Category: hiking

cycling, hiking, travel

Birthday Party in LISBON

Rick Mc

I’m 64-years-young on November 2nd.

I’ll be celebrating in Lisbon, Portugal. You know — the most vaccinated nation in the world? 😇

No covid test. No quarantine.

I’ll be hiking famed Fisherman’s Trail. And Seven Hanging Valleys.

Renting a touring bicycle from BikeIberia.

BUT if anyone asks, I’m there mainly looking to get some dental work done. North American dentists are the most overpaid in the world.

searching for a dentist

As usual, I’m flying to Europe on Air Transat. Very good. Cheapest by far — BUT they don’t have many flights / week.

As it happens, I celebrated my 53rd birthday in Porto, Portugal. So this is something of a re-do.

cycling, hiking, travel

My NEW Touring Bicycle

Rick Mc

Due to the pandemic, it’s very difficult to TEST RIDE bikes. Shops simply don’t have much inventory.

I knew that the Trek Checkpoint line were often included in lists of top Gravel Bikes for All Terrain.

I was looking for something more rugged and with more carrying capacity than my otherwise excellent Ghost.

I ended up with the Checkpoint ALR 4 … mainly because I lucked into finding one in stock at West Point Cycles in Vancouver. Still — it took over 4 months to get the accessories I wanted.

This bike is Aluminum, not steel, so it’s relatively light at 10.26 kg / 22.62 lbs. Carbon fork.

It’s got a ton of attachments. I special ordered the deluxe BONTRAGER racks front and back. I’ll load up with 4 full size panniers for longer trips.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I bought an inexpensive (CAD $43) 25 litre rear top pannier bag for those trips I want even MORE capacity.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I upgraded the tires to BONTAGER HARD-CASE editions. That should mean fewer flats. Just in case, I have a saddle bag basic repair kit.

After considering wearing bike shoes, I’m happy to have decided on flashy flats with adjustable straps. Deftrap nylon platform pedals.

I’ve hidden an AirTag so can locate the bike with the FindMy app.

Internal cables are tidier.

I now have the option to use drop bar grips — but I normally prefer flat bars. Happily, I can switch between several handlebar positions on this rig.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I put a quad lock for my phone central on the Blendr Stem. It has two attachments, normally my light and GoPro.

Once in a while I’ll take off the saddlebags and use it like a mountain bike.

Click PLAY or see it action on YouTube.

What is the Rule of 430?

… a formula that demonstrates replacing about 430 driving miles with 430 riding miles can offset the carbon cost of your new bike. Anything above 430 miles, and your bike is now carbon-negative.

Future BIG bikepacking trips I’m considering include:

books, climate change, hiking

Lookout: Love, Solitude, and Searching for Wildfire by Trina Moyles  

Rick Mc

Trina Moyles is a northern Alberta woman who decided to write a book about climate change and the resulting increase in forest fires.

Forest fires are one of the few outdoor “dangers” that truly worries me when hiking and cycling.

Over several 5-month summers alone in fire towers, it evolved into more of a life memoir.

And Trina has had a very interesting life.

While searching for smoke, Trina unravels under the pressure of a long-distance relationship–and a dawning awareness of the environmental crisis that climate change is producing in the boreal. Through megafires, lightning storms, and stunning encounters with wildlife, she learns to survive at the fire tower by forging deep connections with nature and with an extraordinary community of people dedicated to wildfire detection and combat. In isolation, she discovers a kind of self-awareness–and freedom–that only solitude can deliver.  …

Amazon

I learned a lot. And found the book very entertaining.

Canadian Geographic REVIEW.

cycling, food, friends, hiking, travel

visiting Newport, Oregon

Rick Mc

I happily joined in the Adlard family and friends vacation to Newport, Oregon following our climb of Mt Adams, Washington.

Newport only has a population of 11,000 yet is a big tourist destination. Great beaches.

Here’s the vista from their rented beach house deck.

We enjoyed cycling the HUGE beach. (VIDEO)

It’s WINDY so Kites and Kite Surfing are popular.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That’s close to Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area. A fun stop.

Oregon Coast Aquarium is well worth a visit too.

We had 3 terrific dinners at seafood restaurants on Newport’s Historic Bayfront. Research for Chef Dave Adlard.

Local Ocean was great. Clearwater Restaurant, as well.

“Dead Guy” burger at Rogue

Tom enjoyed our stop at the Rogue Nation Brewery & Spirits factory. We did well, as well, at a boutique wine tasting shop.

Dave cycles every day. So our group cycled every day.

The iconic image of Newport is the Yaquina Bay Bridge. Art Deco and Art Moderne design motifs as well as forms borrowed from Gothic architecture.

When you have destinations like Newport, who needs Hawaii? 😀

cycling, hiking, travel, video

My video/photo editing workflow

Rick Mc

Updated September 2021.

A #CovidGoal was to improve my video editing.

A secondary goal, to improve photos and start sharing them more. I started an Instagram account for my hiking pics – BestHikeVisuals.

Mostly I’ve been disappointed with the many limitations of Instagram. Not yet a fan.

After posting my French Creek tribute, I declared I was GOOD ENOUGH at video editing for my purposes. Approaching “Concious Competent“. I could sit down at a table with a professional video editor and understand 75% of what they were talking about. 😀

NEXT STAGE = STORY

Story. Story. Story.

Every edit should contribute to the STORY.

I threw this one together quickly as a teaser for upcoming West Coast Trail videos. But in some weird way, it’s evocative of that wild and challenging hike.

I’m particularly happy with the audio.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Mostly my videos are for outdoor recreation, but I also hope to get back indoor soon shooting Gymnastics.

Here are the BASICS for upcoming shoots:

  1. I’m usually shooting solo
  2. 3 cameras (Sony ZV-1, GoPro 7 and iPhone X with-or-without DJI OM 4 gimbal)
  3. For video I’ve switched from 24fps to 30fps as it’s a little clearer, though less cinematic. 
  4. ZV-1 is primary A roll footage.   It has by far the best audio. 
  5. Ignoring all advice, I mostly shoot Intelligent Auto Mode.  In fact, I shoot Intelligent Auto Photo Mode almost all the time — as it’s QUICK to take a photo and QUICK to take Intelligent Auto video 4K 30fps. FAST with good enough qualify.
  6. ZV-1 Memory Recall #3 = … not set at this point
  7. ZV-1 Memory Recall #2 = 1080p / 60fps for slow motion (60 is better math when slowing for 30fps output)
  8. ZV-1 Memory Recall #1 = is for quickly taking Time Lapse  
  9. PHOTOS
    1. Apple’s free Photos app is not great, but I’m still using it for organization.  
    2. I’ve switched to Pixelmator Pro for editing the best of the best photos for Instagram.  
    3. Best photos are archived in my Flickr Pro account. 
  10. I quit trying Sony S-Log2, S-Log3, and other HLG profiles used by the cool kids as it was way too much hassle for dubious gains in quality.  I often shoot photos in RAW and JPG both as colour correcting RAW is easier.  
  11. iPhone on the gimbal for B roll: slow-mo, time lapse, special effects, etc. (mostly 4K 60fps)
  12. I’ve started experimenting with the Moment – Pro Camera App on the phone.  
  13. GoPro is for B roll: action, water, mimic drone, etc. (mostly 2.7K 60fps as 2.7 is the highest it can go with Superview (16:9 aspect ratio) enabled.  I’d only switch to 4K if on a tripod.)
    1. 16:9 ratio
    2. low light set on auto
    3. ISO min 100, max 400 (400 might be low)
    4. Protune off
    5. Head mount, chest mount, handlebar mount, selfie stick, or tripod, depending on the situation. 
  14. Editing video with Final Cup Pro X on a MacBook Pro 2020 with the new silicon chip. 
  15. Export in 1080p
    1. master file using ProRes 422
    2. export ‘Computer’
    3. export H.264 Faster Encode
  16. Shoot 120 fps only for smoke, fire, fast moving sports, etc. 
  17. As little hand held video as possible.  Use tripods.  Handheld would only be used to show ACTION.  Close-up motion.  I don’t shoot much of that. 
  18. Shorter the better for my videos. 
  19. No ads
Apple, hiking, photos, video

Flash Drive Back-up for iPhone

Rick Mc

For my purposes, an iPhone X (for example) is better in many ways than a dedicated camera like the Sony ZV-1.

I want 4K video at 60 frames / second. The iPhone does that. The Sony doesn’t.

One BIG downside of using your camera for video is running out of storage.

But I solved that with the purchase of a tiny SanDisk 256GB iXpand Flash Drive Go for iPhone CAD $82.

It works well and quickly to back-up all your photos and videos, freeing space to take more.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

hiking

West Coast Trail after the pandemic

Rick Mc

For the next couple of weeks I’ll be mostly disconnected from the internet attempting a West Coast Trail YOYO.

Hiking the trail. Resupply. Then hiking back to where I started.

June 10 starting SE from Bamfield.

June 15 starting NW from Port Renfrew. UPDATE – I quit after my first crossing, due to minor injuries and gear problems. Rescheduling part 2 for July.

cycling, hiking, video

I’m a VIDEOGRAPHER

Rick Mc

As a coach, I KNOW you need to practice to improve at anything.

I’ve been studying and editing most days during the pandemic. It’s been my #1 new hobby.

For my purposes — outdoor YouTube videos — I’m good enough now at the mechanics.

Here’s my latest. A terrific tune supported by a pretty montage.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

It’s not nearly as good as the best. But that video would cost you at least $50k.

I work for free. 😀

At least I now understand how the BEST videographers create those works of art.

In my mind, I’m moving NEXT to a focus on STORY.

Story is most important, in the end.

Over the summer I’ll be looking for good (short) video stories. Shooting a lot of content. Might not do much editing until winter.

Here’s my favourite video of 2020.

An IMPORTANT MESSAGE … and very creative video editing.

… I wonder what Nike paid for this. 😇

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.