I'll keep this post pretty simple. I was sick all week with the flu - still not feeling 100% today. So even though I registered to race at Granogue, I didn't feel well enough to do so. Soent the entire day photographing what I'll call the EPIC race of the year. This is cross at it's best.
All Granogue race photos can be found here!
I also wanted to try something a bit different on the slide show I usually run of my favorite race images of the day. Muddy cross looks just so great in B&W, so I did all my favorites in B&W fading into the color verson. Hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
...and the crossing continues.....Hillbilly Hustle V.4
Looking at my schedule for the past weekend I hadn't planned on racing any cross - had a soccer game to coach Sunday afternoon and just didn't see any races closeby that worked for me. Then early last week I came across the Hillbilly Hustle about an hour away in NJ. Must of missed this posting earlier in the season. Looking at BikeReg and saw the prereg was pretty low so I passed on prereg.
Woke up on Sunday to a beautiful sunny day - great day for a cross race. Get to the venue and see Teammate Dennis Smith as well as the FSVS Trio. Get out to ride one lap of the course. Pancake flat, some nice technical sections and a few too many (for me) longer flat sections. Get to the line up with 31 racers in the Masters 44-54 group. The nice thing about smaller races is there are really no bad spots lining up. I started out in the 2nd row which has been my best starting position yet this year!..yea, there were only 3 rows :)
Get a decent start so I thought...looking at some race photos, over the 1st set of barriers which were about 1/4 way thru the lap I was in around 17-19th place - not as good as I thought. Over the course of the race as usual I was good thru the technical sections and only lost positions in a few of the longer flat section where the ground/grass was a bit loomy - just couldn't keep my speed up thru these sections - mental note to work harder in these section at my next race. Around Lap #3 I make my pass by Dennis Smith - I can't tell if this is where Dennis cracks a bit or I get my 2nd wind. All three races this year I swear I make my pass by Dennis on about the 3rd lap. Almost immediately after passing over the 2nd set of barriers I remount, head into a small wooded section at the end of the lap and take a large stick into my front wheel - Damn! Had to stop and after a few frantic pulls was able to get it out, but in doing so I lost all the postions I just gained. Back on and thru the Start/Finish - made a mental note not to panic and shortly get myself back up to the back of the group I was riding with. We actually had a nice race going on with our group. Myself, Dennis Smith, Dave Troop & Mike Czupryna from FSVS as well as a few other riders riding off of the main front group. By now I have all my lines dialed in and am feeling pretty comfortable - back is a bit sore, but ok. Finishing off th 2nd to last lap I'm riding on FSVS Dave's wheel over the sand pile of doom and thru the turns into the set of barriers. I call an inside line around a 180 left on FSVS Dave and decided to bail on it as I was afraid I was going to force him outside and to probably stall a bit. Then there was an immediate 180 right Dave went out way wide left almost into the tape so I did take the inside line - Not sure the race ediquite on these situations (maybe I should ask), but if it was any other team I would have forced myself on that first inside line and taken the corner - no second guessing ..... is it all fair in love an war or play nice with your DCCoD friends?
Over the barriers and I'm sitting right on Daves wheel - throw him a comment to get going. I think at that point he may have waive me on, not sure, but I went. Did something I usually don't do and made an actual attack off the front of our group. Yea, those are two things that usually don't go together all that often, me racing and the word attack - I'm more of a one speed type racer and get to the finish thru attrition and steady work. So thru the start/finish on my last lap and I'm laying down a quasi attack. I actually get a decent gap on the group looking back and not seeing anyone closing. Tough thing was I was riding in the middle of no mans land - off the front of a grop behind me and not seeing anyone to chase in front. I made it about 1/2 way thru the lap before I see FSVS Dave and a guy from Liberty Cycle slowly cosing in. Not sure if I was fading faster or they were riding just stronger - probably a combination of both. Both catch me and pass with about a 1/4 of the lp remaining and leave me for dead. Just didn't have it to try and catch back up. I finished off the lap just keeping FVSV Mike off my wheel.
Ended up finising 11th/31. Looking at the resuls after the race I could have kicked myself. I guess when I was in my quasi attack and not seeing anyone to chase, they were there...just must have been hiding out of site as 7th place was just 19 seconds ahead.
Fun day racing cross in New Jersey
Michael
Woke up on Sunday to a beautiful sunny day - great day for a cross race. Get to the venue and see Teammate Dennis Smith as well as the FSVS Trio. Get out to ride one lap of the course. Pancake flat, some nice technical sections and a few too many (for me) longer flat sections. Get to the line up with 31 racers in the Masters 44-54 group. The nice thing about smaller races is there are really no bad spots lining up. I started out in the 2nd row which has been my best starting position yet this year!..yea, there were only 3 rows :)
Get a decent start so I thought...looking at some race photos, over the 1st set of barriers which were about 1/4 way thru the lap I was in around 17-19th place - not as good as I thought. Over the course of the race as usual I was good thru the technical sections and only lost positions in a few of the longer flat section where the ground/grass was a bit loomy - just couldn't keep my speed up thru these sections - mental note to work harder in these section at my next race. Around Lap #3 I make my pass by Dennis Smith - I can't tell if this is where Dennis cracks a bit or I get my 2nd wind. All three races this year I swear I make my pass by Dennis on about the 3rd lap. Almost immediately after passing over the 2nd set of barriers I remount, head into a small wooded section at the end of the lap and take a large stick into my front wheel - Damn! Had to stop and after a few frantic pulls was able to get it out, but in doing so I lost all the postions I just gained. Back on and thru the Start/Finish - made a mental note not to panic and shortly get myself back up to the back of the group I was riding with. We actually had a nice race going on with our group. Myself, Dennis Smith, Dave Troop & Mike Czupryna from FSVS as well as a few other riders riding off of the main front group. By now I have all my lines dialed in and am feeling pretty comfortable - back is a bit sore, but ok. Finishing off th 2nd to last lap I'm riding on FSVS Dave's wheel over the sand pile of doom and thru the turns into the set of barriers. I call an inside line around a 180 left on FSVS Dave and decided to bail on it as I was afraid I was going to force him outside and to probably stall a bit. Then there was an immediate 180 right Dave went out way wide left almost into the tape so I did take the inside line - Not sure the race ediquite on these situations (maybe I should ask), but if it was any other team I would have forced myself on that first inside line and taken the corner - no second guessing ..... is it all fair in love an war or play nice with your DCCoD friends?
Over the barriers and I'm sitting right on Daves wheel - throw him a comment to get going. I think at that point he may have waive me on, not sure, but I went. Did something I usually don't do and made an actual attack off the front of our group. Yea, those are two things that usually don't go together all that often, me racing and the word attack - I'm more of a one speed type racer and get to the finish thru attrition and steady work. So thru the start/finish on my last lap and I'm laying down a quasi attack. I actually get a decent gap on the group looking back and not seeing anyone closing. Tough thing was I was riding in the middle of no mans land - off the front of a grop behind me and not seeing anyone to chase in front. I made it about 1/2 way thru the lap before I see FSVS Dave and a guy from Liberty Cycle slowly cosing in. Not sure if I was fading faster or they were riding just stronger - probably a combination of both. Both catch me and pass with about a 1/4 of the lp remaining and leave me for dead. Just didn't have it to try and catch back up. I finished off the lap just keeping FVSV Mike off my wheel.
Ended up finising 11th/31. Looking at the resuls after the race I could have kicked myself. I guess when I was in my quasi attack and not seeing anyone to chase, they were there...just must have been hiding out of site as 7th place was just 19 seconds ahead.
Fun day racing cross in New Jersey
Michael
Monday, September 28, 2009
WhirlyBird Cross......
So into my 2nd cross race of the season I headed out to Bryn Athyn College for Guy's Bicycle Racing WhirlyBird Cross race. I also want to thank Guys for putting on this race to raise some money for The Manning Children's Education Trust – this is a college fund setup for the daughters of Joe Manning – a friend of mine – who lost his life during a mountain biking trip in Utah this summer.
Now at this point in my life I'm a "B" racer at best...and getting older that makes me a Masters B racer at best. WhirlyBird had one Masters Category so that means I was going to be racing with some of the A Masters. No big deal as I'm still just out there doing my own thing and pretty much just racing against myself trying to put my best effort forward, but mixed racing with A level riders is always a bit intimidating. Even with that in mind I had set my goal for this race to be in the top 25.
This was my first time racing at this venue so I had no idea what to expect. Didn't bring a trainer to warm up which wasn't the best for this venue as there were no really good places to get a decent warm-up....I ended up finding an obscure field hockey field away from the race that I spun some laps around. This course had a mixed bag of trix's up its sleeves. A lot of wide open field sections which would be a demise for me as well as a decent amount of switchback "S" turn type sections which since they were a bit more technical better suited my riding abilities. Translation: I'm slow out in the open and often get blown away while I ride better in the technical sections and can hold my own here. I ended up getting one lap in as a preride so I had somewhat of a clue what to expect.
Line-up: God I suck at getting lined up. Once again I was at the back of the field. I messed up listening to the rumor that they were going to start the 45+ group a minute off of the 35+ group. This being the case it was not a big deal to press getting lined up anywhere near the front of the "35+ group". Not so, the 35+/45+ all started together - DAMN! So, for 2 weeks in a row I'm fighting the opening 1/2 lap just trying to work my thru a stand still race crowd. I actually at one point on the very first bottom to a left "S-turn" on the first short climb end up doing a short track stand on the hill to avoid the stand still clutter. Quick pump left and right and I'm around the mess, but these slow cluster F#&% starts really are killing me. Not that I really should be complaining as one of the major things I like about cross racing is finding these weird places to make a difficult pass - working from the back up gives me the opportunity to do a lot of this :)
Over the next several laps (we ended up doing 6 laps) I found my groove and lines and slowly made my way thru the group. Making up ground in the technical section and loosing a bit in the open fields as expected. One thing I was working at getting better at is increasing my short efforts coming out of corners getting back up to speed. I "think" I did a better job at this...at least I was consensually making the effort to stand and hammer out of the corners.
Last 2 laps I felt like I was Henry's bologna between some Guys Racing bread. I had Guys Racing in front of me, behind me and every corner I could see around, I saw more and more Guys Racers closing in.
A few section of the course that did something that stick in my mind:
1. Approaching the 1st set of barriers on the back side was a 180 degree switchback that had a small/steep off camber uphill to it. Every single time I hit that corner I felt (and it sounded) like I was going to roll my rear tubular. Never did, but that one turn made me nervous ever lap.
2. Right after that set of barriers was the only "Mountain Bike" like section that dropped thru some single track thru a short section of trees. This is the section for some reason that killed my back every single lap. This section had a lot of woops that required me to stay off the saddle and this really torques my back up.
3. I'm slow thru flat out open field sections. This was pretty much the only area I would get passed. I grabbed each passing wheel the best I could, but the efforts in these sections hurt.
4. WhirlyyBird section. This was a part of the course that had you riding a large to smaller circle pattern from the outside in a few time round.....once inside the center you would hit a quick 180 degree turn reversing you one circle round to exit back out. I killed this section catching all directly infront of me and on the 180 degree turn to exit I was able to stand and hammer the last circle out passing a lot of riders.
5. 2nd set of barriers was set up after a straight field section so you could go into these as fast as you wanted. I prefer barriers that you go forced into a bit slower. I feel a bit more in control. These barriers I always hit them right on the border of being too fast (for me) as my dismount run would be right on the edge of my running speed not being able to keep up with my rolling speed. Always felt like I was "just" about to run a face plant into thee 2nd barrier
6. Right after the barriers was a quick down and 180 degree switchback up hill. This was a toss-up between running or riding being faster and more efficient. During my pre-ride of the course I had decided that I would run as it would lead to no mistakes vs. riding could lead to mistakes. During the race I ran the section on the 1st lap only just due to the crowd. Laps 2-6 I decided that since it was rideable, I was just going to ride it. Nothing gained or lost here.
At the end of the day I could stay around so I left right away. Oh, and I want to thank the DUMB ASS that triple parked behind me in the parking lot next to the WhirlyBird section - How the Hell do you THINK I was going to get out. DUMB ASS!!
I didn't hand around to take any photos so no photos this race from www.MLKimages.com.
Results were posted today; I ended up 33rd out of 65. Not spectacular, but I'm fine with it. Just need to get my head in place lining up a bit better.
Now at this point in my life I'm a "B" racer at best...and getting older that makes me a Masters B racer at best. WhirlyBird had one Masters Category so that means I was going to be racing with some of the A Masters. No big deal as I'm still just out there doing my own thing and pretty much just racing against myself trying to put my best effort forward, but mixed racing with A level riders is always a bit intimidating. Even with that in mind I had set my goal for this race to be in the top 25.
This was my first time racing at this venue so I had no idea what to expect. Didn't bring a trainer to warm up which wasn't the best for this venue as there were no really good places to get a decent warm-up....I ended up finding an obscure field hockey field away from the race that I spun some laps around. This course had a mixed bag of trix's up its sleeves. A lot of wide open field sections which would be a demise for me as well as a decent amount of switchback "S" turn type sections which since they were a bit more technical better suited my riding abilities. Translation: I'm slow out in the open and often get blown away while I ride better in the technical sections and can hold my own here. I ended up getting one lap in as a preride so I had somewhat of a clue what to expect.
Line-up: God I suck at getting lined up. Once again I was at the back of the field. I messed up listening to the rumor that they were going to start the 45+ group a minute off of the 35+ group. This being the case it was not a big deal to press getting lined up anywhere near the front of the "35+ group". Not so, the 35+/45+ all started together - DAMN! So, for 2 weeks in a row I'm fighting the opening 1/2 lap just trying to work my thru a stand still race crowd. I actually at one point on the very first bottom to a left "S-turn" on the first short climb end up doing a short track stand on the hill to avoid the stand still clutter. Quick pump left and right and I'm around the mess, but these slow cluster F#&% starts really are killing me. Not that I really should be complaining as one of the major things I like about cross racing is finding these weird places to make a difficult pass - working from the back up gives me the opportunity to do a lot of this :)
Over the next several laps (we ended up doing 6 laps) I found my groove and lines and slowly made my way thru the group. Making up ground in the technical section and loosing a bit in the open fields as expected. One thing I was working at getting better at is increasing my short efforts coming out of corners getting back up to speed. I "think" I did a better job at this...at least I was consensually making the effort to stand and hammer out of the corners.
Last 2 laps I felt like I was Henry's bologna between some Guys Racing bread. I had Guys Racing in front of me, behind me and every corner I could see around, I saw more and more Guys Racers closing in.
A few section of the course that did something that stick in my mind:
1. Approaching the 1st set of barriers on the back side was a 180 degree switchback that had a small/steep off camber uphill to it. Every single time I hit that corner I felt (and it sounded) like I was going to roll my rear tubular. Never did, but that one turn made me nervous ever lap.
2. Right after that set of barriers was the only "Mountain Bike" like section that dropped thru some single track thru a short section of trees. This is the section for some reason that killed my back every single lap. This section had a lot of woops that required me to stay off the saddle and this really torques my back up.
3. I'm slow thru flat out open field sections. This was pretty much the only area I would get passed. I grabbed each passing wheel the best I could, but the efforts in these sections hurt.
4. WhirlyyBird section. This was a part of the course that had you riding a large to smaller circle pattern from the outside in a few time round.....once inside the center you would hit a quick 180 degree turn reversing you one circle round to exit back out. I killed this section catching all directly infront of me and on the 180 degree turn to exit I was able to stand and hammer the last circle out passing a lot of riders.
5. 2nd set of barriers was set up after a straight field section so you could go into these as fast as you wanted. I prefer barriers that you go forced into a bit slower. I feel a bit more in control. These barriers I always hit them right on the border of being too fast (for me) as my dismount run would be right on the edge of my running speed not being able to keep up with my rolling speed. Always felt like I was "just" about to run a face plant into thee 2nd barrier
6. Right after the barriers was a quick down and 180 degree switchback up hill. This was a toss-up between running or riding being faster and more efficient. During my pre-ride of the course I had decided that I would run as it would lead to no mistakes vs. riding could lead to mistakes. During the race I ran the section on the 1st lap only just due to the crowd. Laps 2-6 I decided that since it was rideable, I was just going to ride it. Nothing gained or lost here.
At the end of the day I could stay around so I left right away. Oh, and I want to thank the DUMB ASS that triple parked behind me in the parking lot next to the WhirlyBird section - How the Hell do you THINK I was going to get out. DUMB ASS!!
I didn't hand around to take any photos so no photos this race from www.MLKimages.com.
Results were posted today; I ended up 33rd out of 65. Not spectacular, but I'm fine with it. Just need to get my head in place lining up a bit better.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Charm City Cross - Racing and Photos
1. Last year I was going to sell my cross bike, but held onto it.....for that...."Just in Case".
2. Haven't raced a bike (let alone a cross race) in two years due to back pain.
3. Been seeing a Chiropracter for a few month, back feels like its getting better.
4. Decided to start swimmming and running as well as some cycling just to keep in shape...or better stated, not get fat and grossly out of shape.
5. Thought I'd try racing a few cross races this year....just to see how it goes.
6. Been to a few cross practices with the DCCOC. Seem to be riding fairly well although nothing special.
7. Did my 1st group ride of the year last week...meaning all my riding this year has been solo with no intensity.
8. Coaching my daughters travel soccer team so getting races to fit my schedule is limited. This past Sundays game was late afternoon......so
9. Charm City Cross in Baltimpre Maryland seemed like a good idea and fit my schedule. Go to register this week - Masters 35+ B race was full, but C3 pulled thru and added one spot just for me - which of course means I'm lining up LAST, Back of the field, in the rear!
10. With a last line start, "MY" realistic goal was to finish in the top 50%.
Fatmarc put the pressure on me stating I was top 25 material. Although in the back of my mind that is what I was shooting for, but I knew with no intensity in my riding and a last line start, this would be very difficult.
11. My race went like this:
As noted I started in the last row - around 100 racers in front of me. I road technically solid, no slips or crashes, made some nice passes in the tight corners. Never got boxed in or out, made my lines and forced myself where I needed to be. Technically a solid race.....although I did "almost" have one misshap. Running over the 2nd set of large barriers I clipped my front wheel on the top of the barrier spinning my bike around causing the crowd to take a big step back from getting hit in the head with my bike. Off balance and spinning I make a quick 360 spin to gain composure and I'm still up and off around the tree and over the 2nd barrier. Nice save! Fitness wise is always another story, but was expected. I road my own race. I needed to be steady with no potential for any super strong efforts. Made most of my gains in the technical sections and barriers, most of my losses on the straights.
Laps 2-4 were my hardest and my back was pretty sore during this time unfortunately causing me to back off a bit on my tempo. Fortunately the last 2 laps it seemed as if my back pain subsided for the most part and I was able to pick up my speed a bit more and make some moves forward. In the end I finished in 30th. I should be satisfied, but......just....not....quite.....satisfied. Someone puts top 25 in your head.....
Hoping to try the Guys Whirlybird race this weekend.
After my race I hung around and took some photos from the next two races which can be found here:
Charm City Cross Photos
2. Haven't raced a bike (let alone a cross race) in two years due to back pain.
3. Been seeing a Chiropracter for a few month, back feels like its getting better.
4. Decided to start swimmming and running as well as some cycling just to keep in shape...or better stated, not get fat and grossly out of shape.
5. Thought I'd try racing a few cross races this year....just to see how it goes.
6. Been to a few cross practices with the DCCOC. Seem to be riding fairly well although nothing special.
7. Did my 1st group ride of the year last week...meaning all my riding this year has been solo with no intensity.
8. Coaching my daughters travel soccer team so getting races to fit my schedule is limited. This past Sundays game was late afternoon......so
9. Charm City Cross in Baltimpre Maryland seemed like a good idea and fit my schedule. Go to register this week - Masters 35+ B race was full, but C3 pulled thru and added one spot just for me - which of course means I'm lining up LAST, Back of the field, in the rear!
10. With a last line start, "MY" realistic goal was to finish in the top 50%.
Fatmarc put the pressure on me stating I was top 25 material. Although in the back of my mind that is what I was shooting for, but I knew with no intensity in my riding and a last line start, this would be very difficult.
11. My race went like this:
As noted I started in the last row - around 100 racers in front of me. I road technically solid, no slips or crashes, made some nice passes in the tight corners. Never got boxed in or out, made my lines and forced myself where I needed to be. Technically a solid race.....although I did "almost" have one misshap. Running over the 2nd set of large barriers I clipped my front wheel on the top of the barrier spinning my bike around causing the crowd to take a big step back from getting hit in the head with my bike. Off balance and spinning I make a quick 360 spin to gain composure and I'm still up and off around the tree and over the 2nd barrier. Nice save! Fitness wise is always another story, but was expected. I road my own race. I needed to be steady with no potential for any super strong efforts. Made most of my gains in the technical sections and barriers, most of my losses on the straights.
Laps 2-4 were my hardest and my back was pretty sore during this time unfortunately causing me to back off a bit on my tempo. Fortunately the last 2 laps it seemed as if my back pain subsided for the most part and I was able to pick up my speed a bit more and make some moves forward. In the end I finished in 30th. I should be satisfied, but......just....not....quite.....satisfied. Someone puts top 25 in your head.....
Hoping to try the Guys Whirlybird race this weekend.
After my race I hung around and took some photos from the next two races which can be found here:
Charm City Cross Photos
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
New Carbon Clinchers - Token C58's
I currently own two sets of Token Wheels!
Token T50's which are 50mm carbon tubulars that I have on my cyclocross bike
Token C50's which are 50mm carbon clinchers I use as my everyday wheels on my road bike
I've owned and used these wheels for two years now. The T50's have seen limited use, but the C50's I've used as my everyday wheels on my road bike. The only problem I've ever had is I've broken 2 spokes on the clincher wheels - no biggie, it's gonna happen to every wheelset eventually. There was one thing that did annoy me a bit, it was that mounting and removing tires on the clincher set was a bit difficult at times - enough so that I contacted Token to discuss it with them and they were nice enough to send me out a brand new wheelset that they are still just testing and not yet released for sale - Token C58's.
The Token C58's are 58mm carbon clinchers with a redesigned rim. The old C50's had a lowered braking surface that required the use of a special brake pad holder - not a big deal at all, unless you are changing wheelsets quite often.
The new C58 rim design has the brake surface in the standard position so standard pad holders can be used and wheel swaps no longer are an issue.
Right now I have around 1000 miles on the new C58's and gotta tell you I'm really enjoying the C58's. I've tried flexing the wheels to see if I can get any brake rub when riding - none. I have no "scientific" proof (no power meters here, sorry), but I think the C58's are overall faster than the C50's, even on a hilly ride and even with the weight disadvantage over my 50mm wheels (+250 grams). I even used these wheels during the 2nd Annual Mike Clark Memorial Conquer the Hills Ride. Granted on a few hills toward the end I was really wishing I had a compact crankset, but I think that was more the motor than the extra weight in the wheels I was rolling with.
Pennsylvania pot holes, daily tar and chip roads, general road disintegration conditions - wheels are still perfect.
So if your looking for a set of carbon wheels (frame, components, etc) that won't break the bank - you may want to consider some Token - send me a note and I can put you in touch with my Token Contact.
Token T50's which are 50mm carbon tubulars that I have on my cyclocross bike
Token C50's which are 50mm carbon clinchers I use as my everyday wheels on my road bike
I've owned and used these wheels for two years now. The T50's have seen limited use, but the C50's I've used as my everyday wheels on my road bike. The only problem I've ever had is I've broken 2 spokes on the clincher wheels - no biggie, it's gonna happen to every wheelset eventually. There was one thing that did annoy me a bit, it was that mounting and removing tires on the clincher set was a bit difficult at times - enough so that I contacted Token to discuss it with them and they were nice enough to send me out a brand new wheelset that they are still just testing and not yet released for sale - Token C58's.
The Token C58's are 58mm carbon clinchers with a redesigned rim. The old C50's had a lowered braking surface that required the use of a special brake pad holder - not a big deal at all, unless you are changing wheelsets quite often.
The new C58 rim design has the brake surface in the standard position so standard pad holders can be used and wheel swaps no longer are an issue.
Right now I have around 1000 miles on the new C58's and gotta tell you I'm really enjoying the C58's. I've tried flexing the wheels to see if I can get any brake rub when riding - none. I have no "scientific" proof (no power meters here, sorry), but I think the C58's are overall faster than the C50's, even on a hilly ride and even with the weight disadvantage over my 50mm wheels (+250 grams). I even used these wheels during the 2nd Annual Mike Clark Memorial Conquer the Hills Ride. Granted on a few hills toward the end I was really wishing I had a compact crankset, but I think that was more the motor than the extra weight in the wheels I was rolling with.
Pennsylvania pot holes, daily tar and chip roads, general road disintegration conditions - wheels are still perfect.
So if your looking for a set of carbon wheels (frame, components, etc) that won't break the bank - you may want to consider some Token - send me a note and I can put you in touch with my Token Contact.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tour of Lancaster Intercourse Time Trial
another slow update.....early August I stopped buy the Tour of Lancaster Intercourse Time Trial that turned out to be a day of turrential down pouring rain. I just love shooting time trials, seeing cyclist in all their beauty and pain! Add to that rain and a photographer couldn't ask for a more dramatic day of shooting. Bad thing was the rain ened up being so terrible that it was blowling sideways and bouncing hard enough off the ground to blow into my Nikon 300 f/2.8 lens. These are the days I'm glad I keep full rain gear in the car and a Think Tank Hydro cover for my camera equipment. The Nikon D700 performed excellent even in these trying conditions. I started out the day with a 1.4x converter on the lens, but due to the conditions being so dark, I needed to shoot pretty much wide open - most of these images are at or close to ISO 6400.
Intercourse Time Trial Photos can be viewed here!
The severe rain caused all of the roads and fields to flood making the course late in the game pretty difficult to navigate - in fact when I decided to call it a day, I drove by the last racer I saw for the day picking out corn stalks from his rear wheel - apparently no brakes and a ride thru the corn field.
Intercourse Time Trial Photos can be viewed here!
The severe rain caused all of the roads and fields to flood making the course late in the game pretty difficult to navigate - in fact when I decided to call it a day, I drove by the last racer I saw for the day picking out corn stalks from his rear wheel - apparently no brakes and a ride thru the corn field.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
June already!
It's been a while since I done a blog update - I really should try to keep on top of it a bit more. So what's new? I'll start with the most recent - Oxford Road Race. Photographed this race Saturday 6/13. It was nice since the race was held only 20 minutes from my house and I knew the course layout since I actually grew up in Oxford. Rich from www.AllThatIsGood.org always puts on a great race and I really enjoy shooting his events. Weather for the day started out pretty nice, sunny with some clouds and calling for a chance of storms. I've waited all year to shoot a bad weather race (bad weather makes photos looks just so dramatic). Around 1/2 way into the Pro 1/2/3 the skies opened up dropping a serious downpour of rain. I loved it!! Sadly it only lasted for around 20 minutes of serious rain and another 10-15 minutes of light rain.
Oxford Road Race Galleries can be viewed here!
Maeve who just turned 11 in April and Ella who turned 9 in April are both done Travel soccer for the spring. Maeve has decided that she is finished with soccer and will try and find something else to do. Ella is still involved and will be playing for the Hockessin Girls U10 A travel team this fall (I'm Asst Coaching again). William who turned 5 in April (yea, April is a busy month) just started T-Ball this week.....so far so good, but he is just so easy to please. Ask him if he would like to try something and his usual answer is "sure".
I am finally 95% finished painting pretty much ever single room in the house, new faucets, light fixtures, and all the other 1/2 finished jobs I had going on in the house as we have put our house up for sale.....19 showings in almost 4 weeks is a royal pain in the a$*. This means the house has to be spotless clean every time someone wants to take a look. Finding a new house in the same school district as been nothing but frustrating as well. There is nothing available in our price range. Lots of houses above and below our price range, but nothing in our range - Murphy’s Law I guess.
Taking some time to myself lately and started riding again. I have a few road rides in of 55 miles - nothing earth shattering, but I've haven't done a road ride in over 1 1/2 hours in almost a year so baby steps. I'm thinking of doing a metric century this Saturday leaving out of Chesapeake City. I've also done a few Mountain Bike Rides. It's been so long that I actually got a little lost in Middle Run last week as well as Fair Hill....was lost for around 1/2 hour.
I have my first scheduled appointment with a Chiro Thursday this week. This guy is to suppose to have trained under the Chiro from the Discovery Chanel cycling team so I am hoping to get some back relief from this.
Michael
Oxford Road Race Galleries can be viewed here!
Maeve who just turned 11 in April and Ella who turned 9 in April are both done Travel soccer for the spring. Maeve has decided that she is finished with soccer and will try and find something else to do. Ella is still involved and will be playing for the Hockessin Girls U10 A travel team this fall (I'm Asst Coaching again). William who turned 5 in April (yea, April is a busy month) just started T-Ball this week.....so far so good, but he is just so easy to please. Ask him if he would like to try something and his usual answer is "sure".
I am finally 95% finished painting pretty much ever single room in the house, new faucets, light fixtures, and all the other 1/2 finished jobs I had going on in the house as we have put our house up for sale.....19 showings in almost 4 weeks is a royal pain in the a$*. This means the house has to be spotless clean every time someone wants to take a look. Finding a new house in the same school district as been nothing but frustrating as well. There is nothing available in our price range. Lots of houses above and below our price range, but nothing in our range - Murphy’s Law I guess.
Taking some time to myself lately and started riding again. I have a few road rides in of 55 miles - nothing earth shattering, but I've haven't done a road ride in over 1 1/2 hours in almost a year so baby steps. I'm thinking of doing a metric century this Saturday leaving out of Chesapeake City. I've also done a few Mountain Bike Rides. It's been so long that I actually got a little lost in Middle Run last week as well as Fair Hill....was lost for around 1/2 hour.
I have my first scheduled appointment with a Chiro Thursday this week. This guy is to suppose to have trained under the Chiro from the Discovery Chanel cycling team so I am hoping to get some back relief from this.
Michael
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Canon G10
I picked up the new Canon G10 for my wife this Christmas.....
she decided she hated the quality of the images our of her current P&S and wanted something a little better....without moving up to something the size of even a small DSLR. I wanted to try this camera out since I've heard a lot of good things about it...especially that I can shoot RAW with it. So today I decided to take it with me on another Solo bike ride. I still need to figure a few things out with the camera settings, but overall it looks like it will be a fun little camera - build quality is excellent and image quality looks very decent as well. I guess my biggest complaint will be file size when shooting RAW. RAW (converted to DNG) file sizes are 15-17MB and converted to jpeg at 100% are 23MB...that's just crazy BIG for a P&S camera. This is a big difference from my Nikon D700 10MB RAW files. Yea, I can export jpegs at lower quality, but still having such large RAW files is not worth it for a P&S. So just do to the RAW file sizes I'll just shoot jpegs with this camera. What was Canon thinking??? This camera and all P&S should be no more than 8MP....14.7 = stupid!
So here are some images from today's ride - unfortunately my hands started getting way too cold to shoot toward the end.
Full size images can be Viewed Here!
she decided she hated the quality of the images our of her current P&S and wanted something a little better....without moving up to something the size of even a small DSLR. I wanted to try this camera out since I've heard a lot of good things about it...especially that I can shoot RAW with it. So today I decided to take it with me on another Solo bike ride. I still need to figure a few things out with the camera settings, but overall it looks like it will be a fun little camera - build quality is excellent and image quality looks very decent as well. I guess my biggest complaint will be file size when shooting RAW. RAW (converted to DNG) file sizes are 15-17MB and converted to jpeg at 100% are 23MB...that's just crazy BIG for a P&S camera. This is a big difference from my Nikon D700 10MB RAW files. Yea, I can export jpegs at lower quality, but still having such large RAW files is not worth it for a P&S. So just do to the RAW file sizes I'll just shoot jpegs with this camera. What was Canon thinking??? This camera and all P&S should be no more than 8MP....14.7 = stupid!
So here are some images from today's ride - unfortunately my hands started getting way too cold to shoot toward the end.
Full size images can be Viewed Here!
Monday, December 15, 2008
...a Sunday Ride
trying to get back into a bit of riding before I give Ole' Saint Nick a run for his money in the weight department. Yea, I'm getting, or should I just fess up and say I'm out of shape! Haven't been to the gym all that much....same with riding my bikes - Nada! Longest ride has been maybe just over an hour in the last several months. I've set up the trainier with my Cross bike on it - yup! not a single cross race this year - probably should have justr sold the bike, but I'm hanging onto it for that slim chance I'll race cross next year.
Sunday was the day I was plannning my first "real" group ride. The Deep Blue Cycling team has a ride going out of Wilmington DE that will go 40 or 70 miles - I wanted to try and see if I could even finish the 40 mile ride. Woke up (it was my birthday) and feeling lazy as usual I bagged the ride and slept in (shocker!!).
Decided later in the morning that I would just head out on my own for a short ride. Shortly into my ride I came across some of the
Iron Hill Club and they did not seem to mind that I hang with them for a portion of their ride......I was riding pretty much the exact same route as they were anyway. It was nice to actually get out a ride with a few people instead of riding all by myself. In the end I actually road for just over 2 hour and 40 miles - nothing earth shattering, but it's a start.
Hopeing NEXT WEEK to make a group ride with someone somewhere just to try and start getting some miles on my legs and fit back into some of my pants.
Photography related - I had sent in pretty much all my main equipment into Nikon for service or repair (always comes in 3's). D300 body was having some issues with the preview button, D700 had a grain of sand stuck in the playback button that caused the entore back panel to not work....and my main concern was my 300vr f/2.8 was still not tracking focus correctly. This is a $4500 lens that was heading back to Nikon for the 3rd time for the same problem. Nikon is a GREAT company and after a very easy discussion with the Service Department, they agreed to replace the lens with a BRAND NEW 300vr f/2.8! Just got the new lens last week so will have to get it out for a test run.
Michael
Sunday was the day I was plannning my first "real" group ride. The Deep Blue Cycling team has a ride going out of Wilmington DE that will go 40 or 70 miles - I wanted to try and see if I could even finish the 40 mile ride. Woke up (it was my birthday) and feeling lazy as usual I bagged the ride and slept in (shocker!!).
Decided later in the morning that I would just head out on my own for a short ride. Shortly into my ride I came across some of the
Iron Hill Club and they did not seem to mind that I hang with them for a portion of their ride......I was riding pretty much the exact same route as they were anyway. It was nice to actually get out a ride with a few people instead of riding all by myself. In the end I actually road for just over 2 hour and 40 miles - nothing earth shattering, but it's a start.
Hopeing NEXT WEEK to make a group ride with someone somewhere just to try and start getting some miles on my legs and fit back into some of my pants.
Photography related - I had sent in pretty much all my main equipment into Nikon for service or repair (always comes in 3's). D300 body was having some issues with the preview button, D700 had a grain of sand stuck in the playback button that caused the entore back panel to not work....and my main concern was my 300vr f/2.8 was still not tracking focus correctly. This is a $4500 lens that was heading back to Nikon for the 3rd time for the same problem. Nikon is a GREAT company and after a very easy discussion with the Service Department, they agreed to replace the lens with a BRAND NEW 300vr f/2.8! Just got the new lens last week so will have to get it out for a test run.
Michael
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Beacon Cyclocross and New D700
Saturday was the Beacon Cyclocross race being held in Bridgeton NJ. Even though I was not racing, Beacon is one of my favorite courses and was where I got my start into cyclocross racing a few years ago. The weather was mixed for the day - overcast with on and off rain showers causing difficult shooting conditions especially since a lot of the course is covered in trees. I just picked up a Nikon D700 body which is a Full Frame camera. I thought this would be an excellent day to put it to its "High ISO" test not using any flash. All I can say is I was greatly impressed with the camera. I ended up shooting quite a bit at ISO levels up to 6400 and was amazed at the low noise levels. The slide show I am running below is showing examples of some high ISO images (3400-6400) with the D700. Since the Slide Show only shows small, low resolution captures of the larger image - if your interested you can view larger versions of the images here:
High ISO Images
Unfortunately one of the buttons on the back of the D700 body ended up getting stuck causing none of the buttons on the camera to work :( so I only got to shoot with the body for about 1/2 of the race, the rest I had to shoot with my D300 and needed to use flash.
Complete gallerys of the Beacon Race can be found here:
Beacon Cyclocross Race
High ISO Images
Unfortunately one of the buttons on the back of the D700 body ended up getting stuck causing none of the buttons on the camera to work :( so I only got to shoot with the body for about 1/2 of the race, the rest I had to shoot with my D300 and needed to use flash.
Complete gallerys of the Beacon Race can be found here:
Beacon Cyclocross Race
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
My Kids Soccer
With all my involvement in my daughters soccer, I thought I would show some images I've taken from a few recent games.
Both my daughters have been playing on travel soccer teams this year. Ella with the Hockessin U9 Girls A team (which I have been an Asst Coach) and Maeve with the SCCSC U12 Girls B team. Both really love playing the game and are developing into solid players. I really hope they stick with it as I really think each has some solid potential to become top players. My son, William started playing as well this.....so it ends up we have soccer practice/games going on every day of the week now except Fridays.
On a side note, check out the new Voler Custom Cycling Clothing, they picked up some of my images for their web site catalog.
Michael
Both my daughters have been playing on travel soccer teams this year. Ella with the Hockessin U9 Girls A team (which I have been an Asst Coach) and Maeve with the SCCSC U12 Girls B team. Both really love playing the game and are developing into solid players. I really hope they stick with it as I really think each has some solid potential to become top players. My son, William started playing as well this.....so it ends up we have soccer practice/games going on every day of the week now except Fridays.
On a side note, check out the new Voler Custom Cycling Clothing, they picked up some of my images for their web site catalog.
Michael
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Vacation
So what the heck have I been doing?
Been busing with a lot of nothing!
Haven't been photographing a lot of races.....seems like most of the races have been falling on days where I am unable to make them.
All three of my kids a full into soccer right now, we have a practice going on every day of the week except Fridays....games on Saturdays and Sundays (sometimes both girls have game the same day).
Today was supposed to be the opening games for both my girls Travel Teams; Maeve is playing on the SCCSA U12 B team and Ella is on the HSC U9 A team (which I have been assistant coaching). Tropical storm cancelled Saturdays games, but both play tomorrow so I'm excited to see how each plays and how their team perform.
We did a family vacation to the Outer Banks in NC and a weekend trip to Washington DC so I thought I would show some images from these vacations.
....oh and about Cross - anyone looking for an almost Brand New 57cm Orbea cyclocross bike? I might have one for sale :)
Been busing with a lot of nothing!
Haven't been photographing a lot of races.....seems like most of the races have been falling on days where I am unable to make them.
All three of my kids a full into soccer right now, we have a practice going on every day of the week except Fridays....games on Saturdays and Sundays (sometimes both girls have game the same day).
Today was supposed to be the opening games for both my girls Travel Teams; Maeve is playing on the SCCSA U12 B team and Ella is on the HSC U9 A team (which I have been assistant coaching). Tropical storm cancelled Saturdays games, but both play tomorrow so I'm excited to see how each plays and how their team perform.
We did a family vacation to the Outer Banks in NC and a weekend trip to Washington DC so I thought I would show some images from these vacations.
....oh and about Cross - anyone looking for an almost Brand New 57cm Orbea cyclocross bike? I might have one for sale :)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Spinners Cycling Cargas Criterium
Sunday - Fathers Day, I spent photographing the Spinners Cycling Cargas Criterium held in Lancaster PA. Excellent race, thought it's always difficult to get decent background in a commercial business park.
Here is a Slide show of some sample images from the day of racing.
Here is a Slide show of some sample images from the day of racing.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Priceless
Cost to enter a race
$30 entry fee
$4 Gatorade
$20 new bottle of Hammer Gel
$20 Gas
$8 lunch
Feeling just to finish - Priceless!
I have never gone into a race with a goal just to finish, but this week was different. I have all but given up on racing due to some serious back issues, plus time commitments with my kids activities has pretty much kept me off the bike doing any real type of riding. My 1st mountain bike ride in 10 months was last Monday with Green Niner John (formerly know as Green Trek John) and I struggled...a lot! Decided right then and there I was not going to come out of retirement and attempt to race Saturdays No Cents Mountain Bike Race in Sewell NJ......but later in the week I think I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and was kind of grossed out by what I saw and thought it might be a good idea to race just for the exercise. So I decided to race Sewell this past weekend.
I had 2 goals:
#1 was simple - just to finish. Even up to racing last year I was always within distance of possible podium finished - just "to finish" was new to me, but giving what I had to work with, it was a sound goal to have.
#2 - don't finish last!
I always race with a plan of attack so I didn't want to make this race any different. I took a look at the MASS race results from earlier this year and decided I needed to try and say with a few racers that I have raced with over the years and felt I had a decent chance if I could just hang with their wheels.
Gary Grim (Pure Energy), John Miller (Guys Racing) and Robert Dudas (Guys Racing - Rob did not race). My plan was just to find any of these wheels and stay with them as long as possible - simple!
On to my race:
4 laps 22 miles, no hills, but no places to recover.
Start of the 1st lap and I'm sitting just meters off the main group - much better start than I expected. 1/2 way into the first lap I'm still just sitting off the main group and was feeling great that I was able to hang so close to the leaders - but common sense set in and I knew it was stupid to be anywhere up near the front so I backed off and settled into my own steady pace. At this point I was ahead of Gary and behind John (decent place to be in my "Plan")
2nd lap was more of the same - I held off being passed by anyone and actually was making some passes. I felt pretty decent although I did notice that I was super hot, I can't remember sweating so much in a race...I mean soaken wet head to toe in sweat - I guess fat makes you sweat more?
Start of the 3rd lap I passed John Miller and was still feeling pretty good although my back was now getting pretty sore. I was riding technically sound, steady pace although my results time would show I was around 1:30 slower each lap. Random thoughts started running thru my mind that I could end up having a decent race - stupid again I know!
CRACKED!
Yup, that's what happened - very end of the 3rd lap I Cracked. Back started really hurting and I just lost all my energy, just pedaling was a struggle. Both Gary and John passed be by so now my focus changed to goal #1 - Just to Finish! Which I did.
Normally I would have be extremely disappointed in my results - heck, this race results wise is probably my worst ever, but finishing Sewell I was actually very satisfied - almost could say proud of myself! I hung with and ahead of some very good Expert racers (who have been racing all year), I've had very limited riding time (and all that has been on a road bike) with Zero, Zip, Nada intensity - not even a fast group ride!
I put the mountain bike back in the closet...maybe I'll pull the MASS race # by next year?
$30 entry fee
$4 Gatorade
$20 new bottle of Hammer Gel
$20 Gas
$8 lunch
Feeling just to finish - Priceless!
I have never gone into a race with a goal just to finish, but this week was different. I have all but given up on racing due to some serious back issues, plus time commitments with my kids activities has pretty much kept me off the bike doing any real type of riding. My 1st mountain bike ride in 10 months was last Monday with Green Niner John (formerly know as Green Trek John) and I struggled...a lot! Decided right then and there I was not going to come out of retirement and attempt to race Saturdays No Cents Mountain Bike Race in Sewell NJ......but later in the week I think I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and was kind of grossed out by what I saw and thought it might be a good idea to race just for the exercise. So I decided to race Sewell this past weekend.
I had 2 goals:
#1 was simple - just to finish. Even up to racing last year I was always within distance of possible podium finished - just "to finish" was new to me, but giving what I had to work with, it was a sound goal to have.
#2 - don't finish last!
I always race with a plan of attack so I didn't want to make this race any different. I took a look at the MASS race results from earlier this year and decided I needed to try and say with a few racers that I have raced with over the years and felt I had a decent chance if I could just hang with their wheels.
Gary Grim (Pure Energy), John Miller (Guys Racing) and Robert Dudas (Guys Racing - Rob did not race). My plan was just to find any of these wheels and stay with them as long as possible - simple!
On to my race:
4 laps 22 miles, no hills, but no places to recover.
Start of the 1st lap and I'm sitting just meters off the main group - much better start than I expected. 1/2 way into the first lap I'm still just sitting off the main group and was feeling great that I was able to hang so close to the leaders - but common sense set in and I knew it was stupid to be anywhere up near the front so I backed off and settled into my own steady pace. At this point I was ahead of Gary and behind John (decent place to be in my "Plan")
2nd lap was more of the same - I held off being passed by anyone and actually was making some passes. I felt pretty decent although I did notice that I was super hot, I can't remember sweating so much in a race...I mean soaken wet head to toe in sweat - I guess fat makes you sweat more?
Start of the 3rd lap I passed John Miller and was still feeling pretty good although my back was now getting pretty sore. I was riding technically sound, steady pace although my results time would show I was around 1:30 slower each lap. Random thoughts started running thru my mind that I could end up having a decent race - stupid again I know!
CRACKED!
Yup, that's what happened - very end of the 3rd lap I Cracked. Back started really hurting and I just lost all my energy, just pedaling was a struggle. Both Gary and John passed be by so now my focus changed to goal #1 - Just to Finish! Which I did.
Normally I would have be extremely disappointed in my results - heck, this race results wise is probably my worst ever, but finishing Sewell I was actually very satisfied - almost could say proud of myself! I hung with and ahead of some very good Expert racers (who have been racing all year), I've had very limited riding time (and all that has been on a road bike) with Zero, Zip, Nada intensity - not even a fast group ride!
I put the mountain bike back in the closet...maybe I'll pull the MASS race # by next year?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Kind of dropped off the face of the earth......
so to speak.....
It's been 9 months since I've been on my mountain bike - that's a record!
Last "Group" ride I did was back in the winter.....
Last race was Cross in the fall.....
So in a nutshell, my cycling time is pretty much dwindled to nothing....I still get out to ride a few days a week (sometimes), but the rides are low intensity. I know my 1st group ride which I'm still trying to get to one...I'll be right off the back the first climb.
But I've been extremely busy.
Both my daughters are playing soccer right which has taken on a whole new life of its own. Practice is 4 nights out of the week between the 2 girls and I'm coaching 2of those days, the other two Im watching (or sometimes I'll sneak in a quick bike ride :)
Maeve has been practicing and playing with the Girls U11 travel team which has been a great experience for her....until she fractured her arm in a practice, so she has been sidelined for the last 2 1/2 weeks.
We have Games on Saturday and Sunday.
Hockessin Travel team tryouts are the next two weeks. Maeve (older daughter) due to her fracture is still hoping to be able to make the tryouts for next week.
Photography: I've been shooting my older daughters soccer games, MASS Team Relay race in Marysville, Some of the Red Rose Races Series Races: Kirkwood and the Tour de Ephrata (2 days with 3 races - Road race, time trial and criterium), Tri for Kids sake Triathlon.
Slide show of some sample images from all of these events.
It's been 9 months since I've been on my mountain bike - that's a record!
Last "Group" ride I did was back in the winter.....
Last race was Cross in the fall.....
So in a nutshell, my cycling time is pretty much dwindled to nothing....I still get out to ride a few days a week (sometimes), but the rides are low intensity. I know my 1st group ride which I'm still trying to get to one...I'll be right off the back the first climb.
But I've been extremely busy.
Both my daughters are playing soccer right which has taken on a whole new life of its own. Practice is 4 nights out of the week between the 2 girls and I'm coaching 2of those days, the other two Im watching (or sometimes I'll sneak in a quick bike ride :)
Maeve has been practicing and playing with the Girls U11 travel team which has been a great experience for her....until she fractured her arm in a practice, so she has been sidelined for the last 2 1/2 weeks.
We have Games on Saturday and Sunday.
Hockessin Travel team tryouts are the next two weeks. Maeve (older daughter) due to her fracture is still hoping to be able to make the tryouts for next week.
Photography: I've been shooting my older daughters soccer games, MASS Team Relay race in Marysville, Some of the Red Rose Races Series Races: Kirkwood and the Tour de Ephrata (2 days with 3 races - Road race, time trial and criterium), Tri for Kids sake Triathlon.
Slide show of some sample images from all of these events.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
REVIEW - Solmeta GPS tagging unit DP-GPS N1
I don't normally do product reviews......especially since I'm not the best writer nor have a lot of extra time, but I am doing this review since I purchased a product from a little know company and promised them I would I would review their product and post my honest review.
What is the gear a photographer may want for 2008?
I own and have been using the Nikon D200 and just recently received the New Nikon D300. I looked into my list of “Want” items and decided to look into a GPS tagging unit for my Nikon bodies – Neither of these camera bodies have a GPS unit built-in, buy they do feature direct support for one and there is even a GPS menu on the camera itself.
After doing some research on the internet, I found there were many ways to go…..but many of the GPS Tagging units did not have the features I wanted, nor would they satisfy my needs. I was looking for a simple way to GEOTag photos without having to worry about any special software and syncing reqirements after the images were taken. Being able record GPS data directly into the EXIF data of a image SAVES TONS OF TIME as opposed to taking notes (which I never did anyway) and is a whole lot more accurate. There were two products that made my final list and after further research I decided to try a new GPS GEOTagging device, the DP-GPS N1 made by Solmeta Technologies
One main reason that I chose the DP-GPS N1 was that the N1 comes with it’s own internal rechargable battery – so it won’t suck up my cameras power!
I ordered two units and they arrived in a matter of days. My first impression is the materials and construction appear to be of high quality – I fitted the units to my D200 and D300 by the 10 pin connector – which the connection mated up perfectly (as it should). The size and weight are certainly not an issue as the units are small, very lightweight and easy to travel with. Reviewing the operation instructions via the user’s manual was straightforward. Mounting the N1’s: they are designed to sit on the hot-shoe or attach to your cameras strap. I use the hot shoe a lot for a flash remote with off camera flash so I attached the units to my cameras strap.
From the companies website:
Unique Features
●SiRF star III chipset 20 channels
●Short initial time, no setup required
●Best hotshoe and ten pin connector solution
●Easy to operate
●Small, lightweight and easy to travel with
●Compact & fashionable design
●Real time GPS information
●Build-in rechargeable battery, more than 9 hrs operating time
●Unique camera battery backup support
●Mounted on flash accessory shoe or attached to camera strap
●Support Nikon D3, D300, D2XS, D2X, D2HS & D200, Fujifilm S5 Pro
Main Specifications
Electrical Characteristics
GPS Chipset: SiRF Star III
Frequency: L1, 1575.42 MHz
C/A Code: 1.023 MHz chip rate
Channels: 20 channel
Tracking sensitivity: -159dBm
ACQUISITION RATE
Hot start: 1 sec., average
Warm start: 38 sec., average
Cold start: 42 sec., average
Reacquisition: 0.1 sec., average
ACCURACY
Position Horizontal:10meters,2D RMS
1-5 meters 2D RMS, WAAS corrected
Velocity: 0.1m/sec.
Device Size and Weight
Size: 56 (L)mmX36(W)mm X 17(H) mm
Weight: 50g
The first thing you will want to do is charge the units battery (rechargable). From my repeated test on both units, it takes approximately 2 ½ hours to fully charge the unit and you will get approximately 10 hours of continiuos usage time. Once your battery on the unit is drained you can then flip a switch to “camera” and now the unit will run off your camera battery if necessary.
Now for the excitement: First time out using a unit on my D300, cold start – WOW!, very quickly (not more than 40 seconds) a signal was locked. After that, turning the camera on and off the capture time was anywhere from 1-10 seconds. Accuracy is dead on, just as I would expect.
The beauty of this unit is that the GPS information (longitude, latitude and altitude) are inserted right into the metadata of each shot as you take them. There is no need for ANY post processing when you return to your computer. Since I use Adobe Lightroom I can take advantage of this data instantly by clicking the little GPS button in the metadata panel which will automatically take me to the location that I was shooting on Google Maps. I also use Smug Mug as my photography website (www.MLKimages.com) which is also linked to Google Maps. So after I upload new images to my Smug Mug website, Customers are able to click on a “Map This” button which will open up the gallery in Google Maps and show all the gallery images laid out on the map. Flickr users....same thing, upload you GPS embedded images to your Flickr account – Pretty Cool!
The unit has two switches. The first is the CONTROL switch which allows you to control how the unit is sync’d to work with the camera.
AUTO – In the Auto position the GPS unit will turn on and off with the camera – simple. This will probably yield the best battery life. However, each time the unit is turned on with the camera in this mode it will have to potentially acquire the satellite signal again.
ON - it stays on and connected to the GPS satellites regardless if the camera is on or not.
OFF is just that, the unit is off regardless of the camera being on or off.
Since the unit has it’s own internal battery I personally recommend the ON position if you are shooting, then moving then shooting again. If you’re going to use it off and on throughout the day, then Auto is probably best. There is a clear indicator right on top that quickly flashes red in a sequence of 3 when it is searching and blinks a slow and steady red when it has locked on. There is one additional green lamp that will light steady when the unit is being charged and will turn off when fully charged. Also when in use, the green lamp will illuminate when the battery is running low.
The second switch is POWER, which controls where the unit gets it’s….you guessed it –where it gets its power. INSIDE uses the GPS internal battery. CAMERA is using the cameras battery.
Solmeta customer service has been nothing but excellent! One item I did not like on the initial units I received was the inability to know when the battery of the unit was drained. I also was not fond of the connection of the chargers to the GPS unit. I sent an email Solmeta and offered them a few suggestions to improve the units. They sent me a reply of thanks and they would look into it. One week later I received a follow-up email saying that the changes I recommended were implemented into new units and replacments were on the way. Now I am using the renewed units and the green light will flash when the battery is low and the connection is excellent between the charger and receiver. Solmeta has also advised me that they are intorducing a new unit shortly that will have a location locking anility so when shooting indoors you will be able to lock the GPS location and embed the data into the exif info when shooting indoors - another requested and cool feature!
Enjoy and if anyone reading my review is planning on purchasing a GPS tagging unit from Solmeta, make sure you mention that you read my review.....that may offer you a small discount ;)
MLKimages
What is the gear a photographer may want for 2008?
I own and have been using the Nikon D200 and just recently received the New Nikon D300. I looked into my list of “Want” items and decided to look into a GPS tagging unit for my Nikon bodies – Neither of these camera bodies have a GPS unit built-in, buy they do feature direct support for one and there is even a GPS menu on the camera itself.
After doing some research on the internet, I found there were many ways to go…..but many of the GPS Tagging units did not have the features I wanted, nor would they satisfy my needs. I was looking for a simple way to GEOTag photos without having to worry about any special software and syncing reqirements after the images were taken. Being able record GPS data directly into the EXIF data of a image SAVES TONS OF TIME as opposed to taking notes (which I never did anyway) and is a whole lot more accurate. There were two products that made my final list and after further research I decided to try a new GPS GEOTagging device, the DP-GPS N1 made by Solmeta Technologies
One main reason that I chose the DP-GPS N1 was that the N1 comes with it’s own internal rechargable battery – so it won’t suck up my cameras power!
I ordered two units and they arrived in a matter of days. My first impression is the materials and construction appear to be of high quality – I fitted the units to my D200 and D300 by the 10 pin connector – which the connection mated up perfectly (as it should). The size and weight are certainly not an issue as the units are small, very lightweight and easy to travel with. Reviewing the operation instructions via the user’s manual was straightforward. Mounting the N1’s: they are designed to sit on the hot-shoe or attach to your cameras strap. I use the hot shoe a lot for a flash remote with off camera flash so I attached the units to my cameras strap.
From the companies website:
Unique Features
●SiRF star III chipset 20 channels
●Short initial time, no setup required
●Best hotshoe and ten pin connector solution
●Easy to operate
●Small, lightweight and easy to travel with
●Compact & fashionable design
●Real time GPS information
●Build-in rechargeable battery, more than 9 hrs operating time
●Unique camera battery backup support
●Mounted on flash accessory shoe or attached to camera strap
●Support Nikon D3, D300, D2XS, D2X, D2HS & D200, Fujifilm S5 Pro
Main Specifications
Electrical Characteristics
GPS Chipset: SiRF Star III
Frequency: L1, 1575.42 MHz
C/A Code: 1.023 MHz chip rate
Channels: 20 channel
Tracking sensitivity: -159dBm
ACQUISITION RATE
Hot start: 1 sec., average
Warm start: 38 sec., average
Cold start: 42 sec., average
Reacquisition: 0.1 sec., average
ACCURACY
Position Horizontal:10meters,2D RMS
1-5 meters 2D RMS, WAAS corrected
Velocity: 0.1m/sec.
Device Size and Weight
Size: 56 (L)mmX36(W)mm X 17(H) mm
Weight: 50g
The first thing you will want to do is charge the units battery (rechargable). From my repeated test on both units, it takes approximately 2 ½ hours to fully charge the unit and you will get approximately 10 hours of continiuos usage time. Once your battery on the unit is drained you can then flip a switch to “camera” and now the unit will run off your camera battery if necessary.
Now for the excitement: First time out using a unit on my D300, cold start – WOW!, very quickly (not more than 40 seconds) a signal was locked. After that, turning the camera on and off the capture time was anywhere from 1-10 seconds. Accuracy is dead on, just as I would expect.
The beauty of this unit is that the GPS information (longitude, latitude and altitude) are inserted right into the metadata of each shot as you take them. There is no need for ANY post processing when you return to your computer. Since I use Adobe Lightroom I can take advantage of this data instantly by clicking the little GPS button in the metadata panel which will automatically take me to the location that I was shooting on Google Maps. I also use Smug Mug as my photography website (www.MLKimages.com) which is also linked to Google Maps. So after I upload new images to my Smug Mug website, Customers are able to click on a “Map This” button which will open up the gallery in Google Maps and show all the gallery images laid out on the map. Flickr users....same thing, upload you GPS embedded images to your Flickr account – Pretty Cool!
The unit has two switches. The first is the CONTROL switch which allows you to control how the unit is sync’d to work with the camera.
AUTO – In the Auto position the GPS unit will turn on and off with the camera – simple. This will probably yield the best battery life. However, each time the unit is turned on with the camera in this mode it will have to potentially acquire the satellite signal again.
ON - it stays on and connected to the GPS satellites regardless if the camera is on or not.
OFF is just that, the unit is off regardless of the camera being on or off.
Since the unit has it’s own internal battery I personally recommend the ON position if you are shooting, then moving then shooting again. If you’re going to use it off and on throughout the day, then Auto is probably best. There is a clear indicator right on top that quickly flashes red in a sequence of 3 when it is searching and blinks a slow and steady red when it has locked on. There is one additional green lamp that will light steady when the unit is being charged and will turn off when fully charged. Also when in use, the green lamp will illuminate when the battery is running low.
The second switch is POWER, which controls where the unit gets it’s….you guessed it –where it gets its power. INSIDE uses the GPS internal battery. CAMERA is using the cameras battery.
Solmeta customer service has been nothing but excellent! One item I did not like on the initial units I received was the inability to know when the battery of the unit was drained. I also was not fond of the connection of the chargers to the GPS unit. I sent an email Solmeta and offered them a few suggestions to improve the units. They sent me a reply of thanks and they would look into it. One week later I received a follow-up email saying that the changes I recommended were implemented into new units and replacments were on the way. Now I am using the renewed units and the green light will flash when the battery is low and the connection is excellent between the charger and receiver. Solmeta has also advised me that they are intorducing a new unit shortly that will have a location locking anility so when shooting indoors you will be able to lock the GPS location and embed the data into the exif info when shooting indoors - another requested and cool feature!
Enjoy and if anyone reading my review is planning on purchasing a GPS tagging unit from Solmeta, make sure you mention that you read my review.....that may offer you a small discount ;)
MLKimages
Monday, March 17, 2008
Strasburg Road race....RedRoseRaces Series
Saturday was the opening race of the Red Rose Races Road Racing Series. 1st race was held in Strasburg PA - lancaster County. This year with some re-occuring back issues I decided not to race at all and photograph the entire day of racing.
What looked to be earlier in the week a day of wet racing....started out cloudy with some damp roads to dry and full of sun! This was my 1st photography event of the year so I was off my game a bit as far as having my rythmn together with my equipment and just feeling comfortable getting set up and moving around quickly. The season is just starting and it will all quickly come back to me.
Decided to try out some new things this year, lighting, equipment, new styles, etc. It will take a bit of time to get everything dialed in exactly how I want it, but so far I really like some of my captures and hopefully everyone else will as well.
Here are some sampel images from the weekend......not your "typical" racing photos...I'll save those for another blog entry.
Strasburg Photo Galleries
Also, be sure to check out my expanded "TEAMS" photo galleries I have added several additional local and Pro teams and will continue to add more......
What looked to be earlier in the week a day of wet racing....started out cloudy with some damp roads to dry and full of sun! This was my 1st photography event of the year so I was off my game a bit as far as having my rythmn together with my equipment and just feeling comfortable getting set up and moving around quickly. The season is just starting and it will all quickly come back to me.
Decided to try out some new things this year, lighting, equipment, new styles, etc. It will take a bit of time to get everything dialed in exactly how I want it, but so far I really like some of my captures and hopefully everyone else will as well.
Here are some sampel images from the weekend......not your "typical" racing photos...I'll save those for another blog entry.
Strasburg Photo Galleries
Also, be sure to check out my expanded "TEAMS" photo galleries I have added several additional local and Pro teams and will continue to add more......
Monday, January 28, 2008
Weekend at the Chesapeak Bay
Last weekend we decided to take the family down to the house on the Chesapeake Bay for the extended weekend for some R&R. The kids had afternoon soccer games on Saturday - this was the start of their indoor soccer season - their first. Off the topic, but I have a bone to pick with the Hockessin Soccer Club. We signed the girls up to play GIRLS INDOOR SOCCER and NOT Co-Ed Soccer Played Indoors!!! Big difference. One of the main reasons we joined the Hockessing Soccer Club was that they offered girls soccer and not Co-ed. My two daughters had a great time playing fall soccer and wanted to try their hand at indoor soccer to get some additional ball control experience. Signed them up and the sign up specifically stated Girls Indoor. A few days prior to the first game we get the team list and it's co-ed. Not a big deal for my younger daughter - she doesn't care, but my older daughter hates playing with boys and absolutely refused to play. We talked it over and came to an agreement that she would play one game and if she wanted to quit - she could...and then I would contact the club and request a refund. Well after the first game she decided to try a few more games (it helped that she scored the first 2goals for her team)...and Ella scored the first goal for her team as well. My second complain is that INDOOR soccer is played agains walls, backboards, etc - there are no out of bounds - these games are not indoor soccer at all - no boards to play off of - behind the goal is out of bounds and becomes a goal kick - just soccer being played indoors - quite a difference. I think next year we may look into another club for indoor soccer.
Get down to the Bay Saturday evening - kids play in the hot tub most of the evening, watched a few movies - all in all a relaxing weekend. Took the time to play around with the camera, try out some colored Gels on my flash. Sunday the temperatures took a plumit and the Bay started to freeze over, wind was howling....pretty much you were unable to venture outside for longer than 15 minutes. I spent a short amount of time outside trying to just grap a few photos, but my hands ended up freezing...so I kept inside. Sunday was also my wifes 39th birthday so we had a nice dinner and apple cake.
Back home on Monday and Tuesday all forms of sickness broke out - everyone in the family ended up sick in bed ALL week - high temperature winner goes to Mave at 104.7. I was fortunate enough to have it the least and no feaver, but most of the time I was completely drained of any energy....but I was looking forward to finally getting on the mountain bike on Saturday - ended up that I was still feeling pretty sick and decided the smarter thing would be to skip the ride. Sunday I thought I could try to get in a nice and easy 1 hour road ride. My friend John called just as I was heading out the door and I decided to ride down to his house for a ride.....stupid move as no rides with John are ever considered easy....show back up home almost 3 hours later and felt like crap. Man I need to get back into shape!
A few photos from the past weekends trip:
Get down to the Bay Saturday evening - kids play in the hot tub most of the evening, watched a few movies - all in all a relaxing weekend. Took the time to play around with the camera, try out some colored Gels on my flash. Sunday the temperatures took a plumit and the Bay started to freeze over, wind was howling....pretty much you were unable to venture outside for longer than 15 minutes. I spent a short amount of time outside trying to just grap a few photos, but my hands ended up freezing...so I kept inside. Sunday was also my wifes 39th birthday so we had a nice dinner and apple cake.
Back home on Monday and Tuesday all forms of sickness broke out - everyone in the family ended up sick in bed ALL week - high temperature winner goes to Mave at 104.7. I was fortunate enough to have it the least and no feaver, but most of the time I was completely drained of any energy....but I was looking forward to finally getting on the mountain bike on Saturday - ended up that I was still feeling pretty sick and decided the smarter thing would be to skip the ride. Sunday I thought I could try to get in a nice and easy 1 hour road ride. My friend John called just as I was heading out the door and I decided to ride down to his house for a ride.....stupid move as no rides with John are ever considered easy....show back up home almost 3 hours later and felt like crap. Man I need to get back into shape!
A few photos from the past weekends trip:
Monday, January 14, 2008
Photos of a Solo ride...
Most of my riding ends up being Solo - with three kids it just ends up being more time efficient to leave from my house for a road ride...and a lot of them just at the spur of the moment. Sunday, I was lucky enough to get out for such a ride and suprisingly I was able to ride two days in a row!
Just wanted to post a quick slide show of some of the scenes I often see on these solo rides. Today I was lucky enough to bump into an old friend that I have not seen in many years. It was nice to have a old friend tag along for a portion of the ride.
Just wanted to post a quick slide show of some of the scenes I often see on these solo rides. Today I was lucky enough to bump into an old friend that I have not seen in many years. It was nice to have a old friend tag along for a portion of the ride.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Some Weekend Group Riding - finally!
Haven't been writing much, busy with odds and ends and just haven't been updating the Blog much.
Well finally after being off the bike completely for 2 months (longest off a bike pretty much my entire life) I have been able to get back and start some riding again. Last week was the Donut ride - a few guys on fixed gears and a few of us on geared bikes.....headed out to NorthBrook Orchards for some famous bakery treats only to find out they are closed for the season????? Especially since their main sign says they are OPEN ALL YEAR!! Kind of a let down, but I lived.
Trying to get back into the swing of doing some routine excersizing a few days a week this week we had two beautiful days of close to 60 degree weather so I did a lunch time road ride on both days - Wednesday was my 1st ever Spinning class at the YMCA - going to try this one day a week for a while just to keep it mixed up a bit.
Today we had a nice group ride out of Marc V's house for a 2 1/2 hour road ride. Perfect weather and as always good and safe company!
As far a photography....had a lot of "upgrades" the past month or so and justbeen trying to learn some new software and get in place a new workflow for 2008 with the goal to speed up some large number pricessing. Switch to using Lightroom (which I love) and CS3, added a few plugins for sharpening (Photokit Sharpener) and Noise Reduction(Noise Ninja) - still learning my way around the new software with the hopes of getting the basics dialed in soon.
Picked up a new camera as well - D300 and lens 105 f/2.8vr Micro. My D200 with be my 2nd body now.
Well finally after being off the bike completely for 2 months (longest off a bike pretty much my entire life) I have been able to get back and start some riding again. Last week was the Donut ride - a few guys on fixed gears and a few of us on geared bikes.....headed out to NorthBrook Orchards for some famous bakery treats only to find out they are closed for the season????? Especially since their main sign says they are OPEN ALL YEAR!! Kind of a let down, but I lived.
Trying to get back into the swing of doing some routine excersizing a few days a week this week we had two beautiful days of close to 60 degree weather so I did a lunch time road ride on both days - Wednesday was my 1st ever Spinning class at the YMCA - going to try this one day a week for a while just to keep it mixed up a bit.
Today we had a nice group ride out of Marc V's house for a 2 1/2 hour road ride. Perfect weather and as always good and safe company!
As far a photography....had a lot of "upgrades" the past month or so and justbeen trying to learn some new software and get in place a new workflow for 2008 with the goal to speed up some large number pricessing. Switch to using Lightroom (which I love) and CS3, added a few plugins for sharpening (Photokit Sharpener) and Noise Reduction(Noise Ninja) - still learning my way around the new software with the hopes of getting the basics dialed in soon.
Picked up a new camera as well - D300 and lens 105 f/2.8vr Micro. My D200 with be my 2nd body now.
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