Tag: bike riding

Posted on

HTC RE – Time Lapse Test

This was my first attempt at time lapse video. I shot the video from my Manhattan office window and used the new HTC RE camera that I got for Christmas. It is a nice little low profile handheld point and shoot camera that captures HD video and 16 megapixel still photos. The camera also has a built in Time lapse feature and a built in wide angle lens for capturing everything you put in front of it.

The camera is also waterproof up to one meter (3.3 feet) for up to 30 minutes without an additional housing. The HTC Re is a periscope-shaped heir to the Flip and pistol-grip Sanyo Xacti pocket cameras while offering some of the durability of cameras like the GoPro. I have a Contour Roam camera that I regularly use when riding my bike and the RE stacks up very favorably to the action camera in terms of features and image quality.

I love it because the HTC camera is pure simplicity. In fact, there are only two buttons one the entire unit. The first is a Continue reading “HTC RE – Time Lapse Test”

Posted on

No Sleep ’til Brooklyn part deux

This was my first bike ride since returning home from Oslo. I have been getting over a cold for the past week or so. I think my body has been rebelling against the NYC air quality and humidity. I had trouble getting to sleep because my legendary insomnia was in full effect as a result of the new job. Since I was wide awake I decided to go for a little late night ride. I was still missing Oslo but I felt pretty good all things considered.

I had forgotten how much I love NYC at night. I stopped biking in the city more than a year ago after being Continue reading “No Sleep ’til Brooklyn part deux”

Posted on

2013 Five Boro Bike Tour

482609_367254280043234_2020647871_n

Today was an excellent day for our annual Five Boro Bike tour family outing. The wife and I have done this every year together for a least the last ten years. My son started riding with us in 2010. This was his fourth trip with us. This year was very different because this was the first major public event since the bombing of the Boston Marathon a few weeks back.

The police presence was overwhelming. There were numerous checkpoints throughout the course. I even spotted a few police snipers Continue reading “2013 Five Boro Bike Tour”

Posted on

Rain, rain, go away!

The 5 Boro Bike Tour 09When the alarm went off this morning at 6:30am I almost cried. Sunday is usually the one day of the week that I am able to sleep in late. The kids were spending the weekend at Grandma’s house so it was the perfect type of Sunday to just lay in bed and watch TV. However, as we did almost every year, Ski and I had signed up to ride in the annual Five Boro Bike Tour a few months back, and today was the event.

I always enjoy this event but this year the weather was predicted to be cold and rainy for the entire day. Plus my body was still sore from the previous day when I accidentally caught an elbow to my eyebrow while grappling in Krav Maga class. So considering those factors, the last thing that I really wanted to do was ride 50 miles in the rain and cold. But with the kids and our busy schedules, it is rare that Ski and I get a whole day just to do something together on our own. So I manned up and dragged my behind out of bed to spend time with my wife.

Despite the rain and cold, I have to admit that the ride was fun. The course took us all over the city. We started in lower Manhattan and dipped all to briefly into the Bronx (i swear the Bronx gets shown no love in these events). From there we headed over a bridge back into Manhattan and down the East River Drive (even in the rain the ride down the East River Drive is always an experience). The we headed over the 59th Street Bridge into Queens then on to the BQE into Brooklyn. The final leg of the tour carried us over the Verrazzano Bridge and into Staten Island.

At the end we were wet and tired and cold. But I had a great time with my girl.

Posted on

Da’ Bridge is over, da’ bridge is over

The Five Borough Bike Tour

Last Sunday Ski and I dropped the kids off at my mom’s place and rode in the NYC Five Boro Bike Tour. Now I know that I said that I would never ride with my wife again after the Great Norwegian biking debacle of 2007, but we do this race every year. It is a nice way for us to spend some time together. Plus since all of the roads are closed to traffic, there is almost no chance of me getting run over. Continue reading “Da’ Bridge is over, da’ bridge is over”

Posted on

Working out ain’t no joke!

Me after a workoutGetting back into the swing of working out regularly has been more of a challenge than I thought. However the upside of this change has been that I have started get back to my old playing weight. I got about another 10 lbs until I am able to fit back into my high school jersey. Now I just gotta get my knees in playing form so I can get my hops back. I really wanna get to the point where I can dunk easily again. Continue reading “Working out ain’t no joke!”