Storms...

 

All around us.  We didn't go out on the bikes today and intentionally stayed pretty close... just in case.  Well, Joan did suggest breakfast out and we did stop at Rushmore Candy (good taffy and popcorn), but that was during what looked like a lull on radar.

Surprisingly, it want around us.  Storms, some with hail, but not even any rain today right over us.  I would say it is because I am living right, but I think maybe Mother Nature felt sorry for us.  It's still early in the season.  The eastern part of South Dakota had high winds, hail, and heavy rain.

This ugly weather extended from Montana all the way to the Southeast US.

And the beat goes on.  Oh, and chocolate-dipped Twinkies from the candy shop.

 

Memory loss...

 

Did you hit your head again?  No, but thanks for your compassion.  You messed up the micro-mini SD card in one of your cameras?  No, again, but thanks for jinxing it.

You know how you have food at a particular Mexican restaurant, and the food is tasty... but a few hours later you have BAS?  (Burning Ass Syndrome)  Then, you don't eat there for a long time, but you remember how good the food was, so you try it again?  With the same syndrome?  Yeah, that's the selective memory I'm talking about.

I was going through my camera gear last night and came across my Roadie Remote - it looks like a big watch, but is made to strap to your steering wheel so you can control a 360 or 4k camera without taking your eyes off the road.  I said to myself, "Self, why aren't you using that?  It will strap onto the handlebar grips on the bike - I remember using it on the Vespa."

So, I put a new battery in the remote then fussed with it for a short couple hours, getting it to reliably connect to my Insta360 One R camera.  I have been using the Insta360 One X2 camera since I got it last year, so I charged up the batteries on the One R.  Then I said to myself, "Self, you should try this out on the CTX on your next ride."

I hadn't counted on any riding this holiday weekend, but Friday was good riding, and Saturday was good riding, and I did take yesterday "off."  I may as well get a ride in on this Independence Day morning... and switch the One R from the 360 lenses to the 4k lens, making it more like a GoPro.  I said to myself, "This 4k stuff will be less work than 360 files, so maybe I'll want to use it more often."

Selective memory.

I strapped the camera to the bike, put the Roadie on the left grip, geared up myself, smooched my Honey and gave my big furry boy a rub behind the ears... and headed out on the bike.

The Roadie Remote is actually pretty slick: with the press of a button, you can switch between still and video.  There are some other fancy things it will do, but I thought to myself, "Self, shoot a few stills and some video, and let's see how it all plays out."

The Roadie was easy on the Vespa because the only thing your left hand has to do on that bike is run the rear brake and use the turn signals.  On the CTX, the rear brake is with your right foot, the turn signals are roughly the same, but... in Sport Mode on the curvy roads, you are regularly using your left thumb and index finger to up and down shift.  It is a long reach around that remote to get to those paddle shifters.  I found I had to pretty much take my left hand off the grip and poke at the paddle shifters with my hand floating... while hauling ass through a curve.

Still, I shot some stills, and a bunch of video.  When I say "bunch," the battery lasts a lot longer when shooting typical video as opposed to 360 video.  I didn't have to change out the battery the whole time I was out.

These images look OK, but there are 2 files for each shot... and what the heck is a DNG file?  There's one of those for every jpg file.  DNG files are uncompressed, so a much larger file than the jpgs.  Realistically, I don't need a bigger file, since this blog is the only thing I'm doing with these photos.  That is a lot of wasted computer memory.  Oh, well, I can delete them.

On with the video files.... seems that there are two files for each of those, as well; an MP4 file and a .VID file.  Yep, more uncompressed stuff.  Oh, well, I can just pick the smaller files and put them together for a video.  Looking at that first video file, that's when it came back to me.  Even with the maximum stabilization applied, 4k video files have a lot more shake in them compared to 360 files... as in: every bump in the road comes through, making the video hard to watch.  Faster to edit, for sure, but that doesn't do you any good if the videos all seem shaky.  Oh, so that's why I have been shooting everything in 360 since I got that first 360 camera.  And that's why I detested the last GoPro I bought.  Well, at least the Insta360 interface is much more user friendly than the GoPros I've had.

"Oh, come on, Jim, how bad can it be?" you ask.  Pretty bad.  Jittery.  Especially after having the outstanding stabilization you get with these Insta360 cameras.  Realistically, I know there aren't a lot of people looking at the videos I shoot - the numbers range from less than 100 to more than 28,000 views on any given video I post.  I shoot because I really enjoy looking at the ride videos when I can't be riding.

So, what I shot today was mostly to be tossed, but it makes me really appreciate what the 360 cameras can do... I missed those cool "pans" when the camera view goes from in front of the bike to around behind it.  Or, from my position on the bike to the view I'm getting out the front.  Or the quick change in field of view from extremely wide to narrow.  All things the typical action camera can't easily do... where the camera is pointing is what you get - there's no "looking around" after it's been shot.  The Insta360 One R is a "modular" camera - you can take off the 360 lens module and replace it with a 4k lens module.  The 4k lens is good for shooting scenery or even some mild action.  Granted the latest generation action cams have been stability, but it is still pretty shaky compared to the 360. 

Here is: Going Old School...

I did have to take a second look at it - you really notice the lean in a curve.  With the 360 video, I have to "add a bit of rotation" to keep it realistic.  Different techniques.

As usual, the longest part of this project is uploading it to YouTube.

I'm thinking I'll try that camera on my helmet with the other 360 camera on the back of Joan's bike... one of these days.

Glad I got my ride in this morning - thunderstorms rolled through this afternoon.  Yes, I still have the memory of the last two summers and what Mother Nature did to our stuff.  Rufus did OK in this afternoon's weather.  He's a good boy.

Happy Birthday, America!

 

246 years old.  You've been through a lot.  Seems like folks are less "united" these days, but I have hope for your future.  Some kindness among your citizens would go a long ways; there's always hope.

I love a parade...

 

In our travels, we've come across various small town 4th of July parades.  Here at Hart Ranch, there are scads of activities... parades of various sorts over the last couple of days.  The night before last was a "Glow Parade" for kids... it made me smile; I would guess at least 100 kids on bicycles, skateboards, scooters (kick and electric), wearing all kinds of glow sticks.  They were laughing and having a ball.  Great to see this activity, getting kids involved in doing things outside.

Last night was an adults glow parade: golf carts and UTVs.  Not as much fun to watch as the kids the night before.

And this morning, it was a Decorated Golf Cart Parade.  I did not grab a camera, but some of them were very decorated with flags and all kinds of red, white, and blue paraphenalia... some tossing out candy (who knew they made Tootsie-Rolls that small??), one guy handed us a plastic US flag, another was tossing out lip balm to advertise his insurance agency.  One UTV went by with no decorations - just an excuse for the three kids to stand up on the rear seat.  One golf cart had a little girl dressed as the Statue of Liberty.  It was a fun distraction this morning.

Hart Ranch really does a good job with activities to keep people involved: from the occasional evening "Balloon Glow" (with hot air balloons), to craft things, swim lessons, music entertainment, introducing kids to caring for a horse... and the usual swimming pool, hot tubs, pickle-ball and tennis courts, bike rentals, miniature golf, etc, etc.

Joan was reading off a list of activities to me this morning - there is stuff going on all day.  It's a great place to get away... or be involved.  And for us, a good place to base our riding from.

It is a membership park - we have owned here for about 30 years.  When we lived in Spearfish, it was a nice weekend get-away.  After moving away, we didn't use it much for a while, maybe the occasional passing through overnight.  The last few years, it has been our summer destination.

Rufus likes it a lot: plenty of grass to walk on.  He found a small patch of wild-growing catnip the other day.  Yesterday, he met the Golden Retriever Daisy from next door.  Apparently, Daisy had never seen a cat before, so her owner wasn't sure how she'd do... Rufus won her over.  This morning while Rufus and I were out, Daisy and her owner came by, and Daisy couldn't wait to get nose-to-nose with Rufus.  Well, and nose-to-butt; Rufus isn't a big fan of that.  He did rub up on her chest, which means he "owns" her now.  Alas, they are from different backgrounds, so this may be just a summer romance.  ;-)

I have become a "Road Snob"...

 

I thought about titling this post "Best Ride Yet" while I was in the middle of it.

Here's how it played out: we were just chillin' at the coach.  The weather was lovely (predicted high today of 84º, blue sky, wind around 10mph.  After brunch (when you eat eggs for lunch - Joan suggested a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on croissants) made on the griddle.  She did the prep, I did the griddling, and it came out quite tasty.  After clean-up, she went to sit under the awning to read.  I decided to go for a ride.

I didn't think the riding would be great, with this being the Saturday of a holiday weekend... I expected the roads to be crowded.  Not to mention (but, I'm mentioning it) the chip-seal road construction to get out of Hart Ranch.

Now the music trivia for this post: "B-b-b-b-b-bad.  Bad to the bone."  If you said, "George Thorogood & the Destroyers, 1982," you get 15 bonus points.  That's the music I was hearing in my head as I was gearing up.  Yeah, I used to hear that music on the Vespa, too.

Don't think I didn't notice the admiring glances of neighbors as I fired up the parallel twin Honda.  I pulled my gloves on and saw every eye on me (in my rear view mirrors) as I dramatically pulled away... at 10 mph... the heavily enforced speed limit here at Hart Ranch.  ;-)

Riding out of the resort, I wondered what the road would be like, with the road work.  I had already decided to turn right and go to Highway 79 south to get to the good riding.  No chip-seal on that portion of the road, but looking to the left, it is gravel all the way to Neck Yoke Road.

The CTX easily ran the 8 or 9 miles at 70 mph on this highway to get to Highway 40.  Highway 40 takes you west to Keystone.  Now, I have to admit that I have avoided Highway 40 the last few years because there are "better" curvy roads.  This road has a speed limit of 55 mph and plenty of wide, sweeping curves.  A few steep hills that would have the Vespa slowed down to 40 mph.  Not the CTX.

Going up the first of those hills, I quickly caught up to a pickup truck with a motorhome in front of that; going about 48 mph.  I dropped it down a gear, twisted the throttle, and before I expected it, was doing 70+ mph and flew past those vehicles.  Once around, I slowed to 55 again (really) and just enjoyed the way the bike handles this road.  It was then I realized I could possibly be... a road snob: only happy with roads that are twisty beyond normal.  If this road was in south Texas, I would be wetting myself over the opportunity to ride it every damn day!  But, here?  Yeah, I realized what a really fun road this is, too.

Where are the photo and videos, Jim?  Thanks for asking - I gave the cameras a day off.  I didn't expect to enjoy this riding day so much.  This post is going to have to paint the images in your head.

I turned off Hwy 40 and onto Playhouse Road as I got close to Keystone.  Playhouse Road is one of my "regulars" - this road is almost as twisty as Iron Mountain Road, just doesn't have as good of a road surface.  Still, I was amazed at the absence of traffic.  On the Saturday of a holiday weekend??

From Playhouse Road, it is onto Iron Mountain Road.  And... no traffic in front of me!  All the way from where I got on it, to the Scenic Overlook.  I pulled in to get a drink of water.  And then decided: all the times we have drive this road and stopped at this parking area (usually to re-hydrate), we have never walked the short distance to the viewpoint.

I grabbed my phone off the bike and...

A sign describing some of the roads in the area, with the Scenic By-way named after Peter Norbeck, a past Governor of South Dakota and a big proponent of Mt Rushmore and the great roads in the area around it and through Custer State Park.

A short walk to the view area.  The surrounding hills...

And, of course, Mt Rushmore in the distance...

Heading back to the bike...

That's the CTX on the left, a Harley (closer to the camera) on the right.  I got back on my bike and continued north on Iron Mountain Road... still, no traffic in front of me.  When I got to the second pigtail bridge, I came up on a Toyota, and they quickly pulled to the right to let me pass.  Damn, what a great ride!

Off the north end of Iron Mountain Road and a right turn to take me through Keystone; this is the "touristiest" of the tourist towns in the Black Hills, billing itself as "In the Shadow of Mt Rushmore"... it isn't.  But, it is just 3 miles from those famous faces.

A right turn at the north end of Keystone and I am back on Highway 40; it will take me to South Rockerville Road and towards Hart Ranch (about 17 miles away).  I came over the first big hill on Rockerville Road and saw a big dark cloud between me and Hart Ranch.  When I turned right on Neck Yoke Road, the rain shafts made it clear that I was going to get wet.

Yep, the rain came down hard and cold; heavy enough that the dips in the road had standing water in them.  I really don't like riding through standing water.  By the time I got to Spring Creek Road (where the road construction is), I was planning to ride that back to Hart Ranch.  The rain let up for a bit, then came down ever harder!  I was through the short stretch of chip-seal in my lane, but this left me with 3 options on where to ride: the track closest to the chip-seal in the other lane that has oily overspray on it... the middle of the lane that sits higher than the tire tracks, but is where cars drip oil, which gets slick in the rain... the right tire track that is filling up with standing water.  Three real crappy choices.  Oh, and add in the copious number of tar-snakes that also get slicker when wet, all over this lane.  This part of the ride (about 4 miles worth) was not my favorite.

I kept it to about 30 miles per hour.  Back at our site at Hart Ranch, it was still raining.  I dropped the ramp to the cargo trailer and pulled the bike in... I took a few minutes to wipe down what I could reach in the cover of the trailer.  The bike is going to need a more thorough bath at some point.

When I went into the motorhome, Joan had pulled the slides in... she said there was "a very small bit of hail in the heavy rain, but nothing significant."  It was enough to get Rufus worried, though.  He hopped up on my lap when I got in... "It's OK buddy, nothing bad is going to happen - let me tell you about my fun ride today."  He's a good audience.  And, a good boy.

Later...

Looking back towards the storage area.

For those keeping track: this is two days in a row getting rained on while riding.

 

Damn bugs!

 

Mosquitos?  No.  Lens Splatters - what's the last thing to go through a bug's mind when it hits your windshield?  Answer: His ass.  (rimshot)  It applies to camera lenses, too.

Out on the bike, solo again.  I decided I would do a northern Hills ride today.  Out Nemo Road, all the way to where it meets up with Highway 385 (what I call "the backbone" of the Black Hills).  A right on Hwy 385, then a left to drive through the town of Lead (the home of the Homestake Gold Mine - no longer being mined, but it was the biggest gold mine in the Americas).  From Lead, up by Terry Peak (the highest skiing east of the Rockies), then back down; a right on Highway 14A that takes you through Spearfish Canyon.

The only video I was planning to shoot was in Spearfish Canyon.  As I rode through the canyon, I had it in my head that I would call this post "A Hat Trick"... as in the scoring of three goals by one player in a hockey game.  Today would be the third outing in a row where I didn't have a single car in front of me, all 22 miles of Spearfish Canyon!

We used to live in Spearfish, and I often rode the canyon - never in all those years did I not get slowed down (double negative) by traffic.  I was almost giddy about the prospect of another "all in one take" video.

At the Spearfish end of the canyon, the temperature warmed up quite a bit, and I stopped at the DQ to treat myself to an ice cream cone.  When I was putting my camera away to go inside, I saw what looked like a bug splat on the front lens of the camera... yes, the lens that gives you the view from the rider's perspective.  That can't be good.

I did stop for a picnic lunch that Joan had packed me - stopped at that same picnic area on Nemo Road.  I had it all to myself.

 From Spearfish south, I took the Interstate.  I had a tentative plan to get off at Exit 17, ride that road to Deadwood, then take Boulder Canyon to Sturgis, then the Interstate back to Rapid City.  Mother Nature had other plans - coming over that first hill at Spearfish, the sky looked black towards Deadwood.  Scrap that.  Over the next hill at Whitewood, it look like a wall of rainshafts across my path south.  I pulled in at Sturgis so I could pull up weather on my phone and check radar... a large cell to the west of the Interstate, and an even larger cell east of the Interstate... there was one area between them that looked like it might be good for my timing, even though it didn't look that way looking at the sky.

Back on the road... some rain drops and wet road, but I didn't get soaked; just the way it looked on radar.  A quick stop for gas (75mpg again - not bad for a tank that had a good share of highway miles), then headed for Hart Ranch.  A large cell to the west and one to the north as I got close.

And then: road construction - a flagman was stopping traffic on Spring Creek Road, the road to Hart Ranch.  They are doing a chip seal on the road... most of it hasn't been oiled.  Yet.  The lane I was in had been oiled and a lot of loose gravel.  This road is going to be ugly for a while, and it is the only way to get to Hart Ranch.

I got back just in time to wipe down the bike and get it in the cargo trailer before the sprinkles started.  It looked nasty, but the weather for this round moved on by us.

The video I shot looked decent to start and then... yep, a big gooey splat on the lens that spoiled it.  The only usable part after the splat is looking back at me.  So...

And, a few still images...

Needles Highway Video...

 

Some riding set to music.  Enjoy the ride and the scenery on Needles Highway in Custer State Park, in the beautiful Black Hills of western South Dakota.  Joan on the Xmax, me on the CTX.  Good timing once again by getting out early - first time ever we didn't have to wait for traffic through Needles Eye Tunnel.