Solo Lucky Dime Tour

 Another 40 miles on the SGRT trail. Pretty hot, 100 max, 84 low with an average of 90 degrees. I can feel the heat in my bones when I'm riding. I guess it's the start of Summer as mentioned so figure it'll take a bit to get used to it. The old age I guess ha ha ha! 

Did try a different setting on the GP10. Meh,  down to 60 frames per second as a suggestion from a youtuber. It sucks if you ask me. The dpi or pixels are more noticeable in the sky shots. I'm going back to 120. The stabilizer works well. I could see the camera rattling around on the mount and worried about it but when I got home. the footage is rock steady, great!

I was shooting my final thoughts on the recorder after the ride when I saw some foul mouth guys talking leaving a round of golf. Two golf carts out in the lot, not sure if that's allowed but they bid farewell to a friend when he backed up into a Lexus SUV. They looked at it, two guys ran and dropped off the carts then ran back to their cars leaving the seen as well as the driver of  the truck that hit the Lexus. He took off as I was recording. I caught the contact on video and then him driving off. He saw me recording then said something as he drove by. Sounded like a single word and I couldn't make it out. But a bit later, he returned on foot to inspect the car. I wasn't sure if it was him as he removed his hat and looked different and parked around the corner. He walked by and didn't say anything. I just watched him leave again and yeah, he jumped into the truck and took off. Scum bag!

I was hoping the driver would come out as I noticed people leaving some kind of a party at the party room of the gold course. Sure enough before I could finish my internet postings, the owners of the Lexus came out so I approached them and explained the situation and even showed them the footage on my GP. I told them if they liked, I'd send them some images of the event. Sure enough as the truck left a couple of pretty big scrapes on the bumper and tail hatch back. 

Images are pretty clear and I'll see if I can get them the video footage if they need it. I'm guessing the scum took off after drinking his share of beer pretending he was some kind of high class moron because he played golf ha ha ha!

But either way, a hot ride but a good time after a good week at work. Then Gina and her mother headed to dinner and a little dessert at the mall afterwards.

Last nigh, did go to a little taco stand at the mall. Good stuff at a decent price. Put a review on Yelp and they used my pics for the home page. Went back a second time so Gina could taste the stuff. Chatted with the owner there, cool fun people so I took a couple more pics and posted them.

Dinner after today's ride with Gina and Cecee.

Sunday Fajita Tour and Video

 20 solo miles at 15.7. Pico to SF Dam. Just messing and learning the new GoPro. Nice day then early dinner with Gin and her Mom. Plus a little trip to the cemeteries to deliver some flowers for the Dads. No way am I going next weekend with the expected traffic.

As I've said many times, the biggest threat to me on the road and on trails, are other cyclists. Big reason I hate reading "drivers try to kill me" threads on forums and facebook. Too many stupid cyclists complaining  about others when they post just as much thread and stupidity as most others. Of course, in the video as you can see, 2 cyclists stopped on the trail at the rest area when there is a ton of freaking room to stop off the trail. Good thing I pay attention and yeah, got them on video just to show the stupidity as I see it often in this area. Sometimes blocking both lanes with a small group. I mention it but internet cyclists deny that this happens. OK, whatever!

Then down the road, I'm catching another cyclist. Turns out to be a SHE. Doing well as I see her from a good distance back. 5 miles later, I'm about to catch and pass her. Just as I'm about 20 yards back, I plan to announce my pass as a courtesy to keep us both safe, she sees someone she knows, stopped on the opposite side of the trail on beach cruisers. She does a quick slam on the brakes type of a stop, turns her bike and blocks most of the trail.  What a freaking idiot, I don't care if she is female, she's stupid and could have hurt us both. I left a few words for her as I rolled by. I could have thrashed her fancy roadbike had I not been aware of my surroundings of stupid people.  Road and trails, they freaking scare me! 

Poor Relive video. My sub expires next month, July 8th. No plans to renew. Cute idea and little videos but I'm not sure anybody ever watches them ha ha ha! Seems like more things to log after a ride not seeming like worth the effort any longer. I guess I'll still be a member but not a prime. That's ok, the benefits is like a choice of 15 songs vs 5.  Not worth the $35 if you ask me and after posting about 5 of them, the thrill is gone. I only continue to create them because I paid for it. I'll still have the FREE account but even then...........

https://www.relive.cc/web/view/vZqN1Gr7oG6

Fajitas the night before to fuel the ride. Probably not the best thing but it's only 20 miles. I could do that with ice cream ha ha ha! 

Solo Bones Saturday

 Solo 40 at 15.7 average speed. Just another ride figuring out the GP10 settings. Did take a pic or two with it just to test the camera mode. I didn't change any settings yet or try to adjust anything. My big camera yes, shoot in full manual but the GP, just took a couple to see where to go from here ha ha ha! 

I did buy a diving case for it but figure it might get hot, not sure yet. But the Enduro battery should keep it from getting hot and hopefully, shooting in 1080. Shooting in 120 fps but thinking about going to 60 just to keep it simple. But we'll see how the recorder acts.

I am thinking about trying a 4k or 5k video just to see what happens. Probably won't notice on YT but figure I'll try it just in case I want a personal video for my files, should look cool.

Cell pic

Couple of GoPro pics.

Foothills with Tony

 Warm 89 degrees with Tony. 31 miles with nearly 2k of climbing, Story later, video for now.

So I have a 4 day weekend and Tony says if I ever have a chance to ride on a weekday, call him, He did have other plans but changed them so that he could do the ride. Didn't expect it to be so hot but hey, I rarely look at the weather unless I think there might be a threat of rain. Maybe it just felt really hot because it's been pretty cool lately, overall. 

We headed across Baseline, up along Wheeler then down to San Dimas Cyn to climb up to the ranger station. Give me a chance to use the new Go Pro (10). Did pick up a new Enduro battery that is supposed to last 40 longer. Did the ride and yeah, pretty good having 70% charge left. I like it and a good investment at $24. I feel strange having the recorder sit out on the hb's without a case so I bought a diving case on ebay for about fourteen bucks. Delivered as I was out on the ride and testing it, this thing is a good snug fit so that's nice. Now to test it on a ride to see how the recording looks.

Back to the ride, Tony was really feeling the heat on the ride, Says he hasn't been on the bike much last month so I know, heading out into the heat first ride can really make for a rough ride.  I felt good and actually got a few Strava Pr's on the climb up the canyon so that's good. Just before the end of the ride, I started feeling the heat myself. Hips were feeling tired but not a normal tiredness, more like a draining fatigue I recognized from passed rides in the heat. Oh well, hopefully this is the start of adapting to the heat this year seeing Summer is near.

A little rough but another good ride on the charts!

Digging the new GP. The Stabilization is really cool. But figuring out exactly what settings to use will take a little time. Heck, older GP, just push record. This one has white balance, ISO, all kinds of features that need a little attention of which I haven't even began to dabble with. This video looks good but I need to figure out if this wide view is better than the super view I used on the last one. I guess only time will tell which I favor.

I am using 1080 quality. Haven't tried the 4k or 5k yet. !080 looks nice enough and my thing is to make it look nice without using too much time to load and edit videos. I'll probably test the others sooner or later but no plan to keep it that way. Heck, I wonder if youtube will even play the high quality stuff. I think I read one needs a youtube subscription to view or notice the high quality stuff. Pffft! Everybody wants to sell a prescription nowadays. 

Of course, the file on my computer looks nicer than that loaded onto youtube so I get to see it in better high def ha ha ha! Youtube always loses a little quality but nothing I can do about that.

Of course, always refreshing watermelon drink at the mall with Gina after the ride.

You see, some people say I waste my time taking pics of my food. Today I got an email from Yelp. Seems the pics I took are featured on the business page of the little taco place of which I reviewed on Yelp. The email said thanks for submitting HIGH QUALITY photos and that mine were featured. I knew taking pics of my food would pay off someday ha ha ha! 😁 The taco pics to the left and the right of the business page are mine.

Sunday Solo Meeting Jose M & Friends

 Solo 20 on SGRT. Pico to the Santa Fe Dam and back. Nice easy ride testing out the Go Pro 10 stabilizer thingy. My recorders are from 2012 and I've been admiring the stabilizer.  Been thinking of getting one as an upgrade but just wasn't sure. So my birthday, Gina suggested getting one but still resisting. Finally the other day, she says we ought to visit Best Buy to check them out. I really didn't know that they still sold the older models being up to GP12 now.  But yes, and I had been researching finding out that the 10 is much like the 11 and 12. Many suggest if one is not into all the features of the 11 and 12, the 10 is a better buy seeing it's almost half the price. I'm the click and record guy just wanting basic video but the stabilize was my want ha ha ha! So glad I did because the ride footage looks really smooth even hand held and hitting bumps and creases on the trail, really nice! Pretty noticeable in the music section of my new video.

Of course, buying the GP10 then getting home like 9 pm on Friday night, I spent some time learning how to set it up and operate it. Pretty different from the GP 2 and 3 I have. But I figured out most of it. So many settings so I just used the 1080 with 120 frames per second. Looks great but I'll have to experiment with the not so wide view to see which looks better. But pleased with the camera and only 225  vs the $400 for the GP 12.

On the ride, did run into Eyemage. He seemed worried about a tire with a scrape and maybe bulge in it. He explained that a squirrel hit his tire and damaged it. Umm ok, but yeah, maybe I did see a few teeth and some claws stuck in the bulged damaged area of his tire ha ha ha!

Then after the ride, I noticed some guys down the way looking toward me. One guy waved so I waved back. Could be one of the strava friends I haven't met. I only have like 25 so I figure I'd see if it was one of them. Turned out to be Jose M from my Strava. I was really confused thinking it was the only one  other strava bud I hadn't met. Finally got it all straightened out ha ha ha! Really good guy, very friendly as well as his friends. 

Some strong riders too! I asked about how long they had been riding. One was a couple of years, the other longer and one other guy only like 6 months. WHAAT!!! These guys post some fast times at good distances on their Strava pages. And Jose always posting pics and short vid clips on his strava so it's entertaining and glad I got to meet him finally.

Some good guys and partners in a baker shop business so I can look forward to some discounts ha ha ha!

TOO FUNNY !!! Gina's Mom was kind enough to take us to dinner for my birthday. Always good at Steak Corral. And of course, always entertained included ha ha ha! Never a dull moment. First off, Mexican Sam with his Mexican Rosary, and no, he ain't Mexican. 😄So he got razzed the entire time.

THEN !!!!!!! Crazy Gina, people think I make this stuff up, but even I can't make up stories like this. Gina dropped he chones in the restaurant! 😆😄😆 Chones (Cho-ness, for the Gringos).

She had gone up to the condiments bar to dress up her baked potato. I was still at the bar while Gina headed back. Gina first then her Mom headed back to the table. Just as I was returning to the table, I saw a black rag on the ground. I was looking for a waitress to ask if she had dropped a table cleaning rag, maybe. Then I heard a ruckus at our table. I looked up at our table and saw Gina and her Mom laughing. I still wasn't sure what was going on so I stood there for a moment then I heard them laughing saying, "They're Jockey chones!!!". 😁😄😁

Gina is sitting at the table saying they were hers and she wondered what had happened to them ha ha ha! She had washed her pants and one pair of underwear along with a few other things before we headed to the restaurant. She got dressed after getting the clothes out of the dryer but didn't see the chones and was a little puzzled what had happened to them. Now she knows!

Like those static sheets used in the dryer, the chones stuck in her pants somewhere without her knowing. So returning from the potato bar, the chones somehow slipped out of her pant leg and onto the floor of the restaurant. 🤪

Good thing her Mom saw them before anyone else had a chance to see them, that we know of ha ha ha! I just can't make this stuff up! At first Gina didn't want me to tell the story but then agreed, it's just too funny not to as you can tell by the pic of her tomato red face laughing once she realized they were her chones!

Great meal, and the entertainment was top notch, as always ha ha ha! Then!!!! Cecee even treated me to a mocha latta at the Mall Baskin Robbins. 😋 Great time!

Solo Salsa Tour

 Another Fat Bastard ride ha ha ha! 40 solo miles at 16.1 average speed. Pico to Seal Beach and back. I did have scrambled eggs and salsa for breakfast. My mother in law loves to make salsa, pico de gallo and anything else that spices up  the food. The salsa she makes is my favorite. Much like the salsa at El Torito, love the stuff.

So Gina scrambled me some eggs then grabbed the jar from the fridge, yummers! Good ride, felt good, a bit breezy but went well. 

Not really much to say other than Gina bought me a new Go Pro. I chose the GP10 seeing it is not much different than the 12 other than a couple of features. HDR and another feature or two that I would never use. Heck, my 2 and 3 have been great for me but just missing the stabilization so finally gave in and let Gina buy me the GP10 at Best Buy. I tried to resist but she just twisted my arm one too many times ha ha!

Of course, the pain in the butt setting it up and trying to figure out the settings and operation late night hoping to try it out the next morning. We'll see how it goes, so many settings. But I only care about record and stabilize ha ha ha!

The GP10 is almost half the price of the GP12 so why not? Brand new out of the box at Best Buy, $229.  I never realized they had the older models, thought I was trapped into buying the new stuff. So great! After watching and reading so many reviews, many have said the 10 is nearly the same as the 11 and 12 but half the price. Heck, I'm not the latest techie guy, I just want something that works.

So hopefully, I enjoy this one just as much as the others, the 2 and 3 that I've been using since 2012.

Then of course, dinner with Gina then a visit to the mall for a mocha latta and a pic of her hair. Enjoying the white stripes coming in.

I'd Treat a Person First

 I'd rather be kind to a human. Gina was supposed to help me wash my truck but found a way out of it so I went myself. Car wash next to a busy burger place and not so busy at this point so I stopped in to taste a burger. Was ok but nothing great, lots of fries. 

     While I was ordering, a homeless lady tried to pour a cup of coffee but the cashier, owner's wife yelled at her so she left quickly. I ate outside noticing the lady hanging out collecting recyclables. I had 8 quarters so I said Yo, need some quarters? She said ok, grabbed them then said,"Santa will be good to you this year!".😄

      So then I offered her fries and she accepted seeing I had a ton left. So she took the bag then cleaned up my trash too. Wow! So I asked why he was homeless. We chatted then later spoke of alcoholism.   

   I told her I thought it was sad with today's society. People will through food to a stray dog but won't feed another human. We chatted and though she was hard to understand, we had a good conversation. Looking into her focused eyes, I saw the person, not the monster people would expect. 

     Then I offered her another dollar I had, she just smiled. We chatted more then I asked if she would pose for a pic with me. She said ok. Then she said she had to go. 

    OK but first, let me pay you for the pic. She tried to refuse but I said I wanted to pay her for her time. So I gave her a $10 bill that I won't miss anytime soon. I think God will somehow repay me anyway.

   Funny because for my birthday, Gina was offering expensive gifts. I liked them but don't need them. This kind of a gift somehow means more to me. 

      I know a couple of wonderful people who have helped me in times of need so being one of them is a gift in itself. Even if it's a little something to me that could mean the world to them. She got THE POSE down ha ha ha!