Through frost and fog
11 02 2008
I know videos offend more visitors than they please, but this one is for the Wee ‘Un. He broke a tooth at the weekend and had to have a filling today, so I promised I’d make him a video of his cycle ride to show his friends if he’d be brave and good at the dentist. He was, so here’s his ride on the Kangaroo Bike on a frosty and foggy Scottish morning. The music, Cold, Frosty Morning, is his choice.
Thanks to all who’ve donated video gear, particularly to Oddball from the Velovision forum for the ATC-2K camera.
Worth it for the music! Smallfry has good taste.
I hope Wee ‘Un’s tooth is now feeling better. A agree about the music too, who’s the performer?
I no longer know. I burned a few CDs quite a while back and they include all sorts of odds and ends — friends performing, live gigs, studio performances, etc. The track is off one of those.
Unfortunately, I lost the most significant one - of me performing my poetry with an improvised jazz band. We had a weekly spot at a club in London and did a recording, but I lost the master. Sigh.
Me likey very much.
I couldn’t believe my luck in having a vast artic with escort cross the initial junction ahead of me. Good timing, although it would have been better if he’d had his load on — I saw him later with a landmine clearance vehicle on board.
Bearing in mind the thickness of the grey stuff and the low visibility it’s just as well there wasn’t too much traffic around. What time of the morning was it?
Pretty good quality for such a tiny camera anyway…
It was filmed from 0835-0845. The fog was much thicker earlier, but burnt off complete by noon to leave us with a dazzlingly bright day.
There was more traffic on the homeward trip. I could put the video up from that, too, if anyone’s interested.
Nice. And a big well done to Wee ‘Un for being brave at the dentist.
One point. Is that flashing speed sign on the way into the village actually displaying your speed?
That’s the speed limit outside the school. It’s on a slight uphill gradient and I have been caught doing 25mph just there. On the trike, with the Wee ‘Un on board. I was quite pleased with myself…
Certainly brings out my memories of my walks to town from your place Stoney. I look forward to seeing a similar one on a bright clear day. Great camera equipment too.
I have to say I really enjoyed your video and especially that bit of music!
I liked the ending - all that fog and solitude then suddenly people swim out of the mist. How far was that?
It’s 2.5 miles from our gate to the school gate. In fog, I average 15mph. In good conditions, I can go quite a bit faster. Coming home, though, is slower as I have the inclines to tackle.
16mph is my all-weather average for my 8 mile each way commute, which is a bit rubbish really as I normally only have lunch and clothes in the pannier rather than a child. Though I do sometimes stop at the rather good butchers near work and cycle home with a chicken or two, and don’t really notice it much.
When I added six 500ml bottles of beer, two pints of milk and a kilo of flour to a chicken one day I decided that was about the limit of what I wanted to carry.
I like the look of your route, is it normally that light on traffic? I guess there’s not so much of a rush hour round there.
I had hope to get some decent footage of the ride today as it’s been warm and sunny (most peculiar for this time of year), but the camera really struggled as the ride into the village is almost entirely into the sun. As a result, the camera exposed for the sky and not for the ground, so all I have is a lot of dark silhouettes.
Traffic varies on that road. It’s very quiet from 0530-0700, but there is a “rush” between 0700 and 0745 as the commuters and farmers bomb through. I try to be on the road between 0830 and 0845 as the school rush starts at 0845.
There’s sporadic traffic after that until 1230 or so when the lunchtime rush gets underway. It means my trip home, my second trip into the village and my second trip home are fairly traffic free, excepting tractors, lorries and work vans.
Afternoon rides from 1330 or so onwards are traffic free until 1630 and then it picks up again until 1830, when most of it vanishes.
By a rush of traffic, I mean 12-15 vehicles in a 10-minute period. By quiet, I mean one car an hour.
I too was thinking, as I drove into the sunset on the way back from swimming, that sunset not only is unusual for this time of year but also means and colddddddd night.
Fantastic Stoney-cam.
Have to say I was horrified when I saw the lorry at the start! Glad that’s not the norm! Perhaps the ‘land-mine clearance vehicle’ was there to catch the people who ‘bomb along’ later in the day?
I for one would love to see more videos Thanks for taking the trouble to post this one.
Hope the brave soldier’s mouth is feeling better now.
Tell the Littl’ Un I watched it all through, and enjoyed the music.
I was delighted to see that you obeyed the speed limits!!!!!