The WRs functioned flawlessly and I’m sure glad I had the new tank and knobbies, we got in some knarly stuff and boy, it was fun!

After finding the trails were open, BigDog smiled like a little kid.. he told me, “now there’s this steep hill down here we just might have to see how the WRs handle going up it!” after descending, we turned it around and nailed it.. I followed his line and we both met at the top just giggling.. it was a good climb. There were a lot of trails like this…

Here’s where we ended up.. then off to the side, BigDog says “that trail over there is usually closed off but we’ll try it.. so off we went, and I think that was the best ride of the day!

We headed up to the 4th highest point in IL where this huge cross is being repaired. Leave it to BigDog to score us some free homemade beef stew and a soda pop. Man that hit the spot. I think I know what happened here in this photo, but I’ll leave you to decide….

It was a great day of riding.. and was nice getting to know Mark, I look forward to us riding again!!

Check out Mark over at BigDogAdventures.com!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This could be the difference between keeping your bike and watching it go away on the back of a salvage truck.” – Stacy @ bolty.net

This is a great post from a fellow rider and her dealings with her insurance company.  After a recent “minor” accident (and I stress minor carefully as her bike was considered totaled), Stacy wrote about her dealings with the insurance company and gives some great insight into what really happens in a situation like this.  Anyone riding a motorcycle with insurance should read this post and take notes!  Thank you Stacy for putting so much time into this and educating us all by your experience!

Read her full post here: What Happens With Insurance After a Motorcycle Accident

One of the feature I like the most is how easy it is to take a gpx file from your GPS load it to Ride With GPS and view it on Google Maps.  You can then share the ride with friends or choose to keep it private.  Note that by default files you upload are set to ‘Public’ so I changed all mine to private.  I since emailed one of the creators about allowing only certain folks on your buddy list to view routes and he said those features are in the works!

You can also create new routes from Ride With GPS and then export it as a gpx file to load to your GPS unit.  There is also a ‘Sync with GPS’ option but I have yet to try this.

Below is a view of one of my rides I’ve uploaded to give you an idea of the route log view:

There are too many features to list from route creation that creates a cut sheet automatically, import routes into Mapsource as a route or track.  Selecting what motorcycle or bike you road on the trip as well as what gear you took with you. Upload gpx, tcx or kml files as well as exporting to these formats.  Its a very good tool just to go from Mapsource to Google Maps or Earth very easily.  Do yourself a favor and just check it out.  I find it just as easy if not easier to create routes in Ride With GPS than Mapsource.  And its free (for now)!

Features from their website:

Plan Rides

• Draw routes on a map before you ride, then download to your GPS unit for turn-by-turn directions
• See elevation profile as you draw, so you know how difficult the ride will be before you head out
• No sign-up required, no GPS required

Log Activity

• Upload your GPX or TCX files
• See your activities on a calendar
• Activity summary shows weekly, monthly, and yearly totals
• Sign up for a free account to begin

Analyze Data

• See a graph of your speed, cadence, heart rate, and more
• Zoom in to a sub-section of a route and see metrics for just that section
• Sort your routes by location, distance, elevation gain, and more

I have no affiliation with these guys, just a very cool tool that has made my ride planning much easier!  Let me know what you think of the site or if you learn any cool tricks with it.

ADVrider Picture Once-inator Plugin – Removes previously posted pictures from quotes
ADVrider Multiquoter Plugin – Allows you to quote multiple posts at once.
ADVrider Ride Report De-Clutter Plugin – Filter out everything other than the original author’s posts in a Ride Report.

Thanks Bolty!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This little dude is free, it works great and I’ll be able to get those cool angle low shots while riding.  I can even bend the legs around a tree limb or fence post if I need to. So here’s what I came up with:

Here’s all you need to make your own little tripod. The black washer nut piece you don’t really need. I just added it cuz I found it and was going to use some sort of nut to be able to tighten down the legs onto each other.

My Flip Mino weighs 3.3 oz and this little thing holds it up with no problems.  I could easily use stronger gauge wire for a heavier camera.  You can buy tabletop tripods for cheap, but this little contraption will last for ever, need a new leg just cut a new piece of wire and slap it on. I love when a plan comes together!

Mark “BigDog” Sampson of BigDogAdventures.com will be on SideStand Up radio broadcast Tuesday, February 16th 2010 between 7pm – 9pm.  You will quickly notice how riding comes second nature to Mark and he seems to always be planning for his next adventure.  Its been awesome to chat with Mark recently about riding and trip planning.

If you haven’t checked out his videos, you need to.  They are great! I’ve watched his Shadow of the Rockies ride about three times so far and have enjoyed the heck out of it every time (just got it two days ago!).  You will see how he loves to be outdoors exploring new parts of the country as well as it’s history.

Since Mark is just over in the next state from us Missouri riders, its very cool we get the opportunity to not only ride with Mark but ride the same local routes he has done and see those remote treasures he always seems to find!

Here’s how Pat McGhie from SideStand Up has introduced Mark:

Over on ADVRider…. Mark has over 40 Ride Reports on his web page ranging from the TAT, Moab, Pacific NW, the Rockies, Mexico and more.  We will be talking about his most recent trip, a 1200 mile solo trek from Illinois to Missouri and Arkansas.  Loaded up for camping, he rode his modified Yamaha WR250R on this one. We will talk about the bike choice also.  Tune in to meet the BigDog, a friend to all Dual Sport riders.  The Ride Report can be found at ADVRider“

SideStand Up
February 16, 2010
7pm – 9pm
Featured Guest: Mark “BigDog” Sampson of BigDogAdventures.com

Check out the show’s podcast on iTunes right here, or on TalkShoe!

But first, a little about what I use and do.  For right now when I’m on the trail I use an older point-n-shoot Olympus C-5000Z 5MP.  It has some manual settings which is nice but typically I just use some auto settings and make it better in post. Typically every photo I take before its uploaded anywhere I adjust the contrast & levels in Photoshop CS4.  Most image editing tools allow you to do this, including Picasa & Picnik.  Here’s a before and after shot using the Olympus (click photo to zoom):

Before (Details: 1/250, f/5.6, 7.8mm, ISO 50):

After, a little Contrast / Levels change

Now here’s a similar shot with my good camera, a Canon Rebel XTi. It’s Canon’s entry level DSLR but is loaded with goodies and unless I take photos for a living, I can’t see needing a whole lot more than what this camera offers for the price.  I mainly use two lenses, Canon EFS 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS and a Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens.  This little 50mm is the best money I’ve spent on a lens!

Here’s a similar shot with my Canon XTi 17-85mm:

Before (Details: 1/250, f/5.6, 26mm, ISO 100):

After:

Now this shot is not the best example to show the differences here, but this is what was going on in my backyard at the time!  As you can see the Canon, even in the before shot, has a much better white balance & contrasted photo.  There’s not a huge difference between the Canon’s before & after shot.

Here’s a few shots I took with the Canon DSLR that you just can’t do with a standard digital point-and-shoot camera.

If I could suggest only a few things to make your photos better, it would probably be these: framing & lighting.

Framing

Use the Rule of Thirds, which will allow the photo’s surroundings to help tell the story you are capturing. Also, when I frame a shot, I quickly look all around the view finder, making sure there’s not some weird object that throws the shot completely off.  The photo below is a good example of letting the surroundings be a part of the photo. It puts the viewer on location with the subject and it dramatically adds more to the photo than if the subject were centered.  On this shot I pulled the subject to the left edge a bit further than the normal but, I wanted Brayden’s eye to be the focal point of the shot.  For me, that tells it all!

There are times though, that the subject makes the shot look much better if it is centered.  As you can tell in these examples:

Lighting

In my opinion, lighting is like the sound of the photo.  Just like in a feature film, the shots can be good, the actors can be great, but without solid sound effects & scores, it feels very empty.  Lighting is the same way.  It adds so much to the photo and is probably one of the most over looked aspect for beginners.  There’s so much on this topic, so I think I’ll just show you a few examples and move on… Lighting is crucial, take advantage of it.

Last night I was reading a very good Ride Report on ADVrider.com and noticed the writer took very good photos. He had to be a seasoned photographer or just has a lot of hours looking through the lens. Then at the end of the report, he wrote a very nice photography primer post, some technique and tips for anyone taking photos, whether with a point-and-shoot or a nice DSLR.  I recommend reading thought it, as well as his ride report! Thanks Gregor.

Good luck and get creative with your shots.  Snap some shots at different angles, low and high. Play around with your camera and get to know it, and know it well!  If you have a DSLR like the Canon or Nikon.. do yourself a favor and put the dial on Manual and never ever turn it to anything else!  This will force you to learn the techniques of good exposure, shutter speed and focus.

I hope this video will help others out there getting ready for this install. If you have any questions on what I did please send me a note. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

To mount up my GPS, I ordered a RAM ball mount, part # RAM-B-236U from GPSCity.com.  With this setup I can get my GPS lower and still have great visibility.  Last thing I want to do is see my GPS get demolished after a ”get off”!  Here’s some final shots:

Diagrams

Symtec Motorcycle Grip Heaters Diagram

Powerlet Socket Diagram

Click here to view the embedded video.

On to Part 2, making the connections!