Filming from a Bike

How To: Film Your Solo Cycling Expedition | Moving Image | Tom's Bike Trip:


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As I've already mentioned, at the end of this week I will be setting off on a traverse of the UK by bike. A lot of excitement has built up around the trip, and I'm keen to make sure that the memories of the event are properly recorded. 


And so it is that I've been reading up a little on filming from a bike. My trusty Canon Legria is now safely mounted to my handlebars via my new Joby GorillaPod Hybrid (meaning it can tilt its tripod head in any direction). From this favoured perch, my camera will hum along quietly to itself, recording everything it sees.


From the basic experience I've accumulated so far, I am conscious that some decent thought needs to go into the filming process - I don't want to risk boring any viewers into a stupor! Let's not fool ourselves, long roads and grey skies at 25km/h are probably not what kept Stephen Spielberg up at night as a child...


So, quite apart from the obligatory sweeping panoramas of Middle Earth Middle England, here's what I'm hoping to capture: 

1. Rolling vistas strung with quiet roads
2. High speed descents
3. Quaint villages and pubs
4. Wipe-outs and mechanical failures (with a bit of gratuitous aftermath, maybe)
5. Weather conditions (hopefully not all bad weather, either)
6. Interviews with the team
7. A sense of the hardships and thrills 

This may not be the only multi-day bike trip I embark upon, but it is the first and one I know I will (with a little help from the camera) remember forever.

Bug on a Bike | Colossal

Bug on a Bike | Colossal:


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Love this! 

Cape Town to Hout Bay on Google Maps

http://g.co/maps/gpzmb


Google Maps has launched an awesome "update" to its legendary service in the form of an 8-bit console-compatible release. The release is an April fools day joke, but the maps work! To prove it, here's my trusty weekend route - CBD to Chapman's Peak in all it's 8-bit glory.

Like an 80's TV game, but better!

And while I'm on the topic of maps - here's the route I will be cycling at the end of April for the Ubunye Challenge. No April fool's joke here - just 1400km of suffer-fest which cannot come soon enough.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

My obsession with all things pedal powered extends beyond Cape Town, and so it is that on the 27th of April 2012 I will be heading to the UK for an 8 day traverse of the landmass that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain.


The route from South East (Land's End) to the North West (John O Groats) follows secondary roads and helped along nicely by the prevailing trade wind. The total distance covered is almost 1000 miles (1,407km to be exact, thanks Wikipedia). Most people traverse the route over 10 to 12 days but my Giant and I will try to make the trip in a mere eight...


Eight days is by no means fast, nor even close to the insane cycle record of 44h4m20s, held by an apparent masochist in 2001 (again, thanks Wikipedia!) However, it does mean travelling between 180 and 230 km per day, which is certainly going to be a test.


The ride is part of an unprecedented global triathlon put together by my friend Cameron Bellamy, in support of the Angus Gillis Foundation in South Africa. The triathlon has been dubbed the Ubunye Challenge, and it's worth knowing about. If all goes to plan (and with Cameron in charge, somehow it will) this will be the first time in human history that a person, under his own power, cycles the length of the UK, swims the English Channel, and rows across the Atlantic in one year, or at all.

I love a good cause, and a good challenge! Cameron has kindly opened the challenge to certain invited guests, and I was thrilled when I cracked a nod. The kit-list is growing but ultimately I hope to make it through with a minimum of admin and fuss, learning as I go.


Needless to say many lessons will be learnt along the way, so keep coming back for updates on the progress of preparation and of course the tour itself.