• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

A giant Kaw and other miscellaneous ramblings

pacman

Forum Supporter
Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Messages
6,479
Reaction score
564
Location
B-town
It seems like all of my day trips end up being totally last minute. We've got a pretty busy house with 4 rugrats running around so it seems like there's always something on. Wait, there is always something going on. Well, today, there was a break in the storm, so I decided to hit a few of my favorite local roads. This time around, I decided to try and shoot a little video of my ride and also of me riding past the camera. Unfortunately, I had a very limited degree of success. More on that later.

P7050007.jpg


I see this little guy every time I run down FM1187, and every time I tell myself I need to stop and take a picture. This time I followed through. A little red Kaw next to a giant black and white Kaw. Sweet! FM1187 between 377 and Aledo.

Once into Aledo, I stopped to get my camera set up.

P7050009.jpg


I pulled in to the parking lot of the Charles McAnally Intermediate School. Every time I ride past this school, I chuckle. If you can't figure out why, PM me and I'll explain it to you. Corner of FM1187 and FM5 in Aledo.

So I got the camera set up in my tank bag. Let me just say that my techinique didn't work out too well. I wedged the camera inbetween the zipper and zipped it as tight as I could. I also tied the camera to the tank bag to keep from dropping it. Here's my first attempt. Click.

th_P7050010_Trimmed.jpg


You can see that the view is crappy and the camera dropped down into the bag about 2 1/2 minutes in. Oh well, I guess I'll start looking at camera mounts.

I also attempted to set up the camera on the rodeside to film myself as I rode by. The best spot I found was a mailbox with a nice view of an ess curve. Only problem was the mailbox was loose and wobbly and the wind was blowing pretty hard, causing the mailbox to rock back and forth. I decided to chance it anyway. I set the camera up, hit the start button, and took off. I ran the corners both ways, each time railing through the curves on a perfect line at about warp 9.5. It was a thing a beauty. I eagerly went back to retreive the camera to admire my awesome riding skills, and I found that the camera had fallen to the ground. DRAT! Hopefully it stayed up long enough to catch my Rossi-like passes through the corners. I played the video, and much to my dismay, the video showed about 10 seconds of the curve accompanied by the lovely sounds of my Kwakker speeding away, and then it promptly falls to the ground showing nothing but gravel covered ground for about 3 minutes. I was so annoyed I deleted it on the spot. I really need to get a camera mount.

Frustrated with my video failure, I headed back out on the road with no particular destination in mind. Didn't run across to much of interest until I came across this neat old railroad culvert.

P7050013.jpg


P7050014.jpg


P7050015.jpg


101 years old! That old culvert has seen a lot of trains come and go.

There was a train just a little ways down the track, so I waited just a bit to try and catch a picture of it crossing the culvert. But no such luck. The train was parked and going nowhere fast.

P7050016.jpg


P7050017.jpg


I'll have to head out that way again and wait for a train to come along. I really want a picture of the culvert with a train crossing over. South Hampton Rd between Hudson Ave. and Owens Dr. in Crowley.

It was just a short hop home from there, so that was pretty much the end of my little spur of the moment ride. Hopefully there will be more videos to come. Everyone needs to see my Rossi impression. ;)
 
Last edited:
Nice! Those "last minute" day trips can be a lot of fun, especially this time of the year when its hard to get motivated for a longer ride. Thanks for sharing!

Oh and I agree, the train crossing over that old culvert makes for a great photo op, hope you catch it one day.
 
There's an easier way to mount the camera and set it up for shots without actually buying a mount - get a small tripod ($5 ?) and use it for both.

752564474?$medium_item$.jpg


Attached to my mirror stalk with a velcro tie:

326722680_3wb3k-M.jpg
 
There's an easier way to mount the camera and set it up for shots without actually buying a mount - get a small tripod ($5 ?) and use it for both.

752564474?$medium_item$.jpg


Attached to my mirror stalk with a velcro tie:

326722680_3wb3k-M.jpg

That's a good (ie: cheap) idea, Squeaky. I'll have to scout around for one of those little tripods.
 
Call me next time, butthead. I would have loved to have rolled out with ya.
 
That's a good (ie: cheap) idea, Squeaky. I'll have to scout around for one of those little tripods.

The bottom is the velcro tie. The blue is the lanyard that is attached in case the mounting fails, it'll catch the camera before it hits the ground. ;-)

I'm happy to say I made it up Route 80 in North Carolina without it falling off the bike! :mrgreen:
 
Good pics Wayne. Try a RAM mount on the handle bars for video. I set it up so I an shooting thru the windshield. It works pretty good.
Marty
 
Back
Top