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I tried out my new helmet cam (which has been on my wish list for years) on this Tuesday's ride with my mountain biking group. The initial climb was challenging and a bit intimidating but the downhill was a pair of easy, fast (I was going over 20 MPH much of the time) singletrack trails that I've never ridden before.

This is my first time editing video content so it's a bit rough around the edges. I'm learning a lot though, so future productions should be more polished.

High Def: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH6gtjuWSbk&hd=1

Standard Def: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH6gtjuWSbk


(I did not embed the videos as the embedded player is rather small in screen size.)

Great scenery! Looks like trails that you really have to pay attention to. Very nice job with the helmet cam. I think I burned a few calories watching it.

That's pretty intense, Brian! Had you been on that trail before? It might just have been contrast levels in the video but at times I had trouble telling where the trail was...

I think I burned a few calories watching it.
Hehe! :D


Had you been on that trail before?
No, that was my first time on both of those trails. This is why I fell a bit behind Eric and KC towards the end. It's such a fast track but I had no idea what was coming around each turn or over each rise.

It might just have been contrast levels in the video but at times I had trouble telling where the trail was...
That's the same way that the rider sees, or doesn't see, the trail. As you move through areas that are partially shaded by trees or other vegetation, or by terrain features, or just by flat light, your visual processing cortex goes into overdrive trying to de-scramble all of the input and find the pattern. Just yesterday I overshot a bridge crossing on a trail I've done a dozen times before due to broken morning light filtering in through the trees and confusing my visual recognition system.

Things like this are why MTB riders stay "light" on the bicycle. You need to be able to absorb bumps, drops and sharp turns with no notice sometimes. It's great for adrenaline production. :cool:

Here's a video from this week's ride:

High Def: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpIRbwz21ow&hd=1

Standard Def: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpIRbwz21ow

Good thing you had a spare!!!

Yeah, that move sheared the valve stem from the tube of my rear tire, making it un-patchable. Things got even worse when I attempted to replace it with my spare tube and its valve stem sheared off inside the head of my pump.

I had to bum a tube from a fellow rider, and I have a new one for them in the back of my car for next Tuesday.

I now carry two spare tubes along with a patch kit. :cool:

Nice job! Looks like a lot of rear-brake work. That's pretty
kick-butt for a helmet-cam, too. I expected more head-swinging, but
I guess you didn't have a whole lot of leisure to look away from the
singletrack esp. when careening downhill like that ... although I'd
offer that you might have been a little close to the people ahead
at times, i.e. if they'd had a problem you would have been right
on top of them. [that's how you know it's me, always griping
about tailgaters..]
.
How often do people try to rock-hop through some of that
stuff and wind up diving headfirst off the trail? I don't
even want to think about that.
.
Maybe if next winter is favorable I should redo my skating vid (http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/mp/1001/sail2.mp4)
from the moving perspective... wouldn't be nearly as topographically
interesting, though.
.
_H*