Friday part II

What good is a ride without a few photos? I did manage to snap one photo on Friday - I was too shattered to get any more. Taking photos whilst in motion is a bit of an art - I cruise up behind my intended victim, then match their pace as I remove my camera from my back pocket, turning it on with one hand and checking that I have it oriented properly (ie, not pointing at me). I might hover out to one side to get a partial rear/side-on shot, but that depends on the oncoming traffic and the position of the sun. At this time of the morning, the sun is coming from the left here, and if I fade to the right and try to get a side-on shot, it will be washed out by the rising sun.

Getting a snap can only be done when I have plenty of reserves of energy - I can't do it puffed. It helps to be breathing lightly, rather than having your diaphragm heaving down around your navel somewhere. The more puffed you are, the more stress it puts on your arms - if you watch a race, you can see when the cyclists are really going for it by the way the muscles in their arms bunch and flex. You are pushing on the pedals so hard, the pressure from your legs will throw you clean off the bike if you aren't anchored by your arms. I reckon I have stronger forearms now than when I was doing a lot of weight work in the gym a decade ago.

So I usually only photograph the slow coaches, because I am barely putting any weight on the pedals when tailgating these folk.

I have tried to take photos of the speedy guys - like the 1750 - but it ain't easy when they are pelting along at 50km/h (as they tend to do). If anything, it's a good way to end up with a nasty dose of road rash.

I must say thanks to Aus-Autarch who pointed me at Busted Carbon. Fascinating site. I told Chook about it, and his comment was that his bike is the same model as the first photo on the blog! Not something to give one a lot of confidence in expensive carbon technology. The only carbon I have on my bike is the forks, and after seeing the photos of snapped forks (and reading about the resulting broken collar bones and arms), I am not so sure I want any carbon on the bike at all!

Anyway, I took a photo of the bloke above because I was intrigued by the green reflectors that he had at the top of each calf. I hope they weren't taped on!