Friday, March 19, 2010

Last Gasp of Winter

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, which will be arriving precisely at 10:32am which means that today is the last day of winter. Temperatures are still cool here hovering around freezing, give or take a degree or two. I got a late start which explains the lack of darkness. I rolled out my Tachometer, which is attached to my Suzuki V-Strom and switched on the Heated Grips

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I have the Oxford Heaterz with electronic controller.

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another uneventful ride to the office where I can keep an eye on my bike from my window . It was a warm 14c and the sun was out for most of the day. You could nearly walk about in T-shirts and tomorrow is forecast to be warmer.

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I have a video following which records some of my commute home a few days ago using my Hero GoProHD. Unlike KW where they only have one great Ocean Highway, I have a choice of 4 routes. I classify them as; fast, faster, slow and Indy 500. I found myself getting carried away with zipping in and out slaloming around cars and thought it wiser to take the slow route, which I showed you on the prev post which meanders through Burnaby and New Westminster hindered with numerous traffic lights.

This time I took the freeway (Hwy 1) eastbound back to Vancouver from the Cariboo Road interchange. Motorcycles are allowed to take the HOV lanes but I find that however fast you go it's not fast enough and you end up being tailgated. There is a solid white line for much of its length which means you are not allowed to change to the regular lanes, at least, not legally. By the time it changes to a dotted line we get to a congested area and I am forced to change to the extreme right lane to get to the Grandview Highway exit which is not always safe. That is the main reason I go with the flow in the slow lane.

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(cockpit view)

At the beginning of the video I was also testing the mounting position of the GoProHD on my car windshield with the camera Upside Down using the supplied suction mount. When the camera is recording upside down, the video is also upside down and has to be flipped rightside up by software. GoPro has software being released soon which will do the job inside the camera while being recorded, but I found a way to flip it using PREL7.

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(outside view)

As previously mentioned, all freeways end at the boundaries of Vancouver. To reach the city core you have to travel on surface roads. From the Grandview Exit to my garage takes about half an hour.

12 comments:

  1. I can't believe you ran that red light!!!

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  2. Yep, Bob Skooted through that red light alright! Hee-hee!

    So, Bob, now I know how those Brits drive on the left side of the road ... they just turn thing upside down! LOL!! Fun Vid!

    Oh, and happy Spring to you!

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  3. Bob - As a foreigner I wasn't sure about something you said about HOV lanes. Are you not allowed to cross a solid white line into or out of HOV lanes? I have seen many people doing this in the Seattle area, so are they breaking the law when doing this or maybe it is different in Canada?

    The video from the bike is so much better than from the car. No wait a minute – change that. Riding a bike is so much better than driving a car! Silly me.

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  4. I'm starting to get way jealous of those who have been able to ride most of the winter. Especially with all of the bike video being posted. I's probably going to be at least another month before I can get mine out of the garage due to all of the snow and ice on the driveway and on the smaller roads.

    Other than that, I enjoy your video and thank you for going through the trouble to make them.

    And I always thought it was illegal to cross the solid white line to get in or out of the HOV lanes but like just about every other law, people seem to routinely break it whenever it suits their needs. Just MHO...

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  5. Bobskoot, thanks for the reminder about the 20th being the first day of Spring. I'd forgotten!

    We've got maybe an inch of snow in my neighborhood.....that's Colorado Springtime!

    Natasha will be going out today. : )

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  6. Great video Bobskoot,
    Thanks for taking us along for the ride! I gotta quit watching these...you're making me want to go video!

    All my best...

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  7. I am putting winter away as done for another 9 months. 80 degrees (US)and sunny and the wife made me take the kennel to work.

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  8. Bobskoot--what a fun ride to go on with you! On this gray rainy-snowy day, this was a great trip. Just two days ago our temps were in the 60F and Saturday, it snowed and dropped by more than 30 degrees.

    Thanks for a great ride--I could feel the leans. I didn't know you were so daring--

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  9. Dear Bob Skoot:

    I celebrated the first day of spring with a 228-mile run. There was ni video. If there had been, I would have entered it on America's Funniest Videos.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toad
    Twisted Roads

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  10. Remember you saying to me that I rode to fast hahaha least I dont run red lights!!! bad Bob

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  11. Troubadour:

    No red lights, look more closely, you will definitely see YELLOW

    Chuck:

    see above ^^ . Even when watching video, horizontally flipped, it all looks different

    月亮:

    thanks for stopping by

    Gary UK:

    Going into and out of HOV lanes you have to pass over a line, whether dotted or solid. You are not allowed to transverse over a solid white line, but many do. Even myself sometimes to get away from a tailgater.

    I didn't bring the GoProHD with me this morning and Now I feel naked without it. What if I wanted to take a video without my camera ?

    Richard:

    You are right. many just cross over those solid lines but you are not supposed to. Even right turners are supposed to stop at the red light before proceeding, but they just breeze right through without slowing down much

    Charlie6:

    sorry about the snow, but you did choose to live in a mountainous area. I did click your links a few times but didn't leave a comment yet about "lifting the sidecar"., so you should have some gas money soon

    Kari/BlueKat:

    I rather like video. when riding, it is easier to just let it roll, and edit later. For taking still photos with your left hand while riding is not safe. Also eliminates those "wasn't safe to pull over" excuses.

    Mr Conchscoot:

    yada yada yada, blah, blah, blah, humbug, excuses, excuses . . . sure, blame someone else

    Sharon:

    I think the wide angle makes your perceived speed faster than what it is, I think. The videos I have on my youtube channel from last year were mounted on my SV650nK4, and those were going really fast. DTSL

    Jack:

    waiting patiently for your video

    Linda:

    tell Dave I will raise my bid to 8 GBP. You are very dextrous, Facebook, sewing and breathing all at the same time.

    AND, it was a yellow light, NOT a RED light. We don't have red lights here

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  12. I'd have to agree with Gary. bike > car :)

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