Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Three More PBC Videos

The first was on Super Bowl Sunday. One of the local BMW riders invited folks out to his shop to watch the game. Seems like a good reason for a ride. When I stopped to get gas on the way out, I noticed that the odometer hadn't changed since I started. It turns out that sometime in the last day the speedometer cable came off the back of the speedometer. I just never noticed. Five minutes later I was back on the road. I stayed for only the first quarter then felt a need to head out while it was still daylight as my tail lights had gone out again. It wasn't a fuse this time. Just opening up the seat and poking at the wiring caused it to start working again...

Intermittent electrical issues are the hardest but I probably just need to clean the connectors and put on some dielectric grease.


The second video was recorded during my lunch break in a day full of meetings. Just a short ride out through Goldstream Valley and back to work on Ballaine Rd.



The first Monday of the month the Airheads (aficionados of the BMW 247 aircooled engine) meet at the Silver Gulch for dinner. After riding out there, I noticed that it was -18°F plus I was 45 min early so I headed home. The trip home will be tomorrows video. The BMW is still a bit finicky at colder temperatures so I opted not to leave it out. BruceW, the Ural rider from Ketchikan, had offered a ride out to the Silver Gulch so I took him up on that.


Only a few more weeks of these PBC videos...

12 comments:

  1. re 1st video, that's a lovely side road in second half of the film...too bad they don't make a small electrical heating element you could place under the gopro unit and within it's case to keep things somewhat warm.

    the angle on the camera made the tug's front wheel looked like it was hard to the right.

    I dislike electical gremlins, especially the self-healing kind that only come back when you're out in the middle of nowhere usually.

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    1. I think I'm going to make a mini-USB cable that I can leave on the camera to plug it into power all the time. Then it wouldn't rely on the little batteries.

      Is there any other kind of electrical "gremlins"?

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    2. I dont think it's a lack of power....its just that the cold "fools" the camera into thinking it's out of battery power....when it really isn't.

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    3. Whatever the cause, the camera reports that the battery has zero bars. When another battery is installed, the camera works again. They just don't keep it running in video mode. When running in time lapse mode, it runs a lot longer.

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  2. Loved the views on the side road in the 1st video. The roads looked pretty clear, is there much ice on them that isn't visable in the videos?

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    1. There is almost always ice in the middle of the lane. It's from water running out the back of trucks hauling water. Guys overfill their water tanks in the back of their pickup and it runs into the bed. When going up hills or accelerating through intersections, water spills out the back under the tailgate. So ice on hills and in intersections is way too common. Fishtaiing and the rear of the rig swinging wide in turns is common but easy to control.

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  3. Twilight with the moon....mmmmm. That was so beautiful and relaxing.

    The first video with the frosty lane was fantastically beautiful. Reminded me of scenes from Russian fairy tales.

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    1. Today's video (PBC #39) is a continuation of that ride with the almost full moon visible through most of it. Most of the side roads in the area look like that.

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  4. You really keep 'em coming. Again, your videos provided much needed serenity after work for me. Thanks, Richard.

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    1. So far, I've submitted 40 videos. Just about one for everyday since I joined the challenge. Some days, like last Monday, I'll record multiples so I have something to submit on days like today. Though I may go ahead and go for a short ride so I have something ready for tomorrow...

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  5. I don't know how you ride in temps like that, but I'm glad you do. Beautiful scenery.

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    1. Thank you, The sidecar eliminates one concern. Hard to fall over...

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