VIDEO - Filmed My Commute from the Handlebars
 

I usually run my 2 inch tires at 50 psi. For this test I ran the front tire at 30 psi and it made a huge improvement in the camera jiggling department with the camera attached to the handlebars.

I ran over a variety of surfaces to test the new setup - smooth roads, substandard roads, trolley tracks, train tracks, and even a little cross-country.

These results are quite acceptable. Previous tests on rough streets were disappointing to put it mildly. I was amazed when I previewed the raw vid that even the cross-country ride filmed well.

Be sure to check out the lady on the oncoming beach cruiser riding the double yellow at 1:22, and the city bus and SUV running a red light together at 5:09 (that's why I look for traffic, not at the color of silly lights).

This VIDEO is pretty laid back as it was a camera test. The last few minutes in City Park will probably relax you!

Cheers!

Nice...I love N.O. The last time I was down there was just before Katrina. I'm overdue...and watch those cable cars!!

I grew up in New Orleans and enjoy watching the video...but you're crazy! :D

I thought for sure you were going to t-bone a pedestrian while running a red light in the quarter. My favorite was when you passed an NOPD cruiser illegally, then went on to run another red light. Turning at high speed across lanes of traffic into oncoming traffic while heading the wrong way on a one way street!

If it were me, I'd be exhausted from the stress and you'd have to peel my hands off the handlebars from gripping tightly bracing for impact!

Just curious, but has the NOPD ever stopped you? I guess if you live in New Orleans you have a sense of how corrupt some/most of the officers are. I would not want to **** around with them. I got arrested once and spent the night in central lockup in New Orleans. It was a horrible experience, and I know first hand about the corruption. As I said, you don't want to entice the NOPD in any way!

I do enjoy your video's. Thanks.

The vid is sped up 25% in editing. Not as bad as it looks.

Never been stopped.

A NOPD cop once told me, so long as I don't make him spill his coffee - it's all good. Years of experience have pretty much confirmed that for me. But I try not to run red lights AT SPEED right in front of them, but if I slow down to under 10 mph and go through they don't care. Also, in the French Quarter all of the side streets are one-way, narrow, and full of cars going very slow. Had I seen his roof lights ignite, I would have turned down the very next side street immediately just in case. That has never happened tho. If I ever get pulled over, I will be polite, take my ticket, and pay it. Cops here are mostly NOT corrupt. They just have better things to do. If they ticketed every cyclist in NOLA who bike contraflow all the time, they would need to triple their numbers.

I like the lower point of view, gives more of a sense of motion than your helmet mounted vids. Also get a sense, especially when you're moving through traffic of how you're throwing the bike around to make the moves.
Greatly enjoyed. Thanks.

I just checked out a couple of your other vids...I'd almost forgotten how frikkin schweet Audubon Park really is. Isn't there like a Botanical Garden attached somehow close to the zoo?

Sorry, but this video is a good record of how NOT to ride a bike in traffic always bobing and weaving
in and out of traffic. It's little wonder Cagers hate cyclist after watching this extreme mental ***********.:notamused:

Joey,
How far was that bike ride?

Careful, he posted the same video in electronics and didn't like when I didn't agree with his riding style.

I'm not sure why he bothers with the helmet, maybe it's just there to hold the camera?

I couldn't agree more. Seems only a matter of time before you eat a car door.
That said, your vid was pretty darn stable. Now stop riding on/over the line and live to share more vids.:P

He's pretty crazy and no mistake...I was shocked that I didn't see a hand come up in the frame and start skitching on one of those pickup beds. :roflmao2: Those are some great vids though...keep 'em coming Joey. :D

In the UK most cyclist deaths result from obeying the laws. There have been many cyclists crushed due to lorries turning and not seeing them as they are waiting LEGALLY at the lights. For this reason I find putting myself out in front as much as possible prevents things like this happening, so I don't jump every light like Joey but I do see why he does it.

Can't anyone just appreciate a good video?

I used to think that when watching Joeybike's videos, but I have to admit I was wrong. There is always a sense of flow and perpetual motion to his commutes that I can't ignore. Also, reading his explanations on why he adopts particular road positions at different point during his rides and why he 'looks for traffic rather than the colour of lights' makes sense to me.

Always seems to me like it's the vehicular cyclists that post stories of close-calls, or complaints on 'cager attitude'. (Although I'm probably wrong!)

None of us want another cyclist to die and Joey is just doing what he feels is best to stay alive. In his videos I haven't seen many if any close calls.

I always complain about cager attitude but that is just me - I am a very complainy person!

Sure you would ;)

I am sure you would send his family your "prayers", and then sit in front of your monitor with big grin on your face typing "But I told him so! Woot woot! Ha ha! Loser!"

Boy there's a lot of traffic in the French Quarter.

I grew up in NYC and cycled there a lot. Also lived in Boston for three years and got around on bicycle. It looks dangerous to ride like that, but what you don't see is where he's looking, i.e. the camera doesn't show that.

There is a fine line to walk, between doing what's dangerous and doing what scares other people. I make sure my moves don't scare people. That's where I draw the line in my maneuvers. And still, if I mounted a camera on my bike, you might be equally scared, but I consider myself a very safe bicycle driver.

JoeyBike - Have you checked out this software? http://www.goodervideo.com/

montonm on vimeo.com uses it and has some before and after footage of how it takes out the shakes. I'm considering it for some footage I have of going down into Valdez, AK. It's a beautiful ride but too shakey to watch for very long.

I used to live in NOLA, and French Quarter traffic is slow... Might as well be riding around a bunch of statues instead of cars for the most part. The biggest danger to cyclists is the difference in speed between the cars and the cyclist. Nothing moves very fast in NOLA, so the danger is less than in other places because both Joey and the cars have time to react. Joey might make some cars slam their brakes or swerve a bit from time to time, but it's not as if he's doing this where cars are passing at 55 mph.

thompsonpost, I've never been to New Orleans, but your post wouldn't carry much weight in places like New York City. Most people there think red lights are for motor vehicles only. We can agree that this is not ideal, but it is the way things are. There are cultural differences you may not be aware of, and it's what makes your post meaningless in other places. I'm not defending lawlessness, just pointing out that you may not understand others if you haven't been in their shoes. And it also means that you're not in a good position to judge others whom you don't understand well. Seattle is a different place. I've been there. Compared to Seattle, New York is the wild west. I wouldn't so much as jaywalk in Seattle. Well maybe I have, but hey, I'm a Noo Yawka.

Audubon Park has the zoo and a fitness track. This video rolls through Audubon from the river to St. Charles Ave.

City Park has the botanical gardens, Story Land, New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). Both have golf courses. The OP vid is City Park. Both parks are awesome. Audubon just got a huge facelift before Hurricane Katrina and City Park is getting lots of improvements now.

Hungry for more info? http://www.neworleanscitypark.com/

Cheers!

They hate YOU because you are probably in their way. Did you see me slowing down any motorists? That's all they care about here. I am happy to comply.

5 miles total, but some hit the cutting room floor. If you want to see the whole ride starting with Royal St (parallel to Decatur) check out NOLA MVC (Moving Violation Count). You will see parts not in the OP vid.

Do you know how many BFers have trashed me? I just don't respond to nanny issues in the electronics forum.

BTW...the camera was not on my helmet genius.

Thanks! I will check it out!