Friday the 13th

I don't know if Friday the 13th had anything to do with it, but when I got my GoPro ready for my next adventure, it bombed out on me and haven't started since. As a matter of fact I tried each and every advise I could find on the Internet and just as I got my hopes up, it died again.  At the moment it is on its way to Johannesburg while I am on my way to Uganda.

I haven't traveled for a while. The reason being that my job changed and I am not required to do as many travels as I did before. The traveling was getting hectic and the advice to be careful what you wish for was not taken seriously, so after changing positions in an attempt to travel less a serious bout of cabin fever set in after a month or so. When this opportunity came up to go to Uganda I grabbed it with both hands.

What I have learned over the past couple of days is that you probably lose your "frequent traveler" status within 3 months of your last flight. The skill of packing a suitcase in 1 hour, online check-ins, having all your electronic gadgets ready and still have time to kiss your wife and the kids goodbye somehow disappears very quickly. Add to that a GoPro that decided to stop working the afternoon before your travel and you are bound to realize later than you have left something important at home. I managed to get through check-in this morning on my first domestic flight to Johannesburg, so at least I know that my e-ticket and passport is with me. My final destination is Jinja in Uganda, via Entebbe. Passport - check, Forex - check, second-skin - check, sunscreen - check, GoPro........f*cked!

So, I am heading on an adventure down the Victoria Nile and I don't have any means of capturing it. My GoPro is still under warranty, so at least there is some hope of having it fixed (hopefully replaced), but capturing the experience I'll have to do in my memory. The iPhone will not work in Grade 5 rapids, as a matter of fact, my phone is not even charged and will probably not see Jinja before the battery runs out. Friday the 13th is behind me, but I still feel the effects. Hopefully by tomorrow when I splash down that river clinging on for dear life all of this would make sense to me....

Better Days Take 2

After I posted the first shortened version of the surf clip I made yesterday, I decided to see if it would make a difference if I create the movie being more patient. What usually happens when I input too much information my Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 8 software hangs. Last nigh I waited for each processing step to finish before I clicked my next click, and somehow I managed to win the war.

What is a problem to me now (and I have consulted the Internet where I got many explanations and none that would really seems to be the right one) is that the quality of the video on YouTube is very poor compared top the crystal clear quality I see on my computer. There are many suggestions on what to do, but none of them seems to be the magic solution. Anyway, here is the initial clip I aborted after the umpteenth crash and eventually got right when I aplied a bit of patience. I guess better days are coming indeed....

Inspiration to Frustration

After being inspired by Jack Johnson video of his song "You and Your heart", I decided to go do a quick surf session and see if I can get a similar shot or two. I bought my Sony Vegas Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 8 some years ago when I got my Sony Handycam. Although I am not an expert on creating movies I did manage to make a few memorable videos of my son which he will probably one day be grateful for. The time  and effort that went into those videos know one will ever appreciate, because the amount of times that I had to start all over because the program crashed is enough to make anyone give up. I never knew if it was the software or if my system was just not fast enough to cope with large amount of video's and music files. Nevertheless, it was never a pleasure to make these movies, more a frustration.

When I got my GoPro I thought that it would give me better footage to make even better clips. What a disappointment in not only the fogged-up lens. Once I load more than two clips into the movie software, the whole program crashes and I have to start all over. I am sure that the quality of the clips are way too good for the Sony Vegas software to handle...or maybe my machine just cannot handle it. Not enough memory maybe? I went surfing today and although I got some nice clips, I only managed to make this short video. One extra clip and the software stops responding. A real frustration and maybe this time enough to quit my movie making career after all. The day's surfing was good though.....

Revival Tour 2013

In 2012 I didn't do nearly as many trips I would have liked to. I decided that 2013 was going to be different, so I did my first trip on the 1st of January and called it my "Revival Tour". What was supposed to be a four day trip however ended after two days mainly because of two reasons. On the second day I landed mid-day at Matjiesfontein where I was supposed to overnight and had no idea what I was going to do with myself for the rest of the afternoon besides maybe taking some pictures and visiting the museum. Riding on seemed like a better option at the time. Secondly my "patched-up" topbox which had been "repaired" after a previous fall fell off with all my camera equipment inside. Fortunately this sturdy BMW top box could give any Coleman cooler box a run for its money and my cameras survived a second crash. I was however not prepared to take it for a third bashing seeing that it has survived two already and the third time might be interpreted as "pushing my luck". I was also not going to spend a whole afternoon in Matjiesfontein musing on whether I should continue my tour with a dodgy topbox or head straight home and postpone the last part of my trip until a next time.

My initial plan was to take as much footage of my trip with my Sony Handycam and compliment it with a few  shots from my GoPro attached to my helmet. I had my SLR camera also on board hoping for some nice photo opportunities at various locations like Matjiesfontein, Barrydale, Prince Albert, etc. The ideas was to create a nice 20-minute movie of my Revival Tour for my blog...

On New Year's Day I left Cape Town at 6:30, headed for Worcester via the Du Toitskloof Pass and stopped quite frequently along the way to gather footage. It was actually cold most of the way with temperatures ranging from 15 degrees to 21. I knew I had the whole day to get to Mossel Bay, so I was really just cruising along absorbing the scenery. At Seweweekspoort I planned a quick "in-and-out" ride because I have never been through Seweweekspoort before. It would be the only "no t-shirt yet" section of my whole trip and I was really excited to see what the place looked like. What a lovely road and scenery.   Unfortunately it was not exactly what I was expecting to see and experience. I was a bit disappointed but think it was because of reports I have read and an image I have created about this "must-do" poort that created the exeptionally high expectations. Compared to roads like Prince Alfred Pass, Gamkaskloof, Montagu Pass and even Meiringspoort it was not as adventurous and exciting as I had hoped for. I was planning on spending at least two or more hours in the poort for footage, but eventually did the 40km through and back in less than an hour. I was also totally appalled at the amount of rubbish that was floating in the rivers and blowing around the picnic spots. I guess after New Year celebrations that could be expected, but it really was a sad face to see on such a beautiful morning.

The rest of the way to Mossel Bay via Oudtshoorn and the Robinson Pass was well concluded with a braai at my brother-in-law's.

My second day started at around 7 am and I left for the Montagu Pass via the old road to George passing through Blanco. The Montagu Pass to me is really spectacular and I have spend lots of time on that pass before. I remember years ago when I still thought it would be the biggest challenge to do it on a mountain bike. I did it a few times since then and every time I go there I just want to stay there as long as I can. It's really worth going early in the morning when everything smells fresh with its cool and damp shaded areas and "foresty" smell. It was here that I realised with utter disgust that all the files on my Handycam from the previous day were corrupted. It would not be the first time that I have lost all the files on this stupid little video recorder, so my hopes of retrieving it was lost along with my "Producer" aspirations. I never took many pictures with my SLR on the way either so it was left up to the GoPro to save the day...and the tour for that matter.

After the Montagu Pass I joined the queue of Gauteng motorist heading towards Oudtshoorn and for them eventually towards a province they sadly call "home". I was thinking how bad it must be to be driving back to Gauteng after a holiday on the South Coast and shouted a little "Thank You Lord it's not me!" inside my helmet. When I drove into Oudtshoorn I let go of my handle bars to stretch my arms and nearly lost control because of a wobbling front wheel. I stopped to check it out thinking that I might have lost one of the little wheel balancing weights, but it was not that. I was a bit worried as I have never felt that wobble before. I've had concerns with an "unstable front suspension" since I bought the bike. Compared to my previous F800GS the handlebars just feel very loose at high speeds and now all of a sudden it does weird things at slow speed as well. With the Swartberg Pass still beckoning to be conquered and no Motorad support in Oudshoorn (nothing found on my iPone) I decided to move along and hope for the best.

I was doing about 80 kph all the way to the foot of the Swartberg Mountains frequently letting go of my handlebars hoping that the wobble would have mysteriously disappeared. Later I slightly got used to the wobble and decided to focus on the ride rather than the possibility of getting tank-slapped before I reach my final destination. There were quite a few vehicles on the pass already, as well as mountain bikers thinking they were mean to do it on leg power. I also thought that long time ago when I crossed the Swartberg Pass on a mountain bike but then I discovered the engine-driven two-wheeled mode of transport and never felt the need to "prove myself "again. By this time of my trip I was just using my GoPro for footage and decided that I will make short clips of the passes in case someone would be interested to look at it. It might give an idea of what the passes look like and the road conditions. Maybe I can prevent someone from having a disappointment like I had at Seweweeks or make them more relax for an upcoming trip across the mighty Swartberg Mountains.

The ride over the pass was excellent as usual. I am always amazed by the engineering and commitment that must have gone into the planning and construction of the pass. I drove past the turn-off to The Hell and smiled because of a previous experience I had there with a mate's Buel that made it there but only half-way back. I was a bit sad when I reached the end of the pass and was contemplating going back again just to do the long uphill section to the top. I prefer going UP passes and hate the coming down part, but I still had to get to Matjiesfontein and was hoping on getting something to eat at Prince Albert before I finish the boring part of the day's route. The temperature already reached the high twenties, but after refuelling I decided to skip breakfast and head straight on to Matjiesfontein.

The stretch to Prince Albert Way and the N1 to Laingsburg was exhausting and boring as usual. On the N1 the oncoming traffic was hectic but did not bother me much. I was more trying not to fall asleep and with a strong side/head-on wind struggling to keep my bike on the road. I stopped for "breakfast" in Laingsburg around noon and with a full stomach on my way to Matjiesfotein I hit the bump which dislodged my topbox and send it flying through the air. Fortunately for me I heard it fall on the tar behind me and I immediately stopped to retrieve it and roughly calculate a ball-park figure on the damage. With around R15 000 worth of camera equipment inside I was a bit peeved off with myself for always wanting to fix things the "cheap way". Fortunately nothing was broken except maybe my motivation to continue the tour with this self-launching topbox. When I reached Matjiesfontain at  around 12:30 I had already made up my mind to push on. If it was going to be "homeward bound", then it was NOT going to be on the N1. I turned off at Touws River to go via Ceres and the Bain's Kloof Pass. With a wobbly front wheel and a shaky topbox I spend more time now checking my equipment in the rear-view mirror than checking the scenery ahead of me. I did however catch a glimpse of two elephants at the Aquila Nature Reserve just outside Touws River and was glad that I was still able to live in Africa with its wonderful wild life and screwed-up politicians.

When I reached Bain's Kloof Pass it was already 33 degrees. I switched on my GoPro for the last time and in between silly motorist and a precariously bouncing topbox I was rather relieved when I reached Wellington. There I stopped for a pie and Coke and from there on took a leisurely ride back home. I reached my house at around 4:30.

Doing over 1200 kilometres in two days is not really what I had planned, but what I was very pleased at was the fact that I started my new year with a bike trip. Maybe it did not go all that well, but it was lots of fun and a fantastic way to start the year. I am already thinking of new ways to use my GoPro and to sort out my luggage carrier issues and to have my front suspensions checked out asap. There is definitely a bike trip revival happening for me and it will hopefully continue far into 2013.

Below are the clips that I made from the passes. Rather boring to watch except maybe for the parts where I nearly left the road while looking back at the pass and the arsehole who didn't want me to pass him on the Bain's Kloof Pass. Unfortunately the quality on YouTube is also not as good as the files I uploaded, but the time it took to upload discouraged me from uploading again. No wheelies, sand monsters, skilled manoeuvres or exciting stuff, but at least a good idea of what the passes look like from the seat of a motorbike. 

Securing your girlfriend

OK, so I have not mentioned that I lost my GoPro a couple of weeks ago. I used the head strap while kite surfing and despite tying my wetsuit's zipper-chord to the head strap the knot somehow came undone. A wave hit the camera and head strap off and it dropped in the water. Unfortunately before I went in I also removed the little spongie that is supposed to keep it afloat because it was preventing me from setting it at the right angle. The idea was to capture the kite surfing action and not the sea gulls so I had no choice. In the end I captured the sea bottom but unfortunately I will never be able to see that footage.  It felt like I've lost my girlfriend at sea. I was heartbroken because of my loss. To avoid falling into a deep depression I did what any other guy would do to heal a broken heart and got me another one.

I learned from my previous mistake and this time I made sure that I was not going to lose this one as well. So instead of using the head strap which is probably only good for capturing the chicks in front of you while doing a fun walk for a local charity cause, I decided to do a proper mount on my bmx/skateboard/paragliding helmet. Not only did I screw in the GoPro bracket instead of being content with the 3M adhesive tape, I also made sure that I have at least two tethers attached to the helmet. One made out of steel (wire leader for fishing) and the other of unbreakable nylon string used in rock climbing. As if that wasn't enough I connected a leash to the helmet which clips onto my harness, just in case I lose the helmet. I doubt whether I will lose the harness. I put the orange floating sponge back on and secured the waterproof casing clip with a piece of bicycle tube cut into the shape of a calamari ring. To make double sure the helmet will not go down as fast as the previous one, I cut a piece of my son's swimming noodle to size and attached that to the helmet as well...in bright green colour. To some it might look like an overkill but if you do not want to lose your girlfriend again you do just that; you spend the money and time, put various of rings on her finger and hope for the best. I think I have turned my ordinary helmet into more than just a GoPro carrying device. I think it can now be used as a life saving device as well, I just need to have it certified. This one might be for life.

So yesterday I went in again to see if I could capture my first kite surfing video with my GoPro and manage to bring the evidence ashore. The wind was around 10-12 knots so I just managed to get away on my 10 kite. There were no waves but the water was really an awesome colour. I managed to get this 8 minute video with absolutely NO action whatsoever on it. WARNING: If you don't have 8 minutes to waste in your life, don't watch this. I think the only person that will appreciate this is my mom, so this is for her.

Now I am waiting for better conditions and then I will work on my clip selection and editing.