2,240 miles in 2.5 days

[KillRamsey]

We’ve got these bikes. Or rather, we had them until this weekend. They’re Dutch, they’re biiiig, they’re heavy, they haul kids and groceries like champs, and we loved them, until we moved to a very steep, hilly place. We grudgingly sold them on Craigslist, but could only find buyers in flat places without stores who sell such things… like Fort Collins Colorado and Rock Springs, Wyoming. Thus I found myself renting a minivan Friday morning at 8am, and driving 18 hours straight to deliver them both before turning around Saturday and Sunday to come right back. I was out of the house 57 hours, and was driving 36 of them. I don’t recommend it.



But.. being alone in a car means I could pull over and snap a shot anytime I wanted, without sending it to the committee for review. I didn’t all that much, as the drive was already long enough, but I did find a few easy opportunities. I took the XT1 (duh), the Rokinon 12, the XF35, and the XC 50-230.

Aim camera to the left, press shutter...

KBRX4926 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

KBRX4929 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

13 degrees F (-11C) in Wyoming.

KBRX4939 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Happy recipient

KBRX4956 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Northern Colorado

KBRX5011 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

KBRX5027 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Puled over to the shoulder in a nice, dark spot in Wyoming, before the moon came out. Got settings dialed in, rolled down right passenger window, propped camera on window sill, did 15 second exposure, got a little light bleed from cars but not too bad.

KBRX5065 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Having a beer in a crap-tastic motel in Ogden, Utah

KBRX5068 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Back in Oregon

KBRX5086 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

 

[Luke]

so now you buy really cool bikes for brutal hill climbing.....right?

 

[KillRamsey]

Absolutely. One is already figured out, and being picked up tomorrow. It's an electrified "bakfiets," or "box bike" in Dutch, similar to what we just sold, except that it's designed from Day 1 to be electric. Has a giant motor and battery, smooth electronics, big disc brakes, etc. So we can haul tons of stuff with that. 'Taint cheap, but it's meant to be a car replacement, and it's able to handle the hills here. Second bike is still being figured out. Off-the-shelf options are mostly lacking in one way or another for what I need to do with it... haul a kid on a trail-a-bike. Same idea as what we did on the Pitt-DC trip, really. That bike had some design issues as well. Looking like I might add a kit onto a simple, cheap 80's mountain bike. They're all steel, no shocks, big tires, stone-axe simple, and ubiquitous for around $80 on CL. We shall see...

 

[Britanica]

These look great! I really like the shot of the night sky. For some reason I never been able to take one that clear. I also love the shot of the rear-view mirror. Creative!

 

[KillRamsey]

The star shot was the rokinon 12, at f2, ISO3200, and 15 seconds. I was literally holding it still on the passenger side door sill with the window rolled down, because it was too cold to get out and tromp through the snow.