A little review of the Magic Arm + Super Clamp

I decided to go out and shoot a small video today so thought it was the ideal opportunity to try out the Magic Arm and Super Clamp I've just purchased off eBay.

 Ok so as stated in an earlier post I opted for the 11"inch Magic Arm, there is also a 7" available. I know women always say the extra few inches don't matter, but I just felt the extra reach would help enable me to get some better shots and angles.

I'll start with the clamp... I'm not sure if there are slightly bigger clamps available (as in jaw size), the one I got opens to 5.5cm's, this is just a fraction to small to fit around the downtube of my bike. Never mind you could always do what I do and just use your GoPro helmet strap for this area. The clamp seems to fit all other places I tried it (well apart from my fork legs which are quite wide). I found the clamp nips up really well and is solid. Down side it is a little bulky I would hate to see anyone have a spill and the clamp dent their frame. I mean this is a solid piece of metal not your usual plastic GoPro type clamp. The jaws of the clamp come with rubber protectors, so this helps with not scratching your frame.

The Magic Arm. I really love how the Arm adjusts. It has 2 swivel heads, one either end of each arm. One arm you pop your GoPro or Contour or whatever camera you use on to. I bought a GoPro camera mount, the type you can fit to say a tripod or GoPro pole. The other end fits into the clamp. In the middle of the 2 arms is a knob that you can turn and hears the really clever bit, you adjust the arm from that one knob. So say the knob is slack the arms move around easily for adjustment. Tightening the knob tightens both arms and both swivel heads. The angles you can get are infinite, really it's just a case of experimenting. You can even do as i did today and fasten the arm to other stuff so you can get a ride by at an unusual angle. I secured it to a tree branch for an overhead shot.

Top tip.....make sure you tighten your Magic Arm into the clamp securely, you can use a small spanner to do this, also make sure you do likewise with your camera mount at the other end, though this can be done by hand using the knurled threaded washer. On today's testing my Magic Arm was keep dropping, nothing to do with the design, it was my own fault I hadn't tightened the clamp to the arm before setting out.

Overall I think this is a great bit of kit.....

Positives +     get some great angles, sturdy design, ease of use.

Negatives -   Watch you don't have this on your bike and take a spill, it could damage your frame depending on where you have it.

If there's anything else you would like to know just drop me a line, like I say I got my Magic Arm off eBay. It arrived in like 2 or 3 days.

Sunrise Secret

Checked the weather forecast last night and it said today should be a nice day, well in the morning at least. So I got my gear ready as I had a plan to shoot a bit of video at an area your not really supposed to ride the following morning. I asked wor Kyle and my dad if they fancied a look out with me to help take some shots, explaining I would be getting up at around 5:00am so as I could be at the undisclosed location at 5:49 for the sunrise. They both said they would come along. I think it's mainly to try catching me falling off my bike so they can have a good laugh about it lol.

The sunrise was very pretty,well worth getting up for....

A Beautiful Sunrise

Really enjoyed playing about on my Sandman, it's fantastic when you can find a nice bit of trail to ride, it's just a shame this area your not supposed to use a bike on.

Check out further on for more pic's and a movie I made of today's adventure
 

GoPro Backpack Pole Mount

Whilst checking out Youtube for new and interesting stuff I came across this....

I've seen various short video's on the making of these backpack mounts, and think they are an excellent way of getting some really neat camera angles.

Rodger Dean has decided to take the idea one step further and try and manufacture and  sell his VuVantage Backpack mount as a complete unit. Rodger is using top end materials and like he says

 "You could buy parts of this product And still, no third person perspective"

I spoke to Rodger via email and he informed me his "Kickstarter project" wasn't going as quick as he planned but he does have a back up plan which is good to hear.

I for one would like to get my hands on one of his designs and go out and make a  movie you would hopefully find interesting, with some unusual camera angles.

Checkout the link below for more info

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vuvantage/backpack-pole-mount-for-action-cameras-gopro-or-co 

11"inch Variable Friction Magic Arm + Super Clamp

I've just ordered one of these off eBay.

It's an 11"inch Variable Friction Magic Arm + Super Clamp. I'm going to use it to attach my GoPro in various positions whilst I'm out taking video's, so hopefully get some nice unusual shots.

Adam the camera man from the BBC recommended it to me, so thanks for that Adam. It's a lot easier than fiddling with my current GoPro set up of attaching various mounts together to get an arm you can adjust. With the magic arm you can pop it where you want a with one turn of the screw it locks the whole arm in position.

Re -Magic Arm + Clamp

WoW that was pretty quick the Magic Arm arrived today. It's a very sturdy bit of kit and should make for some great angles, "watch this space" .My only concern is that the arm is so sturdy when it's clamped in place thatit could possibly dent or bend my frame in the event of a spill. This is something I'm going to have to keep an eye on.

Can't wait to see what angles and interesting shots I can get. I've got a covert movie making session planned  que evil laugh"Muhahahaha".

I will do a full review of the Magic Arm after I test it out, should be fun....

To ride or not to ride that is the question?

As the title says "To ride or not to ride, that is the question". Ok so whilst out for a walk with Ern (my dad) and Mr Hinks our slightly fruit cake of an English Bull terrier, we ventured out to an area which I won't disclose for a walk.

Though I had been to this place before I hadn't really explored it, however on having a look around yesterday I thought "wow this would make an awesome place to shoot a short Fat Bike movie". Now here's my dilemma, the actual place I'm talking about has signs up saying "No Horses or cycling". So on the one hand as a law abiding citizen the little angel on my shoulder is saying "No stick to the rules", yet on the other shoulder my little devil is saying " Be a rebel just go for it". I mean if I did go ride the trail I have seen it would be very early in the morning I'd like to catch a nice sunrise. Also I wouldn't be riding this area on a regular basis it would be a one off, just to get the shot I'm after.

So I don't know what to do, guess I'm looking for input from people, what do you think? Am I seriously impacting on the eco system by riding maybe an hour or two in this area. What will happen if I get caught will I be slapped with an Asbo or have to face criminal proceedings.

After a slightly elusive sunrise

I'm determined to catch a nice, or should I say beautiful sunrise. So far I've failed in my last couple of attempts. I used to be up at the crack of dawn when I worked as a postman, but that was years ago, before I became ill with my leg. Since then well I can find myself in bed till all hours of the morning and don't get to catch too many sunrises. Just lately however I've been getting up at silly o'clock like this morning for instance 4:00 AM and heading out on my bike.

 Last night I checked the weather on-line for our local area and from what I read I thought it was going to be a canny morning.......how wrong was I ? I had intended riding up to Consett to catch the sun coming up over the Hownsgill Viaduct and shoot a small movie with my GoPro.  Well to cut a long story short the weather was pants, very dull, lots of clouds, mostly of the miserable variety. I decided I wasn't going to let this ruin my day. So Kyle my son who had joined me on this early morning adventure thought about where we could go and capture a few photo's and a bit of movie footage. We decided to head towards Waskerley and the reservoir as we hadn't actually visited it before.

Once you start to get up into the moors and the area opens up, it's so beautiful over there. It's so peaceful down by the reservoir. I rode right down to the edge of the reservoir and got a little bit of footage and even had a bit plodge in the water at one point to capture some pics of my bike at the waters edge. I reckon we did around 35 miles or so today and had a really enjoyable time, even if the weather was caca doo doo.

 Oh one thing I'm not happy with is my new cycling shorts, the lycra padded variety. I bought a pair of Funkier 8 panel gel filled shorts thinking they would help me out in those long rides in the saddle. Boy how wrong was I, these particular brand or design of shorts are so uncomfortable for me and have actually chaffed me pretty bad on both my good side and socket side, so I think I'm going to have to invest in another pair from a different manufacturer. I've been sore in the saddle before but not like this Ouch lol !!!!

Here's a few photo's from today

I saw that some kind of work was being carried out on the Hownsgill Viaduct as there was a few barriers up. I then spotted this notice when heading over towards Waskerley Way near the farm.

Apparently some sort of fencing is being put in place in the hope it will stop people committing suicide off the viaduct, as it is a pretty well known area for people to actually jump off.

A Notice of work being carried out on the Hownsgill Viaduct

Me playing on my Sandman coming down a trail near the Viaduct

Kyle and me on our way up to Waskerley. Rowley Station was actually dismantled brick by brick and is now at Beamish Open Air Museum

Yeah I know it's just a gate, but the sky and trail leading off into the distance caught my imagination so I thought why not take a snap

Here are a few shots which I experimented with using different camera settings and a filter I got of my good friend Adrian. I took quite a flot of shots,  didn't want to bore you so only put up a few....

Sandman Hoggar Ti at the shore line of Waskerley Reservoir

In at the deep end lol

The sky was quite heavy with clouds, added to the shot though

Spent a morning with some fantastic guys from the BBC

Had a really enjoyable morning today. Three really nice guys from the BBC arrived where I live to do a short report on my use of the Bartlett  Tendon which I am sponsored on and to find out where things started in my mountain biking adventures.  Damian who is a Broadcaster and Journalist,was there to do the interview with me, Adam who is a video/camera man to take some footage and shots and David who is also a Broadcaster and Journalist tagged along for the experience.

Upon meeting the guys they were all very warm and friendly and we went over just what was going to happen during the course of the morning. They were fantastic guiding me through what needed to be done and offering lots of encouragement and reassuring me, making the tasks at hand easy to get on with.

I was very proud that I got great positive feedback on stuff I had shot, both photo and image wise. In fact Damian and Adam actually asked if they could copy some of my work over on to Adam's laptop as they may use it in doing the final news report.

Though very nervous about doing the interview (I'm not good in front of the camera) I felt it went well and was very pleased when Damian said it was spot on. I'm so thrilled to be actually able to get to thank those people and companies who have actually helped and supported me along the way and hope this kind of media stuff gives them a bit more recognition for the amazing work they do for others.

So in ending I would just like to say a huge thank you to Damian, Adam and David of the BBC. I really enjoyed meeting you all, your an excellent team and good to share a bit of banter with you.

And to those people and companies who have helped me so much over the past 5 years.

Pace Rehabilitation for your commitment and support when ever I have needed it.
  www.pacerehab.com

Brian Bartlett @ Leftsideinc for sponsoring me on your knee unit and taking care of me.
 www.leftsideinc.com

And to

Sandman Bikes for your excellent customer service, your always there to answer a query and your bike design is just awesome. I'm proud to be an ambassador for your company.
 www.sandmanbikes.com

A Sunset at Waskerley

Decided to head straight off up towards Waskerley on our return from Middlesbrough yesterday. I really wanted to try and catch a nice sunset on the reservoir up there but unfortunately we were a little late.

Never mind I did get  some shots, mind you I had to wade through the heather and almost fell a few times to get in position. It's real difficult walking at the best of time with this stoopid leg, but add confounded weeds,undergrowth and heather and well it's just not funny at all.....well maybe to others when I'm either goose stepping to get through the stuff or falling over as I've snagged my foot and my leg gives way unexpectedly lol.

Anyhoo hope you think the shots were worth it, all of the shots have the same basic composition I was messing around with different light settings,apertures etc.  I'm a total noob to this lol.

Near Waskerley on the moors

Whilst I was in Middlesbrough

I was invited along to BBC Radio Tees today to do an interview regarding my limb loss and to chat about my mountain biking and the unique sports knee, the Bartlett Tendon I am using.
After I had finished up at the Radio station I decided to go checkout the Tees Transporter Bridge and also have a look at the Newport Bridge which we had seen on the journey in.

Tees Transporter Bridge

A pretty interesting day

Like my post title says I've had "a pretty interesting day"..... It all stems from an interview I did for one of my local newspapers, (The Northern Echo) a week or so ago. A couple of very nice guys from the newspaper came out to see me to find out a bit more about me and my story in regards to loosing my limb and also to hear about the fantastic people, clinic and companies  who are supporting me in my mountain biking endeavours.

Earlier today Scott Richardson who is Pace Rehabilitation's Business Development Manager got in touch with me informing me BBC Radio Tees would like to do a short interview with me and was I available. Scott gave me Neil Green's number over at BBC Tees and I got in touch. Neil was busy but I was told he would contact me a little later in the day. I had no sooner put the phone down than a very nice gentleman John Williams from the BBC  rang me asking if I would be interested in doing a short interview and story for Look North......WoW it's all happening I thought. You see I wasn't aware at the time that the article had ran in today's Northern Echo so it seemed a bit weird all of these people calling me and taking an interest in little old me.

Neil as promised rang me back and we arranged for me to pay a visit down to BBC Radio Tees in Middlesbrough where I took part in a small interview, basically explaining what had happened to me, About my mountain biking and how I got to be so fortunate in finding people/companies to help and support me in my journey.

So overall it's been a busy kind of day, though I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The real bonus for me is being able to thank all those people who have supported me. It's also great to be able to spread a little more disability awareness as who knows it could inspire and motivate others.

Checkout the below link for the Northern Echo Article

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/stanley/9861551.Amputee_biker_from_County_Durham_tests_prosphetic_limbs_for_US_firm/

And the BBC Radio Tees interview can be found here (skip to 1 hour 39 approx to hear my interview)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/p00w7jdb?t=5936.635

Just like to go on and thank everyone at the Northern Echo, Gavin Havery (reporter) and Dave the camera/video man.

Everyone at BBC Radio Tees, thanks for the warm welcome and coffee.

Oh and a huge thank you to my dad, your my biggest supporter, always there when I need you and my best friend, cheers dad.....

Would like to add one of these to my bike collection, maybe if I win the lottery

I love all things bike, it doesn't have to be just mountain or Fat bikes. I also like to go for a blast on my single speed NS Analog. With it being a single speed it's tough work, what with only having the one leg to power me along. Banks and hills can be a nightmare, thing is with the single I find you can have a great ride out if you plan your route and kind of zig zag your way up any inclines. Riding my Single speed kind of takes me back to the days I rode my old Raleigh Grifter or Peugeot Bmx,back in the 80's. It's just a back to basics steel frame with bog standard calliper brakes, it's no frills fun biking.

 Anyhoo as I was saying......I got my eye on this English Bikes awesomely cool frame design. The attention to detail of this bike is fantastic. It's called Project Right and I dare say if I came into some money I would like to invest in one. I always like to own things that are just that little bit different and this bike certainly fits the bill.

Project Right

To read more about Project Right and see more images as well as English Bikes other designs checkout  http://www.englishcycles.com/custombikes/project-right/

Ventured out to Barnard Castle

Today's adventure was to Barnard Castle.I'm getting a bit bored of the usual local 20 odd mile loops so thought I'd venture a bit further afield. Barnard Castle is around 40 miles away from where I live. I didn't think I could manage it there and back so arranged for Ern to pick Kyle and myself  up when we had arrived at our destination.

Heading down towards Barnard Castle isn't to bad, we picked up the cycle route at Lanchester on the Lanchester Way Railway Path and headed towards Durham. We then continued on until we saw a sign for the Walney to Wear cycle route,( route 20). Overall getting to Barnard Castle wasn't too bad, though in certain area's the route is marked as Regional Route 20 but has now been resigned as National Route 70 which can be confusing, plus I don't think there are enough signs dotted around. You really have to keep your eyes peeled as it's quite easy to miss a sign and head off in the wrong direction,especially if your like me and get lost after leaving the corner of your street. Never mind a couple of helpful people around the Bishop Auckland area soon pointed us in the right direction and we were off again.

We climbed up the hill of the A688 and at about 9 miles away from Barnard Castle broke out the rations. This was one sausage roll, large which we shared and a couple of sandwiches which I had prepared before we set off. Consisting of 2 strawberry jam and 2 chocolate spread all on delicious fruit loaf. Boy they went down a treat and gave us a bit of a boost for the climb into Barnard Castle.

Met Ern and my friend Essi who's been visiting us this week at Barnard Castle and took a few quick snaps before popping the bikes onto the bike rack and heading home. A really nice ride out even though I'm a bit knackered and sore lol......

Me with my slightly retarded son

A Network Sculpture sign post type thing

@ Barnard Castle

@ the park Barnard Castle

The gates to Barnard castle

Coming down the footpath @ Barnard castle

A lookout to the Scotish Borders

On my return from Edinburgh the other week I got my eye on a fantastic looking  viaduct and made a mental note to have a look back up to check it out. So along with my dad,Kyle and Mr Hinks, as well as a few friends including Essi and the Hair family we all ventured up to the Scottish borders to take in this amazing piece of construction.

The viaduct in question is called the Leaderfoot Viaduct, it was constructed in 1865 to carry the Berwickshire Railway, connecting Reston on the East Coast Main Line with St Boswells on the Waverley.

  A little more history of the Viaduct can be found here
http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/leaderfoot.html

Leaderfoot Viaduct

What to do when you just can't sleep

Just couldn't get to sleep last night, so at around 3:30 am I got up popped my bike gear on, filled my Camelbak and set off for a morning ride. I took my camera and GoPro, thought I might get some interesting morning shots, boy how wrong was I. The weather was a bit naff, a drizzly,damp and foggy sort of morning and the GoPro couldn't really cope with the low light conditions, so the footage looked terrible and as for my camera I didn't really see anything of interest. I only rode to the "Gill bridge" or Howsgill Viaduct to give it it's proper name. On my way back I popped into McDonald's for a Coffee and a sausage & egg McMuffin. I was soaked through by the time I got home. Gave my bike a quick hose down and blew the majority of the excess water off with the compressor. Ahh well it filled a bit of the morning in and to be fair even though my video and photo's didn't turn out I still enjoyed my ride out.......

An outing to Penshaw Monument

Penshaw Monument isn't too far from where I live, it's around a 22 to 24 mile trip by bike.  It's somewhere I've passed quite a few times but I hadn't actually ventured up the hill to the top where the Monument actually sits. So today I looked out my bedroom window and even though I thought to myself "boy it looks quite windy" I decided to head off to Penshaw and visit the Monument.

Fat Biking at Sunrise

Well reviewed yesterdays footage and put a small movie together. It was a beautiful morning and I think the GoPro has captured the scenes pretty well.                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                           

Hooked up with Brian and Laurie in Edinburgh

I thought I may have missed my opportunity to hook up with Brian and Laurie on their latest trip over here from the States. Brian is just so busy working flat out on his  knee design the Bartlett Tendon. For those of you who aren't aware of what a Bartlett Tendon is, it's a universal sporting prosthetic and it can enable an above knee amputee to get back into doing a whole range of sporting activities.

Checkout the below link for more info......
www.leftsideinc.com

I had been out to the coast for a spot of beach riding this morning and when I got home my bike was covered in sand, so I gave it a quick wash down before deciding to go for another blast out locally. When I returned home my dad informed me Brian had been on the phone saying he had some free time if I was able to make it up to Edinburgh, where he had been attending the Human Race Exhibition. The exhibition was a look at the history of sports medicine and Brian's sporting prosthetic design the Bartlett Tendon was featured. This is a huge achievement considering how long the knee has been in production...

City Art Centre and the venue for the Human Race Exhibition

 No probs I thought, Edinburgh is roughly about 112 miles away from us. Obviously my dad has heard so much about Brian from myself and  he was real excited about getting the chance to meet him, so he decided he would come along for the ride. Both Brian and his partner Laurie are huge animal lovers so when I write an email to them I will always keep them up to date on how my dog Mr Hinks is doing and ask about their dog Bear so I thought I may as well take Mr Hinks along so as he could say "Hello" too.

It was really great seeing Brian and Laurie again as it's been quite sometime. We all decided we would go for some pub grub and even took Mr Hinks, he was allowed inside the pub. The pub was named Lebowski's after the famous cult movie  "The Big Lebowski" starring Geoff Bridges.

 Mr Hinks was very well behaved and got lots of attention, not only from Brian and Laurie but also the staff and customers. One lady and gentleman even gave him some crisps they had left over and one of the bar staff brought him a nice cool bowl of water. He then proceeded to help Laurie clear her mixed platter which she had ordered.

Mr Hinks @ the pub

Ern @ the Pub

 It was fantastic listening to Brian talk about   his work as he is so passionate , he even drew a little sketch of his future plans for  some new prosthetic designs, this was very interesting, but we won't talk about that as I have been sworn to secrecy  lol.

After our meal we decided to take Mr Hinks for a quick walk and then head to another pub for a drink. We sat outside as it wasn't too bad an evening. Again the bar staff were brilliant offering a dish of water for Hinks and again he got more attention from passer by, one old fellow coming over to pet him and saying "hey isn't that like the dog from Oliver" in a lovely Scottish accent of course.

Sitting Outside the pub, thanks to the nice lad who used Brian's iPhone to capture this shot

 So all in all it's been a brilliant day I've now been up almost 23 hours straight and drove there and back from Edinburgh so now going to hit the sack.

Just like to say a huge thank you to both Brian and Laurie, it's what you do that makes you special...

Images courtesy of Brian  and his iPhone

Up @ 3:45 in the am to catch a Sunrise at South Shields

After taking a few shots of the Groyne Lighthouse at South Shields the other week and them not turning out too bad I thought it may be a good subject matter when there was a nice Sunrise. So I Googled what time the Sunrise was due and also checked to see what sort of day it was going to be. It said Sunrise was 4:59 am and weather wise it was supposed to be going to be a pretty nice day.

A part ride, part hike starting at Fox and Parrot Wood

Set off for a little bit of a ride with my son Kyle today, me on my Sandman and Kyle on my Ibis. Decided to set off along to Craghead then cut through Fox Parrot Wood and up towards West Pelton.

Kyle and Me @ Fox Parrot Wood

Fox Parrot Wood

• Ancient and new woodland • Excellent for dog walking • Wide open spaces
Fox and Parrot Wood, named in memory of a local doctor and his beloved bird, forms part of County Durham's Great North Forest. The gently undulating grass rides make this site ideal for strolling in the fresh air and admiring the beautiful broadleaved woodland that has been taking shape here since 1998.
As well as being popular with dog walkers, this site offers a sense of boundless space where walkers can roam freely and even explore the ancient semi-natural woodland in adjoining Twizell Wood. The establishment of Fox and Parrot Wood has been important to the area's biodiversity, having been planted on improved grassland after the decline of opencast coal mining in the 1980s. This 21-acre wood was planted in two phases in 1998 and 2004 under the Trust's Woods on Your Doorstep Project and the Forestry Commission's New Native Woodland Scheme. The site will continue to be maintained as native broadleaf high forest woodland until it begins to regenerate naturally over the next hundred years and beyond.

A couple more acquisitions in tools & Accessories

 Quite often I find my backpack is a bit disorganized so when I saw the Lezyne Smart Wallet I thought "Oh that would be handy to keep all my essential stuff in one place" you know bike multi-tool, a puncture repair kit, a place for a little bit of emergency cash and a nice sealed cover for my phone. Thing was when I looked for the Smart Wallet Elite I discovered it had been discontinued. I even contacted the distributors to see if they knew of any shops that may have had the odd one lying around, alas to no avail. Anyhoo I struck lucky on eBay and managed to pick up a brand new one for less than the original retail price so was well pleased.

I've since bought myself a new set of Lezyne alloy tyre levers and an alloy puncture repair case with glueless patches, all I need now is a nice Lezyne multi-tool. Quite fancy one of the blingtastic carbon affairs but wow are they expensive.

       

Lezyne Smart Wallet Elite

I also got myself a handy little Topeak  Samrt Gauge D2. Here's how Topeak describe there nifty little gauge....

"The second-generation digital gauge features a rotating SmartHead™ and works seamlessly with Presta and Schrader valves without changing parts. Precision digital gauge reads up to 250 psi / 17 bar and is designed for use with tires, suspension forks and rear shock units. LCD display can be programmed to show pressure in psi, Bar, or kg/cm2. 

Topeak Smart Gauge D2

 Visit below link for more details

http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/smartgauge_d2