2nd October 2013

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Wednesday 2nd 43-53F, 6-12C, breezy, clearing to sunshine. according to the DMI. I must do another walk! It started off well but I was waylaid by the light. 13 miles playing with my Sony Action Cam. You know, the one which steams up every five minutes no matter how often you open up the waterproof case to let the steam out. Just like the GripGrab Doctor Gel gloves do. <sigh>

My first physiotherapist appointment was interesting. I haven't paid for S&M before. Ouch! Though I do feel better for my visit. It is possible that my back or spine is responsible for the hip pain. I have been given some bending over backwards exercises to do and should spend a lot less time sitting at the computer.

Thursday 3rd 41F, 5C, windy, sunny. Woken at 4.30am by neighbour's dog barking. Somebody must have been trying to steal their demolition firewood. Or, perhaps it was trying to get away from the toxic smoke? It should be sunny but rather windy today. With gusts to over 30mph.

I walked for an hour. With  my hip hurting again today, gales and no pressure to go to the shops I'm taking a rest day. Apart from the exercises. Which is a bit like S&M by remote control. With the ringing in my ears I am beginning to feel a bit like Pavlov's dog.

My wallet was returned by the police in the post. Shame it has cost me £18 for a new health insurance card and my bank card is now useless after I stopped it myself. Just the price to be paid for leaving it behind, I suppose. It will hopefully make me much more careful in future. Well done to the police! I rang the station to thank them, of course. They seemed quite grateful that I had rung.

Friday 4th 45-50F, 7-10C, very windy, clouding over. Rain forecast for this afternoon. We have both woken with cold symptoms. Toxic smoke or germs? Eeny-meeny-miny ... I went for a walk again. It hurt my hip again today so I limited myself to only 45 minutes including photography. As you can see here there are plenty of distractions in the hedges at this time of year.

I shall face the wind on my trike as soon as I have finished morning coffee.

The wind felt just as strong as it sounded, roaring through the trees. I could even be felt deep in the woods. A buzzard was wave riding above the cliff face of the beech forest. Conkers littered the lanes in places. Giving way to acorns where the older trees had been spared by the hedge slashers. My nose streamed all the way around the ten miles. Climbing was (almost) effortless with the tail wind.   

Saturday 5th 55F, 13C, heavy overcast, slightly misty, breezy. I had a dreadful night thanks to my nasty (man) cold. With a headache, pressure and stinging  pain in the sinuses, fire in the chest and a dripping nose this unhappy tricyclist could not sleep! I got up at 3.30am and sat on the computer for a couple of hours until I could stay awake no longer. Woke at 8am and feel hardly any better. I still intend to go out though. I'm hardly likely to feel any worse than I do just sitting still at home.

50 minutes walking before morning coffee. Now the wind is picking up. Should gust to 20mph today. More southerly then westerly now so should take the toxic smoke away from us. I'm sure we never had continuous easterly and south easterly winds before. The sou'westerlies have predominated ever since we moved here.  I went out mid afternoon but felt very bunged up and detached. Only 12 miles. Despite putting on a thick down duvet jacket I have been shivering since my (warm) shower a couple of hours ago. It is 71F/21C at my computer desk. I thought the ride would do me good.

Sunday 6th 44-58F, 7-14C, sunny, almost perfectly still. I still have my cold but the emphasis had moved down to my throat and chest now. Lots of coughing and it all feels very wet. My nose is still bunged up but not stinging as it has been so far. Time for a walk before coffee.

The mist was very localised and could be seen flowing to lower ground in the still air. The effect must have been very subtle because the contours rarely differ by more than a few metres. Rather inexplicably a single large wind turbine was belting around. While all the others were completely still.

I was back at home in an hour but felt better for getting out in the bright, early sunshine. It adds a real sparkle to everything and almost demands I practice my clumsy photography. I have a bad habit of never stopping when I'm out on the trike. So miss lots of potential pictures. When I am on foot I feel I have more time for photography when  really I should be walking briskly for the exercise. My hip wasn't hurting this morning while it was agony to get into bed last night. I wish I knew why.

I managed a ride before lunch. While cruising through one village I was doing 23mph on the flat. I thought that was doing quite well until a line of half a dozen clubmen steamed past me riding nose to tail. Bøøger! A little later a woman wound the window down to congratulate me on my speed. She was the passenger, in case you were wondering.

Despite 30lbs of shopping I still climbed the biggest local hill as a detour on the way home. Well, you have to, don't you? Bit chilly on the last leg into the breeze wearing just a short sleeved jersey and bibbies. My cold didn't seem to affect my wind and the ride probably helped to clear the tubes. 19 miles.

I'm still struggling to get acceptable results from the Sony AS15 Action Camera. It seems essential to have bright sunshine behind the camera. The waterproof case blocks everything but mechanical noise.

This video is slightly more amusing for having our tricycling hero's shadow on the road. The pause at halfway was to allow a tractor to pass. Except that he turned onto the field without visibly indicating before he reached my position.  The shadow of the Sony camera on its handlebar clamp is clearly visible below my left arm. As is my Cyclop mirror on the bar end. The video should be watchable in HD full screen. This provides a much sharper picture but runs slowly and jerkily even on my fibre optic 50/50Mb/sec connection. You may have more luck watching it on the YouTube website.

On the other hand the following video shows many of the handicaps of this camera. The case steamed up almost immediately despite my repeatedly opening the case to allow any moisture to escape. Flare on bright lights is also a serious problem. Probably further exacerbated by the case. The sound is absolutely awful with the camera in its case. Only noise transmitted through the trike frame directly to the camera microphone is audible. Though there is clearly a serious rattle in the camera itself. Or its case:

Further research online shows that the LCD screen in the Sony Action camera is a known culprit for rattle. As is the lens housing and even the battery. There is at least one good YT video showing how to dismantle the camera to correct the LCD rattle with soft packing.

Others have used a cheap, digital voice recorder and independent microphone plugged into the Sony to obtain decent sound. The Sony really is a half-baked product in my own opinion. It has been a huge disappointment considering its price and manufacturer's label. A later model has now been released. HDR-AS30. How well it corrects the obvious mistakes and failings is doubtful considering the source. Sony only seems intent on falling on its own sword as it reports increasing losses. 

   

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