Going Down - New and improved video footage!

I’m sort of getting the hang of this active lifestyle thing. And when it comes down to a fiver a week for gym membership or taking myself out into the hills, I’m afraid body sculpting loses out every time.

Fortunately I’ve got a bike. It has two tyres and a saddle. It even has brakes that slow me down, eventually. No suspension, or anything like that. None of your fancy stuff here. I don’t even have any lycra. Shame on me! Call myself a cyclist?

I’ve got a huge purple helmet, though. Not many people can say that with a straight face.



Anyway, mountain biking is brill. Official. I’m getting to grips with some quite tricky sections, even though in doing so, I’m learning a very valuable lesson: Falling off your bike is only funny when you’re in company. When you do it on your own it’s just tedious and quite painful.

Just for fun I thought I might show you one of my favourite trails. It runs down from the moors on the edge of Barnsley and down to Holmsyles Reservoir via Hade Edge. It only takes about three minutes to get down, but it’s a joy to ride.

This video was the third attempt. The first time, I attached the camera (using tape) to my mouth, and managed to record the floor whizzing by. The second time I attached the camera to my helmet, and managed to record a great view of the tree-tops. This third attempt was recorded with the camera strapped to my left hand.

I’m disappointed with the result, though. Out on the bike you get a great 180 degree panoramic of the surrounding countryside and the feel of the wind against your face. The video doesn’t do justice to the feeling of freedom and speed.

Having said that, since this was the third trip down the hill I was pretty tired by the time I did this one. I think this final run took a minute longer than the first!

New Video!

I wasn't at all happy with the old video, so I decided to go back and re-shoot it today (Sunday. This time I had the camera strapped to the helmet, and miraculously managed to keep most of the image in the viewfinder.

Good fun nearly killing the hikers on the way down. To be fair, they were expecting me. They'd had a bit of a giggle with me while I was trying to find a way to fit the camera and operate the buttons at the same time.

This one is less jerky, and because it's filmed from a higher vantage point, it's less likely to induce motion sickness. (He says)