# first commute video



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Still learning my way around the GoPro. But I finally managed to capture this morning's commute! It breaks it into different parts for some reason.

Took an hour of PTO this morning so I'd be able to ride in, and not regret missing out on a beautiful day (rain tomorrow.) So there was hardly any traffic. 

Here's the busiest part of the ride for your entertainment. Technically, I could call it the "pants-less ride" since I had yet to realize I forgot my pants  but I'm not that desperate for views!






Hyperlapse of the boring section: https://youtu.be/Nf-b9ky16ss


----------



## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

That's real urban commuting. You just made me appreciate my bike path a bit more.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

I'm not joking when I say how much I envy those dedicated bike paths!!


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Part 4 finally uploaded, this is the last part of Williamsburg, over the bridge into Manhattan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAWBfdsnklE

These will be more interesting during rush hour!


----------



## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Thanks, that was interesting. Looooong bridge you ride over. I think I passed you around 6:28 

How much does a camera like that cost? I occasionally see people riding with them. I always figured they were primarily a way to document a motorist running you off the road. 

So how far is your commute? Some of those lanes look OK, while others look kind of scary -- like that one that was next to the road into on-coming traffic. That would suck at night. We are lucky in DC.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

I do actually love my commute, just not all parts of it! Rarely boring, even when it's low traffic (like these videos.) And for all the traffic, there are plenty of bike lanes..... congested, but they're there. Love the people-watching.

Just got the GoPro Hero 4 Silver. I wanted something cheaper and simpler, but the Fly 12 hasn't come out yet, and this is just easier to deal with in terms of technology. Still learning my way around the buttons, special effects (Hyperlapse) and uploading to YouTube and such (both take _hours_.) rrr: With the extras (dual battery charger, larger memory card, chest harness and whatever else) it was in the $500 range.

Hoping to keep at it, figure I can show friends/family what I'm up to half the time!

Edit: Forgot to answer your question- it's 16 miles. Takes about 1hr 20min door-to-door.


----------



## Steve B. (Jun 26, 2004)

Seems like a wide angle of GoPro that makes it seem like you're hammering.

Or you were hammering. Seemed like 16-18 and better.

Lot of risk taking as well, IMO. That first subway overpass intersection where that black SUV started to right hook you, all I could think was you were asking for trouble going into that intersection at that speed. 

Do you really hammer that hard ?. 

I've done my south shore to Brooklyn 25 mile commute in under 1:30, but was on a racing bike and trying to go fast. It was dangerous. Now I keep my speed down and am comfortable with 1:50 to 2 hrs, traffic depending. I'd rather get to work or home safely. 

So needless to say, this video disturbed me as I worry that you're going to get nailed and will be traveling too fast to react.

OTOH, I well recall riding with friends who live and ride NYC regularly and can state that their skill levels and awareness of their surroundings were exceptional. My L.I. Riding buddies comment when I've been commuting as I ride more aggressively, and can. It's like getting your skills on mt. biking built up over a season. 

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Ha, if only! Definitely not hammering. 16 miles each way takes me 1hr 20min on a good day. During this commute, I made a couple of lights that I don't normally make, including that one under the subway. 

I was hammering to make the light, and yeah that one car startled me as it seemed to suddenly want to pull out. But there's generally dense-enough traffic that you know people won't pull out, since there's no place for them to go. 

It's a given that at some point, I'll get hurt somehow. Look at all the dooring that could potentially happen for one thing (there is a surprise door in part 2 but it's sped up.) All the places a pedestrian could run out unexpectedly, or a car passing in the opposite lane, popping out into the oncoming lane (also visible in part 3, though it could've been worse.)

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the video *appears* faster than I was going- I was afraid my slow speed would make it awfully boring. I'll probably play with time lapse for future videos in any case.

Just downloaded the software so that might help the image quality.


----------



## Steve B. (Jun 26, 2004)

Christine;495475
I was hammering to make the light said:


> Easy fix, don't try to make the lights. There are so many on a typical NYC commute, it won't make a difference and makes you vulnerable if the someone else hammering to make the light is a truck.
> 
> As well, I thought you have terrific riding smarts, in that you don't ride too close to parked cars, yet are not riding too far into the lane. It's a crapshoot to get doored or run down by the numbnut in a car who won't share.
> 
> This is as BTW an eye opener to what it's like riding in a city where a huge investment and effort has been made to create lanes and paths, only to have so much of it made useless by vehicles parked and stopped in a lane. Rather then give riders tickets for running red lights, how about the NYPD starts cracking down on bike lane violations. Never going to happen as the typical beat cop considers "parking violations" the job of the parking agents. Wrong priorities.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Thanks for the compliment! John was watching and, as expected, he immediately said stuff like, "You're wobbling, that means your seat's too high, but your cadence is good."  

I do wonder if, when they paint those on-street markers with the ">>>" lines, if the middle of the point is meant to indicate where the bike ought to go. It seems as if the apex of the triangle (usually) is set about three feet from the parked cars (or whatever the "door distance" is.)

Last night, on the ride home, I came off the pedestrian bridge into my neighborhood and made a sharp left, riding up the wrong side on the sidewalk until I could merge into the right lane. A cop was parked RIGHT THERE and I thought, oh that's it, I'm screwed......but he didn't come after me. Nice to get some slack!

You're right about the lights, but the subway underpass and the light after that are long ones. Well.......truthfully, they're probably just a couple of minutes each, but even after that first one turns green, there's loads of traffic blocking the intersection, and it's additional work and risk getting through that.

You'll see when I post a rush-hour video! Right now I'm trying to combine 3 & 4 on YouTube, which takes hours, and hyperlapse another.........this takes insane amounts of time otherwise I'd be asleep by now.... :skep:


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Intense morning. Think I got some interesting footage this time around, in any case- my near-death experience with a surprise bus, and cyclist rage after an incident on the bridge (a woman was furious that a pedestrian deliberately hit her with a big bag.) Don't think I should post that part, but I do want to see if I caught any evidence.....


----------



## Bill2 (Oct 14, 2007)

Enjoyed that very much Christine. I'm getting back to commuting to school after an injury, more of a country ride though.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Thanks, glad you like it! I'm still learning, hoping for better quality uploads.

Just combined two of them, for a full 30+ minutes, but that took all night and morning. Hyperlapse also takes hours. Slow process!


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

Cool! You sure seem to know your way through traffic. Love the passing of the slow masher-types. Go girl!

The one thing that would keep me in fear is the potential of getting doored. A friend of mine had that happen when he was ripping along 20+ mph in a similar situation. He spent 3 weeks in the hospital, with the first six days in intensive care.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

It's on my mind constantly, but of course you can't let the fear keep you off the bike. I mean, once it happens, I can't imagine being able to get back out there, but we have to ride while we can.

SO frustrating that there's such a small margin of error. One minor, wrong move can put somebody in the hospital for so long, and that's if they're lucky!!

It looks like I'm going fast in this video, but today there was a very strong headwind, and I was being passed constantly (more people out during rush hour.)


----------



## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

I used to have to ride through Georgetown past miles of parked cars, and I was constantly trying to make out a person in the driver's seat who might door me as I was riding by. I sure don't miss that.


----------



## Randy99CL (Mar 27, 2013)

Christine said:


> SO frustrating that there's such a small margin of error. One minor, wrong move can put somebody in the hospital for so long, and that's if they're lucky!!
> 
> It looks like I'm going fast in this video, but today there was a very strong headwind, and I was being passed constantly (more people out during rush hour.)


I, too, really enjoyed the video.

I've not ridden in a big-city situation like that and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
I've gained additional respect for those of you who have to share the road with thousands of vehicles like that, wow.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

I uploaded today's commute, a little more exciting, but I have to figure out how to edit them. Strong headwind was frustrating.

Not sure if I should include the part where the woman was getting angry, but YouTube now has an option to blur faces! So maybe I can include it.......


----------



## mtrac (Sep 23, 2013)

Shoot. Now I really need, er, want a camera.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

It's an addictive toy. Today, while visiting my sister and some aunts/uncles, she featured the videos as after-dinner entertainment. 

I told her I wasn't planning on showing the old folks what the commute is like, but luckily all they saw was the Williamsburg section post-rush-hour


----------



## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

Watching that just made me pretty nervous - you are one brave lady! Too many cars for me.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Here's some Friday-morning footage. Closer to rush hour: 






Highlights: 7:37 mark- jumped the light sooner than usual, rogue car speeds out of nowhere. Not a problem, the lane behind me was clear.....hoped it would stay that way!

9:50- sneaking past a truck that started to turn into my lane at the last second (you can see the wheels turning, it helps to watch the front wheels of vehicles.... somewhat!)

10:30- view of intersection blocked as light turned green, I started to go, then a near hit by a bus as it goes through the red.  Closer than it looks! 

12:30- confrontation on pedestrian bridge (maybe I should try to blur the faces*, not that there's a whole lot of viewership!)

And this is all within five minutes of one ride! 

*Edit: Tried the "blur" feature on YouTube, didn't work. Meh.


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

I believe you could probably thread a needle on that bike. Impressive!

Don't worry about the faces - it was in open public view.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

The bike is very nimble and stealth, except when I apply the brakes that _*SQUEEEEEEEEAK!!!*_ Somewhat annoying, but you'll see where it does get people to jump out of the way, or at least notice the bike.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Finally got the whole commute into one video. Took all weekend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvQqu-vQKI&edit=vd

Of course, it still has to process, damn this takes forever.


----------



## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

Christine said:


> Finally got the whole commute into one video. Took all weekend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvQqu-vQKI&edit=vd
> 
> Of course, it still has to process, damn this takes forever.



If you ever want to show only clips of your rides, I suggest using Avidemux which has a great snipping tool. If you try to use something like Windows Movie Maker, you'll have to buffer the whole file before you can edit, and that wastes time.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Ah, thank you! Will try that when I'm home. I have to keep the computer on 24/7 just to upload, with what little knowledge I have at the moment.

I want to hyperlapse the whole thing, but that's another million years.......oh well, I'm learning!

Edit: The video is only an hour loing, and the commute takes 1hr 20min or so. Turns out I left out part 4 :mad2: so there's a quick jump from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Took me all damn weekend to put those together......would have to start from scratch :mad5:

AH could be that I was able to fix it after all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=m3OhAZFAgDE

(posting this stuff for my own reference at this point!)


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Hyperlapse (full commute- 5 parts) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcLn3diK6s&edit=vd

(GAH those damn promotional breaks in between parts....... :mad2: )


----------



## redliner (Oct 21, 2004)

Nice videos. Maybe someone already asked, but...are you using a chest mount? I've been mounting mine on the stem. Convenient, but not the best. Shows part of the brake hoods.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

I have the Chesty, yes. There's an awful lot of squeaking noise, though, as the ride goes on. Might need to shim it with some foam or something.

I wouldn't want to use a stem mount- used to use the Flip Cam with the handlebar and helmet mounts, but the handlebar mount usually shows the most movement. 

Helmet mounts show the least movement, but I prefer the chest strap- some movement but less conspicuous than on the helmet.


----------



## michaelcogburn.c (Nov 22, 2015)

That's a great video and I enjoyed watching it. That first bike commuting is very inspiring indeed.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Thanks! Hoping to do some more very soon. Weather's been lousy this week.


----------



## zipp2001 (Feb 24, 2007)

Looking good Christine ! Been playing with my GoPro 4 silver for some time now. Here is an early video where I added music, switched to black and white. I also played with the light functions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoMU4ZYmPHA


----------



## Keoki (Feb 13, 2012)

Christine said:


> Hyperlapse (full commute- 5 parts)
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcLn3diK6s&edit=vd
> 
> (GAH those damn promotional breaks in between parts....... :mad2: )


Christine, you ride really close to parked cars. Fyi, getting "doored" really sucks. My advice, ride faster but in the middle. Try to keep up with the speed limit.


----------



## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

The only thing more dangerous than the doors, are the drivers in a hurry!

I do stay out of door's reach whenever possible, and am usually looking ahead at the cars for people coming out.


----------

