Road Bike Racing - I Tried a Helmet Cam

With interesting results... 40 minutes of race footage from Mt. Tabor reduced to 4 min. 30 seconds of video. Fellow BF'er cmh was there and did quite well taking 6th in the 3's.

Let's just say I learned some lessons from the first go around. Still learning from the videos posted by SprinterDellaCasa aka CarpeDiem!

Video after the jump (http://www.veloreview.com/obra3/2007/06/mt-tabor-video.html/).

If you're going to keep the helmet cam in the same position, how about racing/riding with women?

What's the deal with the skateboarders?

Oh, and the butts?

hey good try!

I found out a long time ago that you point helmet lights up so that you aim the light where you're going. I use a helmet light mount to hold my cam and I aim it so it points about 20-30 feet in front of me (which is what you need to do to ride single track fast at night). Figure that you'll be looking sort of down the whole time and aim accordingly.

Part of the problem is that you have a relatively narrow angle lens - maybe 90 degrees. I had the same initially and swapped it out for a 120 degree lens. A wider angle lens will work but I don't know if that's an option.

Don't be afraid of looking around - it's what catches part of the "peloton" atmosphere.

btw that was a nice board. I'll have to show the clip to my bro who is (or was - he's recovering from a broken leg from a bad landing) looking to get a slalom board.

Looking forward to your next cam clip
cdr

There's some nasty corners/gutters on that course.

Nice work on the vid. BTW, how'd you place?

What's your equipment?

^^^

ditto. what camera/price?

Thank you for the attempt. Wider angle lens, and obviously placement will be key.

Recursive: there was a skateboarder who was going down the hill during one of our laps. All of us were WTF as a. it was at the bottom of a hill b. it was as we were going around a curve and c. there was clearly a bike race going on. It got really hairy as we were worried the kid was going to fall into us. As far as the butt fetish? Kinda started out as a joke when I took some buttshots for giggles after a race and it's turned into ummm... well a phenomenon.

Hey thanks for the points cdr! Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to change out the lens. I found some photos that showed why the footage came out the way it did. I have subsequently dissected the bad positioning on the blog.

SaddleBags- 18th- not bad given that I had sprinted a lap too early and then got guttered. DOH! Set-up- that was actually a borrowed camera. I liked it so I ended up buying one- It's an Oregon Scientific ATC-2K- it's about a half a pound and you can pick one up on Amazon.com for around $92 including shipping. It uses up to 2GB SD-cards which are running about $20-$25.

How do you like the Tabor crits? I'm thinking about trying my virginal crit run next month. Would you suggest this or PIR?

Tabor is fun- but it's either uphill or downhill.

I'd recommend doing PIR. Have you done any racing before?

I'd recommend PIR for a first race, as well.

You also have the Courthouse Crit, the Sunset Crit, or the CMG/Alpine Crit series coming up in late July. Get some pack time in at PIR and go for it.

Set-up- that was actually a borrowed camera. I liked it so I ended up buying one- It's an Oregon Scientific ATC-2K- it's about a half a pound and you can pick one up on Amazon.com for around $92 including shipping. It uses up to 2GB SD-cards which are running about $20-$25.
I have one of these. It's a neat toy, and its video length on maximum quality is right around 60min. The biggest weakness is the lens angle, followed by the "waviness" video artifacts that occur with motion. AFAIK, there's no way to fix either of these.

Set-up- that was actually a borrowed camera. I liked it so I ended up buying one- It's an Oregon Scientific ATC-2K- it's about a half a pound and you can pick one up on Amazon.com for around $92 including shipping. It uses up to 2GB SD-cards which are running about $20-$25.

Not bad for a $92 camera. What software are you running to get the fast & slow motion?

How do you like the Tabor crits? I'm thinking about trying my virginal crit run next month. Would you suggest this or PIR?

Neither Tabor or PIR is all that much like most crits because neither has any hard corners. Tabor is tough because, like obra3 said, it is uphill or downhill. PIR is great for learning pack skills because it is a big wide open road without any sharp corners, so it is fast. It makes you comfortable being in a pack at high speeds. My recommendation is to do PIR first, and get out to Tabor if you can as well. Have fun.

What's the deal with the skateboarders?



Mt. Tabor is a city park, most of which is closed to traffic. When there isn't a race going on there are lots of skateboarders, dog walkers, baby strollers and what nots using the road. They close it to other uses when a bike race is going on but almost every race there is some oblivious person that wanders right into the middle of the road when the peleton is bearing down. In this case, I think the skateboarders new a race was going on and were trying to race the peleton on their skateboards. It could have been pretty hairy if one of them fell.

Despite the extra obstacles, the Mt. Tabor series and the Sunday race is a really fun race that is well run and torture on the legs.

software would be imovie.

You couldn't have edited the first 1.5 minutes of looking at everyone's feet to 10 seconds?

yeah. i could have. but that was the only footage that included heads.

Nice job considering it was your first try. I am interested in getting a camera to record some races.

Tabor is fun- but it's either uphill or downhill.

I'd recommend doing PIR. Have you done any racing before?

I've done only road racing before. Crits scare me a bit.. especially around other newbs.

thanks wc. after thinking about it and hearing feedback i might upgrade to a more expensive unit... there's a blackeye II for around $200 (head mounted) then an archos 404 hd recording piece for around $200=$400. Probably looking at 2 pounds but shouldn't be too bad for flat crits. I may keep the ATC-2K for hiller rides.