You know that you are riding too slowly from Peter Reed on Vimeo.
Friday, 4 February 2011
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Getting a grip
Veho provide a wide variety of different options for attaching the camera to different things. They are very clever, and I think they would work fine if there was a bit more room available on the handlebars, but I found I had trouble locating the camera with a clear line of sight around the bar bag, brake cables, and other bits and pieces. I needed a way of lifting it a bit further away from the bar without losing stability.
I bodged up home-made bracket Mark-1 from various bits and pieces. It worked up to a point, but it needed very careful positioning to get a clear view. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, and I didn't know which until I got home and saw the results.
Mark-2 was an improved version, built from Meccano, which worked better. The results were more consistent, but it wasn't rigid enough, so they were consistently shaky. It did give me a better idea of where I needed the camera to be positioned though.
At least at that stage I thought I understood better what I needed to achieve. So I set out to build something that would position the camera where I wanted it, would be stable enough, and give me some ability to adjust the camera position.
Bracket Mark-3 aimed for all that, and turned out to be too ambitious. It was nice on paper, but some way beyond my limited construction skills. So it never got completed, and I went back to the drawing board to figure out something simpler.
I thought I was beginning get my ideas sorted out, but then this morning I was mooching around B&Q and discovered their mini clamps. These were probably not designed to be used as camera mounts, but they looked as though they might work.
It's been a lovely day today, so I treated myself to a set this morning and tried them out this afternoon. There's a picture that gives a better idea of how it works here. As far as I can tell, they are the best solution (so far). They are very easy to mount, they give me a choice of different camera positions, and they seem to be reasonably stable.
Once I manage to edit the results we'll be able to see whether they are good enough to justify an Oscar nomination. I suspect not. But these clamps look as though they might meet my limited needs for the time being.
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
January roundup
It's not much of a story for January, with just half a dozen rides covering about hundred miles in total. Things need to pick up a bit.
I've made more progress with some related activities though.
To start with, I managed to build myself a new copy of the OSM Cycle Map for the GPS. There are plenty of other people who have done that, of course, so it's no great achievement. The tools needed are readily available, but it's a while since I last used them. After some early success, as the map grew I found things got more difficult. So for a while I've been using versions of the map on the GPS that others have provided. This time I found that some of the options needed a bit of tweaking, but apart from that it was straightforward enough. I've loaded the map onto the GPS and tried out a little bit. It seems to work fine, though routing over anything more than a few miles is causing me problems. I'm not sure why, but I normally plan the more difficult routes beforehand, so it isn't very important.
In the last month I've also managed to create a new copy of the OSM database on the old computer that sits under my desk. I used a similar database in the past to estimate the amount of road coverage in different parts of the country. The results I produced then have long been superseded, but there are some other ideas that I would like to play around with. It all works OK, but the database load took a lot longer than I expected. That's partly a sign that I didn't pay enough attention to performance issues before I lumbered into it, but mainly a sign of impressive coverage and detail in the data.
I've also started to get stuff ready to use my new helmet camera. We've been seeing a lot of media comment about cyclists using helmet cameras to record dodgy driving. That's not my main interest. I want to see how well these little cameras work as a way of recording some favourite rides. Things aren't really ready yet, but I'm getting there. I've experimented with different ways of mounting the camera - on my helmet, my arm / shoulder and clipped to my clothing. None of them seems entirely satisfactory, so there's plenty of scope for more tinkering (which is part of the fun). I'm also starting to getting to grips with different tools for editing out the most boring bits.
Lastly, I can't help feeling that this year I should be contributing something to groups involved in local cycling action, and I've started to make moves in that direction. It's early days, but contact has been made, and we'll see what happens.
In summary, I can't claim that the cycling year has really started yet, but with January and some groundwork behind me things are promising to pick up.
I've made more progress with some related activities though.
To start with, I managed to build myself a new copy of the OSM Cycle Map for the GPS. There are plenty of other people who have done that, of course, so it's no great achievement. The tools needed are readily available, but it's a while since I last used them. After some early success, as the map grew I found things got more difficult. So for a while I've been using versions of the map on the GPS that others have provided. This time I found that some of the options needed a bit of tweaking, but apart from that it was straightforward enough. I've loaded the map onto the GPS and tried out a little bit. It seems to work fine, though routing over anything more than a few miles is causing me problems. I'm not sure why, but I normally plan the more difficult routes beforehand, so it isn't very important.
In the last month I've also managed to create a new copy of the OSM database on the old computer that sits under my desk. I used a similar database in the past to estimate the amount of road coverage in different parts of the country. The results I produced then have long been superseded, but there are some other ideas that I would like to play around with. It all works OK, but the database load took a lot longer than I expected. That's partly a sign that I didn't pay enough attention to performance issues before I lumbered into it, but mainly a sign of impressive coverage and detail in the data.
I've also started to get stuff ready to use my new helmet camera. We've been seeing a lot of media comment about cyclists using helmet cameras to record dodgy driving. That's not my main interest. I want to see how well these little cameras work as a way of recording some favourite rides. Things aren't really ready yet, but I'm getting there. I've experimented with different ways of mounting the camera - on my helmet, my arm / shoulder and clipped to my clothing. None of them seems entirely satisfactory, so there's plenty of scope for more tinkering (which is part of the fun). I'm also starting to getting to grips with different tools for editing out the most boring bits.
Lastly, I can't help feeling that this year I should be contributing something to groups involved in local cycling action, and I've started to make moves in that direction. It's early days, but contact has been made, and we'll see what happens.
In summary, I can't claim that the cycling year has really started yet, but with January and some groundwork behind me things are promising to pick up.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Fat Man on a Bicycle
It doesn't seem right to mock the unusual view that Eric Pickles takes of cycling and cyclists. Apart from which, there people who can do it more generously than I would.
http://lofidelitybicycleclub.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/kinky-pickles/
So as a distraction here is something from the BFI that has absolutely nothing to do with the idea that one day Eric might feel the roads are safe enough for him to try a bike.
http://lofidelitybicycleclub.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/kinky-pickles/
So as a distraction here is something from the BFI that has absolutely nothing to do with the idea that one day Eric might feel the roads are safe enough for him to try a bike.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Local sustainable transport fund
Today the Department for Transport has published guidelines on applying for grants from the sustainable transport fund.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/transportfund/
This fund will provide £560 million over 4 years to 2014-15.The total amount allocated for this year is £80m. However £11m of this has already been allocated for Bikeability training. By my reckoning this leaves £69m. The annual funding goes up to £140m next year, of which £11m goes to Bikeability. It's all a bit shabby, but I'm not going to get into whether this overall level of funding is reasonable or not. That's what it is, and there isn't much any of us can do about it until the next election. The more immediate issue is how to make sure that it is used wisely.
Basically, each of our local authorities need to plead for their share of the money. It's a bit complicated to work out exactly who can apply, but I reckon it's about 150 local authorities in England. So that's about £1/2m for each authority this year, and a bit less than £1m each next year (on average).
The important thing is that the DfT will assess proposals on the basis of whether they meet two core policy objectives. Those are: supporting the local economy, and reducing carbon emissions. Beyond that it will help if proposals also deliver wider social and economic benefits (such as improving accessibility and social inclusion), improving safety, bringing about improvements to air quality and wider environmental benefits, and promoting increased levels of physical activity.
(this my summary - please refer to the source documents for the whole paraphernalia).
My current plan is to contact my local councillors to ask what proposals my own local authority is putting forward. In addition to the criteria above, the DfT says that they will also assess the degree to which any proposals have the support of the local community. So it sounds as though I ought to have an opportunity to express my support (or otherwise).
Before I put this into action, does anyone have any further suggestions?
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/transportfund/
This fund will provide £560 million over 4 years to 2014-15.The total amount allocated for this year is £80m. However £11m of this has already been allocated for Bikeability training. By my reckoning this leaves £69m. The annual funding goes up to £140m next year, of which £11m goes to Bikeability. It's all a bit shabby, but I'm not going to get into whether this overall level of funding is reasonable or not. That's what it is, and there isn't much any of us can do about it until the next election. The more immediate issue is how to make sure that it is used wisely.
Basically, each of our local authorities need to plead for their share of the money. It's a bit complicated to work out exactly who can apply, but I reckon it's about 150 local authorities in England. So that's about £1/2m for each authority this year, and a bit less than £1m each next year (on average).
The important thing is that the DfT will assess proposals on the basis of whether they meet two core policy objectives. Those are: supporting the local economy, and reducing carbon emissions. Beyond that it will help if proposals also deliver wider social and economic benefits (such as improving accessibility and social inclusion), improving safety, bringing about improvements to air quality and wider environmental benefits, and promoting increased levels of physical activity.
(this my summary - please refer to the source documents for the whole paraphernalia).
My current plan is to contact my local councillors to ask what proposals my own local authority is putting forward. In addition to the criteria above, the DfT says that they will also assess the degree to which any proposals have the support of the local community. So it sounds as though I ought to have an opportunity to express my support (or otherwise).
Before I put this into action, does anyone have any further suggestions?
Moving pictures
Since Christmas I've been trying out different ways of mounting my new helmet camera. I'm not happy with it stuck on top of the helmet. It makes me feel like a Teletubby, and my first attempts always ended up capturing either too much sky or too much tarmac.
So I've been trying some different ways of mounting the camera on the bike - with varying degrees of success.
The challenge is to achieve a decent line of sight, with a reasonable amount of stability. I want the mount to be easily attached and detached (without harming the bike). For now I'm happy just to have the camera pointing forwards, but in future it could be interesting to try some variations.
The camera came with a choice of different attachments, but none of them quite cuts it. I'm not sure how others do this, so to start with I tried bodging alternatives from various odds and ends. Then during the great sort-out of the office and attic last week I re-discovered my old Meccano set. The Magic of Meccano is that it makes it easy to try out all sort of different ideas.
My Mark-I custom camera mount hangs from one of the handlebar drops. After clearing a bit of paperwork this afternoon I treated myself to an hour on the bike to try it out. I looped over Winter Hill as the afternoon came to an end. Here is the result.
So I've been trying some different ways of mounting the camera on the bike - with varying degrees of success.
The challenge is to achieve a decent line of sight, with a reasonable amount of stability. I want the mount to be easily attached and detached (without harming the bike). For now I'm happy just to have the camera pointing forwards, but in future it could be interesting to try some variations.
The camera came with a choice of different attachments, but none of them quite cuts it. I'm not sure how others do this, so to start with I tried bodging alternatives from various odds and ends. Then during the great sort-out of the office and attic last week I re-discovered my old Meccano set. The Magic of Meccano is that it makes it easy to try out all sort of different ideas.
My Mark-I custom camera mount hangs from one of the handlebar drops. After clearing a bit of paperwork this afternoon I treated myself to an hour on the bike to try it out. I looped over Winter Hill as the afternoon came to an end. Here is the result.
Hanging the camera from the handlebar drops seems to work reasonably well. It's out of the way of the bar bag, brake cables, and other gizmos, so the camera has a reasonable line of sight. The mount is easy to attach and detach. I can see whether the little "recording" LED on the camera is flashing, and I can reach to turn recording on and off while I ride. It would be nice if it was easier to vary the direction that the camera points in, but that can wait for now. Although it doesn't bounce around as badly as I feared, I think the first priority is to work on making the attachment more rigid.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)