One thing I like about bike touring is that almost ANYBODY could do it.
Almost ANYBODY can ride a bike.
For example, Giant Cheerio decided to take off on a bike for a month. …
After over 2 years, she’s still on the road.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
To keep my hands warmer and dryer, I’m now carrying Pogie Lites from BikeIowa.
What’s a Pogie?
An over-sized “wind-breaker-like mitten“.
Here I’m riding in the cold and rain. They work surprisingly well. I’m bare handed underneath, making it very easy to work brakes and gear changes.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Pogie Lites are so flexible, they SHOULD fit on any kind of handlebar.
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I’m riding my brother’s Ebgo electric purchased at Costco.
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For 2024 I’m still using a paid version of Komoot for Bike Touring / Bikepacking.
Other sports included are Running, Hiking, Mountain Biking and Road Cycling.
Currently I’m still using a paid version of AllTrails for Hiking.
Komoot uses OpenStreetMap.
It has an Apple Watch app assistant.
Click PLAY or see how it works on YouTube.
Once again I had a terrific time in Coeur d’Alene.
Our first day, we joined in the FUN at Dave’s gourmet restaurant, Candle in the Woods.
An amazing, unforgettable meal.
Timing of this visit was to volunteer at my favourite Gymnastics competition in the world — the Great West Gym Fest.
It’s so well organized I didn’t really have much to do.
I DID help with the set-up and take-down of the Gym. And made a few VIDEOS of the competition, including this one.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
A few photos from the competition.
VIPs get to check out the resort penthouse. And balcony hot tub.
We did get out for one hike in Farragut State Park.
Delaney took me climbing. AND I was not bad … aside from then time I fell from the top risking concussion. 😀
Late February the weather was … mixed. We had some wind, some snow. Some sun.
I did get to try Dave’s Fat Bike out on their property.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The Isar, 295 km long, flows through Munich.
I spent a lot of time last summer cycling this river.
One highlight is surfing a standing wave (a stationary hydraulic jump).
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
That’s in the English Garden (Englischer Garten), one of the world’s largest urban public parks.
On sunny days, it’s packed with tens of thousands.
I’m planning on cycling Iceland late summer 2024.
This would be the ultimate … — … AND I won’t be doing anything this challenging. 😀
Riders Chris Burkard, Eric Batty, Emily Batty, and Adam Morka.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Multi-pivot stems are recommended for small, repetitive impacts.
Coil springs do the best job of smoothing your ride.
Elastomer springs are less bouncy.
Kinect $189
3 spring rates
Details ➙ Why Suspension Stems Are The Ultimate Comfort Upgrade For Bicycles
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Alee Denham is one of my cycling gurus.
In 2024 — I have to call myself an experienced Bikepacker.
Any trip where you carry enough gear to allow sleeping overnight … somewhere. Even a motel.
A multi-day cycling trip.
For me it was a natural extension of hiking. Fun, enjoyable, exercise outdoors.
Low cost.
I enjoy tenting. So that’s a bonus for me.
Joe Cruz posted a terrific History of Bikepacking article.
People have been cycling overnight trips since the invention of the bicycle.
It’s astonishing to me how little bicycle technology has evolved.
Here’s Frank Lenz, who famously went missing during his circumnavigation of the globe, which he started in 1892.
I mainly want my new Ace Pro as a primary VIDEO CAMERA.
BUT — finally tested it out as an Action Camera.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (only 720p resolution, by accident. Should be 1080p)
One feature I like is adding Telemetry data. IF you hit record from the iPhone app or Apple Watch, the Insta360 app tracks your GPS and can later add that information to the video.
I have speed and distance added in this example.
I also had the Insta360 app apply blur to make the footage look less digital, perhaps more cinematic.
As you can see, the stability is excellent for a bumpy bike path.
I threw in a couple of 4 second AI edited sections they call AI Warp.
Overall … I’m not all that happy. For some reason it exported in 720p rather than 1080p as I had expected. Also, the in-camera LUT is not nearly as good as it looked in the app on my phone.
Here’s how that Telemetry works.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
review
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Original post from Jan 2024.
I’ve looked at a couple of smart helmets in the past. Not much impressed.
But this one looks worth spending the bucks.
As I post, you can get an early bird price on the full kit for U.S. $300. They expect it to retail for $500.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Details on Indiegogo.
Rick McCharles 