Delayed Start To Our Family Ride Night
We left a little later than I wanted to because I was dicking around with the GoPro Hero 3+ Black camera once again. I have been determined to get a mounting position between the bike and the trailer by mounting the GoPro on the bar that connects the two. I have tried many variations of mounts as well as variations of mounts that swivel or are stacked up to make the overall length taller or longer depending on the location I'm attempting.
No luck really either way, well I did seem to have a decent view using several extensions and attempting to get the camera out nice and far from the seat post mounting position. I think last night that may have been the best choice and the direction that I should have went.
Unfortunately I didn't go with it and was too excited to try the new mounts that I had received in the mail when we got home. While they mounted up perfectly they were still not ideal and were a pain to get as tight as I wanted them. Once I did get them tight I would inadvertently realize that the camera could be better positioned on the rail so I'd have to start over again.
In the end I just gave up and decided that the best solution was to work on the issue later on, at a time when we were not rushing to get on the road and take our ride. I did this before and the mount behind the seat was actually decently positioned, I just thought I could get it better by using the mount on the trailer hitch, no such luck.
I put in an order for some other items from one of the bike shops today and while looking around I noticed that they had mounts that connect to the seat rails, then the GoPro hooks onto that. This may prove to be better than the seat post mount as it will immediately get the camera another 3 to 5 inches or so out. It also mounts from the bottom so it will have a little better field of view.
This may also cause it to be close to the tire, a problem I had with the longer mounts, so we will see. Not close as far as it touching, more that the view will be obstructed more by the tire. Because the camera does not zoom, it already feels as though the video will not be very interesting as far as Zoey being the star of the show, you will barely see her.
That was another issue last night. I was planning ahead and had the camera setup to work from the seat post with the thought that Zoey would be sitting in the center of the trailer. Well last night Cicely decided at the very last minute it would be a good idea to take Oggy along with us again. This meant I had to rearrange everything because Zoey would be to the right and not in the center of the trailer as I had setup everything to focus on.
Even after 20 minutes or so of fucking around with the stupid thumb screws, angle, rotation and height of the GoPro to try and get them both in the frame as well as not make it look as though they were ten feel or more away from the camera I had more than enough messing around and wasted time as we were getting closer and closer to sunset.
In the end, we ended up not taking Oggy. For lack of better words as to how I felt I will simply say that his sucked major ass because he was very excited to go and was whimpering when Cicely took him out of the trailer, it really broke my heart. This was in part to the fact that I was getting pissed-off at the situation, and no, I'm not embarrassed to admit it even though it sounds so simple from your point-of-view I'm sure.
In reality it was probably more like I was getting agitated and very annoyed with the camera and lack of angle as well as trying to tighten or loosen the fucking screws with a screwdriver and a shxtty pair of pliers rather than the nice tool that I was supposed to have in hand at the same time the new mounts arrived. Unfortunately they were delayed.
The wrench I ordered is purpose built for this exact task. I never owned one in the past, thought it was unnecessary, though now that I have needed to do it with a pair of pliers, I would have love to have had the tool last night to make adjustments and be able to tighten everything back up quickly would have saved me a lot of time, headaches and cursing at the stupid thing. Using a shxtty pair of janky pliers that I have no idea where I got them from as they were not my usual Craftsman or Snap-on brands, along with a Phillips screwdriver was not idea or fun.
Plus during all of this Oggy and Zoey were now like a brother and sister arguing in the trailer. Zoey was getting annoyed with sitting idle in the trailer and was ready to get on the road, as was I. She was moving around a ton and started to pick on Oggy, then bump him, not quite a hit, but whats the difference if it's intentional other than her being a toddler, he does not know the difference other than it hurts when it happens and I was a little annoyed that Cicely was not stopping her.
These 'bumps' were her hand, or the back of her hand, against the front of his little nose which not only pissed him off but stung I imagine because their noses are sensitive not only to smells but to other things as well, like direct impacts. Every-time she would bump him, he would make a sort of sniffle sneeze sound and it looked as though his eyes were going to water from it.
He would then try to bite her, though not hurt her, only protect himself from the smacks. This was annoying to me trying to do what I was doing, plus they would continue to rock the trailer and the bike, making it want to fall over and off the kickstand. So I got a little pissed and just asked Cicely to take Oggy out, he can stay home this time, put Zoey in the middle (who has been screaming and crying at this point because she really needed a nap).
I could not understand why she was not stopping Zoey so I was annoyed by that as well. Hindsight I can only guess that it's because she figured we'd be leaving any time now and once we were moving they'd both settle down.
At this point I pretty much had more than enough of the balancing act I was a part of for the last twenty to thirty minutes. So in a pissy haste, I unscrewed the stupid ass thumbscrews, pulled the camera off the trailer hitch bar, said Fuck It to everything and away we went on our ride that ended up being nice and honestly Oggy should have been there.
The funny thing is that I was not mad at Cicely, Oggy, Zoey, myself, the camera or anything. I was more angry by the situation and that I was sitting there messing with the camera, wasting precious time that I could have been spending with my family. I had to put that into perspective and again, say Fuck It and just get moving - we finally did of course and everything quickly got better.
Cycling In The Rain
So finally out of the driveway and screwing around with the GoPro, in the end putting the damn thing in the garage and leaving it there until we returned from our ride. No distractions, no annoyances with messing with its setup, checking to see if it has fallen off and so on. We were on our way and decided to take a few new turns tonight, get better scenery and go to a few of the places that I like to go when I am out on my road bike, usually the areas that I will do my warm up before the big part of the rides as well as a quick check to verify all is well before I get too far from home.
Anyway, the sky was dark and it was really humid out which felt great on my typically dry desert wind blown skin. Being from Missouri after-all I am use to the humidity and my skin really perks up when there is a decent amount in the air. Well so long as it's not crazy like some of the islands we have been to. The wind was blowing a little but nothing overwhelming or anything.
Around only five miles into the ride we started getting spit on a little by the clouds and knew it would only get worse based on the direction we were headed - right into the darkest area with the darkest, heaviest looking clouds overhead. The rain continued to get more intense and bigger drops were falling though it never really became a downpour while we were out so we continued to put in miles, turn down random streets and enjoy the unusual weather.
Finally back home, just up the street actually, we decided to take a few more turns and go up and around a couple of the culs-de-sac to get the few extra miles. Okay 'I decided' mostly, Cicely was just following my lead as she kept getting disoriented. Makes sense if you have not been out there a bunch, I've had the same problem when I was originally going out there on my own. After a while you get better at knowing the streets and how to get out of an area.
We were done, only 8.84 miles later which I was a little bummed about honestly. When we do the bike path we will do as many as 12 miles which is a much better ride in my opinion. I only burned something like 154 calories as well and climbed less than 145 feet of elevation. A fairly basic spin although the intention of it is family time, not distance, speed, elevation and so on as it would be when I am out on the road bike.
Pulling into the garage was like a signal to the clouds to begin dumping the 'big stuff' and that is exactly what happened. By the time we had our gear off, Zoey unloaded and us in the house it was dumping hard outside and the thunder boomers were booming. We hurried up and went inside so we could take Zoey out front and let her feel the rain on her shirtless body. She loved it, if only for a second, we did not want her to get sick or scared.
She came in, I had a towel ready for her and dried her off while Cicely took off her shoes. This was the end of the adventure for her and time for dinner, books, bath and bed. I sure hope she had a fun time even though papa was annoyed at the start because of the camera issue. I know the little ones pick up on this stuff and I don't want her to feel like things are her fault when I am in a bad mood or having a difficult time with something, ever.
If she's anything like Cicely, she will take it personally (not a bad thing, just a characteristic not unlike mine, going off the handle at the thing now working as I had intended and originally set it up to work). Either way, that would suck because it never, or very rarely is personal. If so, it's said that it is and with Zoey should that ever be the case we are talking many many years from now. I mean c'mon she is a toddler, she only knows how to learn, inspect, smile and so on.
Of course given the choice, my preference would be never for her to have any of these attributes in full forces, but life is what is is as you make it and therefor you cant really plan every day, every mood or ending to them. Heck, if you could, what fun would that be? I guess certain days it would be a blast, most days though, not-so-much!
What a great time I had with her last night, wow. I had a great time with Cicely as well of course although I never know what she is feeling. Is she having fun, is she bored, is the route I am defining on the fly too much for her to cycle on with her beach cruiser?
Not sure and not going to waste time guessing. If she is not happy, not having fun or otherwise I would hope that she would tell me so that I could make some adjustments to our route, her bike or whatever was necessary. It's difficult enough to get her outside to do things in the first place, the last thing I want to do is make her have a crappy time once she is finally out!
Dried Up All The Rain
It rained most of the night and into this morning, though letting up for the most part by 7:30 AM or so. On the way to work it was a little gloomy out, but no moisture to speak of. Today is supposed to be decent out and start the trend of better weather I think. Other than Sunday, unless its changed, it's supposed to be really windy with gusts so not something that I am interested in dealing with.
If that is the case I will either take the day off cycling or just do a few miles on the trainer, that is what it's there for. Heck the other option is to take Zoey for a ride, wind or not, it's much easier to puller her around the neighborhoods than try to put in mega miles on my bike in the wind.
Helmet Update
I should mention also that I purchased Zoey yet another friggin' helmet in hopes that it would not only fit her head better but would not push her face down in the trailer seat. Well it did in fact fit much better but it still pushed her head down into her chest so that she was not really able to enjoy the ride. I took, well Cicely took the thing off only 1/2 mile in so she could enjoy herself and not have to deal with the annoyance of the helmet. I think she will be safe without it, though my preference is to have her wearing it of course.
I'm Done
With that I am going to end this post for the day and dive back into the things that I need to catch up on here at work. Yes, I needed a few minute break so I was using it to type my entry today. Hey I figure that I do so much work from home all the time, whats the difference if I do a little of this to get me in the mode for my day today?
It's working or has worked so now I need to dive into getting my meeting updates setup, check in with my team and many other things before this week is over. Time sheets are this week which are always a real pain in the ass and they should not be. It is what it is though, and part of my weeks so for now, it's time for all of that, and yes, I do actually enjoy it even though I talk smack!
Photo: These are not related to the cycling in the rain we did yesterday or anything that I have talked about today. These are nothing more than what they say, Boogie Wipes. They work really good too, not sure if its simply because they have this awesome grape scent or flavor or what. Zoey likes them so that is good enough for me. Especially since I was only able to order a package with 6 packages of them from Amazon!
 |
| Grape flavored or scented only?, 'Boogie Wipes' |
0 Comments::
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.