Commute Orlando » video

The Long Ride to Deland

Keri — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:59:58 +0000

Lisa and I had been contemplating an overnight bike trip to put on some mileage with the touring panniers, this weekend’s Florida Bicycle Association board meeting in Deland provided a good opportunity. FBA’s new Executive Director, Tim Bustos, moved back to Florida from California and has settled in Deland—making it the new headquarters of the FBA. The meeting was Saturday and there was a meet-n-greet happy hour and dinner on Friday evening. I had a lunch meeting in Orlando, so we weren’t able to get on the road until 2:30. As long as we were not delayed by storms, we anticipated being able to make happy hour. Route Map This map shows both routes. The route to Deland is blue, the route home—the Wiggle Route—is green. The orange and red highlights show various segments of infrastructure. They are described in the map notes. I’ve also located the photos and videos with icon pins. The Route to Deland Heading out of town is easy. I have a tried and true route to Sanford/Lake Monroe. It uses mostly pleasant low-volume roads and 6.5 miles of the Seminole Wekiva Trail. There are a few traverses on busy roads, but they are made easy [...]

Another traffic/delay reality check

Keri — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:11:42 +0000

This is CyclistView video from Brian DeSousa’s first visit to Orlando. I first used it in a post called Take the Red Pill. At the time I had no idea how to edit video, so Brian kindly did a quick edit. I was recently preparing a DVD and decided to re-edit the video to emphasize some key points about traffic. Platoons and gaps One of the challenges I have with creating videos of confident traffic cycling is that it is mostly uneventful. Of course, that’s exactly what I want to show, but, well, it’s almost too boring to watch. It consists of less than a minute of cars changing lanes to pass, followed by less than a minute of nothing. So, if I show several minutes of continuous video, it’s going to have long periods of nothing but a cyclist on an empty road. Thirty seconds feels like an eternity if you’re watching nothing happen in internet video. I recently cut together a 6 minute video of me riding on University Blvd, just showing the platoons and not the gaps, I eliminated about 3 minutes of empty-road footage to get that. And it was shot at the tail end of [...]

Bike Video – My Thoughts on the VIO POV

Keri — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:31:13 +0000

I don’t know much about video cameras. I’ve never owned a camcorder. So please take this post as my observations, not expert advice. My adventures in bike video and video editing began in October 2008 when Brian DeSousa came to Orlando. Brian was generous in showing me CyclistView equipment and methods. And, of course, in providing valuable video of me cycling in Orlando traffic. With all that great video, I had to learn to do some basic editing. I hacked away at iMovie (the free version), later upgrading to the more-robust-but-frequently-aggravating iLife version. This was my first iMovie product. Brian returned in March. He spent a few days here and shot a bunch more video with me, including some group video that Dan Gutierrez used for an educational piece, and the downtown cruiser video I edited for this post. All of this video was shot on a VIO POV 1. I also had the opportunity to use a VholdR while Brian was here in March (more on that later). Since Brian’s first visit, I’ve had the itch to buy my own camera. Bike cam video is such an incredible educational tool. But I wanted the best camera for the job, [...]

Dude! Who do you think you’re honking at?

Keri — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:36:03 +0000

Photo by Mighk Today was a stellar day! The weather was perfect and my work for today consisted of shooting on-bike video for the Law Enforcement Toolkit. The objective was to shoot the best practices of bicycle driving with a uniformed officer. My subject was Bill Edgar of OPD (with appearances by Mighk). Bill runs the bicycle training program and trains bike patrol officers all over North America. One important segment of the program deals with a cyclist’s use of a “sub-standard width” lane. For the purpose of the statute, that’s a lane less than 14 feet wide. A cyclist is allowed the full use of a sub-standard* lane — meaning you can ride anywhere in it you choose and motorists must change lanes to pass. The lane in the photo above (Princeton St) has 13 feet of usable pavement (from the gutter seam to the lane line). It looks pretty wide with a small car in it, but it’s too tight to share with SUVs or large commercial vehicles. A cyclist’s best position in the lane is one that makes it clear to motorists that they have to change lanes. Unfortunately, some motorists resent having to change lanes, and [...]

Left Turns on Big Roads

Keri — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:35:10 +0000

Updated: 3/21/12 The thought of making a left turn from a multi-lane road is one of the things that makes people think vehicular cycling requires speed and athletic prowess. It seems like it would be a really difficult thing to do. But most of the time it’s actually really easy, and you have options. Alternative Left Turns The Jug-handle This is my primary choice when merging isn’t possible (or I just don’t feel like it). The advantages to this turn are that it’s entirely vehicular—it doesn’t require unclipping both feet or dismounting—and it places me in the queue of traffic. If U-turns are not practical, or not allowed, option 2 might be useful — pass the intersection and turn right into a corner lot that can be used to connect back to the cross-street. Always be cautious in parking lots! The Box Turn I have done this turn a time or two. I’ll do it if there is no traffic queued at the intersection already or if there is a bike lane to the left of an RTOL. It works well at a minor intersection with no traffic, but a loop detector that [...]

Door Zone Video

Keri — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:06:48 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TQ7aID1jHs Nice work, Preston! I was contemplating doing something similar with still photography, but this is perfect. Other posts on the door zone: The Swinging Door DIY Door Zone Warning The Politics of Sharrows This cannot be brought up too much. Most cyclists I observe in the Orlando area are hugging the edges of parked cars, bike lane or not. That is a practice that can get you killed. And now take a moment and ask yourself: “Why do they paint lines telling me to ride where I could get killed?” Let me know what you come up with, because I sure don’t get it.

Mindful Bicycling

Keri — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:59:24 +0000

Mindful: Bearing in mind; regardful; attentive; heedful; observant We write often about vehicular cycling, AKA Effective Cycling. The focus of vehicular cycling discussion and education is usually on the mechanics of how to position ourselves, handle certain road configurations and avoid the mistakes of other road users. The mechanical components of cycling education are: the rules of the road; crash causes (and statistics); road configurations (intersections, turn lanes, interchanges, weave lanes, diverges, drop lanes, bike lanes, etc.); safe positioning on the road at and between intersections; and emergency handling techniques. The overarching goal of teaching all that mechanical information is to give students the resources for situation awareness—the key component of mindful cycling—in traffic. Situation awareness is the perception of environmental elements within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future. That sounds pretty complicated, but it actually becomes second nature once you understand where the dangers are and where they are not. For example, it’s hard to have good situation awareness if you’re obsessed with overtaking traffic. A cyclist’s decision-making requires paying attention to the road ahead and reading the signs and environmental clues that allow [...]

Mills Avenue: Then and Now

Keri — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:45:19 +0000

In October, I made the case for why municipalities should not divide existing wide lanes with bike lane stripes. Wide lanes already accommodate cyclists of all speeds and riding styles. This post is a follow-up with video showing the dramatic decrease in comfort to cyclists who are accustomed to riding assertively. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV3gfabmrnc Just for fun, here’s another video of a cyclist (well, 2 cyclists, one is wearing the camera) riding assertively, safely and comfortably in a wide lane (Goldenrod Rd, south of University Blvd.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glQzlKSiW4w Comparing the videos, is it not clear who really benefits from the bike lane? Step back from the all-consuming need to “promote cycling” and ask yourself, how does it benefit cyclists to punish the competent and knowledgeable in an effort to offer a hollow illusion to the uninformed and fearful? If advocates could get over the bike lane distraction, perhaps they would focus on the real problems of connectivity. Winter Park has exacerbated those problems by converting asphalt to rough, unevenly-laid bricks on most of its already-limited quiet connector roads. Routes I used regularly 15 years ago are now virtually unrideable. But in the name of symbolism, they’re intent on wrecking the thoroughfares, too. Thanks. [...]

Some Monday Fun

Keri — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:21:40 +0000

How many bike designs do you see in this video that you’ve never seen before? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdlpJqHxLxk WARNING: Turn down the volume before playing.

Cycling-Friendly Downtown Orlando

Keri — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:44:03 +0000

People’s perceptions are amusing. I’ve been on a number of group rides through downtown Orlando (including, but not limited to, Critical Mass) where someone has said something like, “it’s so cool to be able to ride down Orange Avenue!” As if it would not be possible without 20, or 50, or 300 other cyclists. In October, CyclistView videographer, Brian DeSousa, shot video of me riding through downtown on my Surly. I never got around to publishing it, but I showed it to friends. Many were very surprised that it could be so easy. It never occurred to them that they could ride on Orange Avenue before seeing the video. Well, that gave Mighk and me an idea. We needed to shoot this with a comfort bike! So on Brian’s last visit, we did. Here you go. Imagine the “feel” of our city and how it would change people’s perceptions and expectations if this was a common sight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5V_qUagGc Aside from the lousy pavement, downtown Orlando is an easy and friendly environment for biking. You don’t need special facilities, athletic prowess, a “fast bike” or nerves of steel. Riding in downtown traffic does not require speed or vigilance. All you need [...]