness if the video of my first ride out of the hundred up Porlock hill next March is not to be overshadowed by the sound of a fat man gasping for breath.

The helmet/ handle bar mounts have seemingly been designed with nothing cycling related in mind and attempting to fit them to my bike helmet required a generous length of boot lace. I would post up my first attempt at filming to demonstrate the quality of the camera but I only managed to film the two feet of road/ trail in front of my bike. Some fiddling around with the angle of the mount is clearly needed.

All in all though I'm quite chuffed with it. It is small, very light and appears to work. Downloading the video footage to my laptop is also easy. Just got to get some riding in now.

A perfect autumn day

I took the Swift out for a ride along the Tarka Trail for a flattish ride today. I wanted to avoid the traffic and also to take in some of the autumn colours before they get turned to a muddy brown by the onset of winter.

As ever my trusty Singular Swift was fast and comfortable on the sometimes broken surfaces. It made a change to ride on the flat for once. I didn't get a single beep out of my HRM although it was still a good training ride. Everybody I encountered on the trail was cheerful which made a change. Must have been the perfect weather for this time of year bringing out the best in people.

I'm on Google Streetview

I was cycling on the Tarka Trail with some friends about six months ago when our leisurely ride was interrupted when some pillock driving a car with a camera mast mounted on the roof came towards us on what is a pretty narrow bit of the track.  A few choice comments were made by all of us on the trail as the guy didn't give us much space or seem too apologetic for forcing most of us on the trail at that time into the bushes.

This week the resultant photos of the Tarka Trail have finally been released on Google Streetview and I'm pleased to see Google have captured my best side; the back of my head!

I suspect any views of my front would have included a well known hand gesture used to show displeasure. This is probably why I only appear as I ride away from the camera car. Oh well, its fame of sorts...

Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep...

Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep......

That's the sound of my heart about to explode. At least is is according to my cheap heart rate monitor. Every time a hill sends my heart rate up to 185bpm the damn thing decides thats's it, no more work and starts beeping at me like a mad thing. Its very irritating and rather off putting as I usually have the more pressing issues of a steep gradient and gravity to deal with once the noise starts. The beeping is also quite loud so fairly embarrassing:

"whats that noise mummy?"

"Don't worry dear it's just the noise of that fat man on the bike about to explode".

 I clearly need to work on my aerobic levels. I'm carrying too much weight, both on me and on the bike, but I hope by the end of February to have shed a bit of weight and upped my power.

December isn't far away and is a time of year I normally spend off the bike. I've got an old turbo trainer to set up in the garage and hopefully I'll get some decent walks in as well.

Anyway, about the heart rate monitor. Its one of Lidl's finest and for under £20 it isn't actually too bad. It doesn't just tell me through the medium of urgent beeping that I am unfit; it also records my max, average and minimum heart rate on any ride. The chest strap is quite comfy and it is possible to replace the battery in the chest unit yourself unlike more expensive brands. I'm averaging about 140 – 145 bpm on a hilly ride which I don't think is too bad. Anyway, on with the training. Actually on with the garage clearance as I need to shift a load of crap out of the garage before I can set up my turbo trainer in there. That should work up a sweat.