Before I was really into tandem cycling, I took pictures. I remember the thrill of developing my own negatives and then staying up all night making black and white prints in the darkroom. Those days are gone for me now, but I still love taking pictures, especially if they relate to my cycling. The problem is that to take a picture while riding, I have to take one hand off of the handlebars, fumble the camera out of the front bike bag, turn the camera on and then try to get the shot. The problem with this method is that it's an accident looking for a place to happen. A tandem captain can't afford this kind of distraction when he is repsonsible for the bike and the safety of his stoker. That's why my stoker takes all of the pictures while we're rolling. She doesn't have the view that I do up front, however, so alot of neat shots are missed. Jeff at tandemride.com came up with a handlebar mount for his Nikon Coolpix 4500 that solves the problem.
Another nifty solution is offered by GoPro. This lightweight digital camera is waterproof and can shoot 56 minutes of video and 2 hours of "photo every 5 seconds" shots. For $169.99 it's hard to pass up.
Meanwhile, I'm waiting to see what the organizers of the "Lyondell Bike Around the Bay" are going to do about this years ride. It's set for October 18-19, a little over two weeks from now. The first evening of the ride is in Galveston and many of the roads on last year's course are washed away or heavily damaged. In addition, there are reported health hazards on the island. I loved this ride last year, but for the safety of all, I'm hoping it's pushed back until next spring.
