Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - OK, here's my first attempt at using GPS data overlay software

I still had the raw files from last weekend's climb up Mosquito Road in Placerville, so I made a slightly shorter version using DashWare GPS overlay software.

I didn't want the gauges to be too distracting and cover up too much of the scenery, so I made the simplest set of gauges I possibly could. Besides, I was having too much trouble creating a standard analog gauge that looks like a car speedometer. Just as well, as many of the default gauges that look like that are too hard to read at lower resolutions or at smaller than full-screen size. Not to mention they detract from the scenery more.

I created a simple text readout of speed, heart rate, and altitude. I used the default percent grade gauge since it's not too imposing.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/99662106

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ooHBgr90Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ooHBgr90Q

Looks good, I like it.

Great job on the video!

Are there any other GPS overlay programs you considered, or is Dashware the best one to use?

Looks good, I like it.
Thank you. :) On the next climb video I will add a distance gauge.

Great job on the video!

Are there any other GPS overlay programs you considered, or is Dashware the best one to use?
Thanks! :) Dashware seems to be the one I've seen used the most on other people's ride videos. There is another program out there called Bike Telemetry, but I haven't heard too much about it.

Awesome job! Adds a whole new layer to your vids
:)

Awesome job! Adds a whole new layer to your vids
:)
Thanks! I look forward to doing this again after Sunday's sufferfest climb! :D

very cool - makes me want to get a camera and try this. Does the software give you the option to make a tinted shape under the text readout or anything like that. If you could do that, you could make the text white and it would be more visible.

Oh, and nice climb. That's looked like a pretty good hill.

very cool - makes me want to get a camera and try this. Does the software give you the option to make a tinted shape under the text readout or anything like that. If you could do that, you could make the text white and it would be more visible.

Oh, and nice climb. That's looked like a pretty good hill.
Thanks! :) You can choose any color for the text. Default was white, but I found that it was washed out and next to invisible whenever I rode through bright sunny areas. Of course, with the black text it is washed out and next to invisible in shady areas, so damned if I do, damned if I don't. :rolleyes:

I don't know if it was a bug, but I tried using a color other than black or white and it didn't look like it changed. I'll mess around with it more after tomorrow's climb, when I'll have fresh files to work with.

Nice video and I'm impressed by your Tickerfactory weight loss numbers. I'm visiting here from the 50+ but I hope my comments will be helpful. Your breathing in the video seems too short and shallow - almost like panting. May I suggest you breath in the same way as wind instrument musicians, or people who have had voice training or high attitude mountaineers. The technique is to draw air in with the diaphram to give you a nice fat buddha belly. On exhale, push all the air our forcefully. The cadence for this breathing is quite a bit slower than the video and the emphasis is on breathing deeply for maximum volume of a air. You will notice the difference in a minute or so.

As you say the black text is lost in the shadows and the white text is lost in bright areas. If you can choose any colour why not pick something like red or green?

Thanks! :) You can choose any color for the text. Default was white, but I found that it was washed out and next to invisible whenever I rode through bright sunny areas. Of course, with the black text it is washed out and next to invisible in shady areas, so damned if I do, damned if I don't. :rolleyes:

I don't know if it was a bug, but I tried using a color other than black or white and it didn't look like it changed. I'll mess around with it more after tomorrow's climb, when I'll have fresh files to work with.
Yeah, you probably wont find a text color that always works. I deal with that in video or powerpoint sometimes by making a semi transparent shape that darkens an area of the screen. Then you can put white text over that and it will show up. I dont know if your software gives you that kind of option though.

Nice video and I'm impressed by your Tickerfactory weight loss numbers. I'm visiting here from the 50+ but I hope my comments will be helpful. Your breathing in the video seems too short and shallow - almost like panting. May I suggest you breath in the same way as wind instrument musicians, or people who have had voice training or high attitude mountaineers. The technique is to draw air in with the diaphram to give you a nice fat buddha belly. On exhale, push all the air our forcefully. The cadence for this breathing is quite a bit slower than the video and the emphasis is on breathing deeply for maximum volume of a air. You will notice the difference in a minute or so.
I'm not trying to be an ass, but I'm beginning to wonder what kind of sound system people are using to listen to my videos. I've had several comments from people on previous videos about "using my diaphragm" when I know I wasn't panting. I have the output from my computer's sound card plugged into an aux input on my stereo system, so I get great sound quality. Listening to someone's breathing on tinny laptop speakers will make it sound like sht.

I know my breathing gets less controlled the more painful a climb gets, so maybe the last climb out of the canyon sounded less controlled, but I know the first climb out wasn't panting.

I really wish other people would post raw footage of their sufferfest climbs. That way I could compare my breathing to theirs and maybe find out what proper breathing is supposed to sound like. So far, most of the sufferfest climbs I've seen where people were riding as hard as they could or close to it sound similar to mine.

As you say the black text is lost in the shadows and the white text is lost in bright areas. If you can choose any colour why not pick something like red or green?


I don't know if it was a bug, but I tried using a color other than black or white and it didn't look like it changed. I'll mess around with it more after tomorrow's climb, when I'll have fresh files to work with.
;)

Yeah, you probably wont find a text color that always works. I deal with that in video or powerpoint sometimes by making a semi transparent shape that darkens an area of the screen. Then you can put white text over that and it will show up. I dont know if your software gives you that kind of option though.
I don't know either. I'll mess around with it tomorrow when I get back from my climb.

cool work!!! I think a pink or orange text color would do wonders.

i do ask if you could please oh please put a sound track instead of the heavy breathing. my wife was about to kick my butt as she ran over to my computer to see what i was watching.

cool work!!! I think a pink or orange text color would do wonders.

i do ask if you could please oh please put a sound track instead of the heavy breathing. my wife was about to kick my butt as she ran over to my computer to see what i was watching.
Thank you :) I will change the color.

Sound track? Music covering up my effort? Blasphemy! I'm one of the few people out there who's not afraid of showing effort on a climb. Why would I want to neuter my videos by putting music over them, which may not be to everyone's taste anyway? Raw footage gives the viewer the full experience of a good sufferfest.

Just tell your wife that there are at least one or two women out there who post raw footage of hard hill climbs, NOT porn. Nothing for her to worry about. ;)

194 bpm! dedgum!

194 bpm! dedgum!
You know what's odd? Today's climb was steeper and harder, yet my max was only 191.

ya know what's odd? if mine got to 194 i'm not sure i would ever recover :lol:

ya know what's odd? if mine got to 194 i'm not sure i would ever recover :lol:
Yeah, mine does tend to run a little high :lol: I've had it over 200 before, although the last few climbing rides topped out in the 190's to 200.