[Mike] was going to be biking across Canada. He really wanted to document the trip, so he began planning ways to get still images taken at intervals along the way. After a bit of brainstorming, he ended up setting his goals a bit higher. He was going to film the entire trip. He really didn’t want a simple helmet cam, he wanted himself and the entire bike in the frame. To do this he had to build a long arm on which he mounted a bullet cam. On his handlebars, he has a simple control where he can turn the system on and off as well as initiate recording.
No single piece of this project was too complicated, but taken all together, the final result is quite nice. You can watch the video for yourself after the break.
[vimeo=3451015]
Neat idea, he needs to learn how to edit video though.
contour hd, cant wait!
It reminds me a french guy called “Antoine de maximy” who films his trips, where he wants to sleep in people’s house all around the world …
the serie is called “J’irai dormir chez vous” you can look it up on youtube, and he uses also an arm to handle a camera faced to his face …
I don’t know about anyone else, but this looks like a 5′ wide bike unless the picture is deceiving. Neat idea, but I couldn’t imagine riding this down a small two lane road with cars in both directions. It’s going to piss off a lot of drivers.
Beautiful work. I hadn’t intended to watch the whole thing, but it was really well done. Very moving stuff here Mike.
How did I know that the one comment on this was going to be a troll…
This film took DIY as a mantra in almost every aspect. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer so we could meet more of the people he met along the way and hear more of his own thoughts and experiences.
@Earl
It may be 5′ wide at it’s widest point, but it’s not like it has a 5′ wheelbase. The bike takes up the same amount of room as far as motorists are concerned since the boom cam hangs off to the right side of the road.
Brilliant!
I didn’t mean to watch the whole thing either, but it was so interesting.
Also, as hinted at in the credits, this is Mike Beauchamp from http://www.therevox.com.
I had no intention to watch more than a couple of minutes, but I got really into it. Awesome work Mike. Well done, quite inspiring!
For a neat version of the hardware in this project, check out UncommonProjects hack: http://uncommonprojects.com/site/work/ybike
(no, I don’t work for them! I’m just a GPS enthusiast! It’s really a great project – ENJOY!)
A guy from Vancouver built an e-bike and rode across Canada for $8.57 worth of electricity.
Some build details are at: http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5652
I know he attached a camera to that bike, and took one photo a minute the whole time he rode (I think using a timer circuit attached to the cam’s trigger? It’s probably on one of the sub-pages on that thread, but I’m missing it), but I can’t find a link to the video that resulted.
I absolutely loved this docu.
wow, didn’t even realize this was an hour long.
great vid.
great stuff…
Absolutely awe-inspiring
nice one for following through the desire to do something different
lol. does the Coke make him cry? bet he was regretting that lead battery.
Hi there. I have only just watched the first 10 minutes of your film and I just wanted to comment and share a few thoughts. A friend called Angus shared this page with me. He said it made him feel good about life again. Please know, acknowledge and appreciate that you, and what you did, has changed someone’s life, all be it a little, in a positive way.
I feel for your struggles all the way through. The stomach pains, the flat tires, the helmet hair-do, the climbs, the weather… but most of all documenting it all. Great technical achievement with the side cam (construction), the editing, music, the titles, and shooting (various angles and shots), and scenery. Very well made. Doing the trip is hard enough, but documenting it, man that is tough! Oh, by the way, people who haven’t done a trip like this won’t ever get it or appreciate it.
Nice to see other riders – with dogs! I love the down hill rides, I know you do too. So few people, it must have been very introspective, as well as good exercise. Did you pick up any chicks? What was your top speed? Did you ever forget to unclip you pedals? Nice to get a bit of radio too.
For most people there needs to be a destination and a purpose, but its not essential. Some find the purpose as they go along or when they finish. Others never quite finish. Either way, its amazing what the human body can achieve with the right spirit. With all that you achieved, with all the people that you have reached, why not add a deeper message? peace? ecology?
I never saw a bear during my 11000 km trip around japan, but I wore yellow for some other symbolic reason and hit lots of hills too. Check out my trip on http://www.flickr.com/photos/1manjapan/tags/1manjapan/
(you start at the end of the trip so jump to page 40 if you want to see the beginning). See you on the road one day. Love the beard!
Great documentary Mike. Brought up a whole slew of fond memories of one of my own bicycling adventures.
No clue if the entire video was a yawner or not – with no fast forward I dropped out after the first 30 seconds had no useful content.
jeebus ! he rode across Canada on that bike seat ? maybe they don’t have recumbent’s in Canada ? if i rode and hour on one those old style bikes my “huevos rancheros” would be swollen to the size of softballs (no pun intended).
anyone notice he was listening to “off the wall” at the 48:30 mark?
Great wings at 26:00 :)
Great film, great adventure, great sentiment.
Awe inspiring, quite an achievement there. Love the fact that he did it because he wanted to. The sense of freedom must have been intense, I get it every time I ride a few miles, let alone a few thousand.
Meeting the other cyclists was cool, especially the girl with her dog – ace.
For me, the film shows that most people want to do things too quickly, and the cars whizzing by reflect that. Whats the rush? The faster you go the less time you have to enjoy the view.
The comment left by Earl about pissing off the drivers reflects the sort of fascist attitudes some drivers have when it comes to cyclists and other slower road users. He rode 6000+km unassisted, give ‘im some slack.
Top film, Top bloke.
Inspiring. great music and video. That’s one tough trial. So, what’s the next adventure?
Great movie, enjoyed it very much.
Well edited, well fitting music too.
Some remarks:
– As a cyclist from Europe (the Netherlands) I have the impression that Canada is beautiful, divers and vast, but not cycle-friendly. As far as I could see in this movie, there were no cycle-freeways, prohabited to cars. One must have a rare kind of attitude to cycle for more than 3 months along roads dominated by fast passing cars! Rather stressy. In other words he must be a real kind of hustler having done this.
– Estonshing that he can not produce a well constructed motive to cycle cross Canada. If one thing comes up by cycling it is that the mind is totally free, because the body moves automaticly.
Due to cycling (or any other thing one does automaticly, even washing the dishes) the mind often comes to ideas and thoughts, that would not appear sitting in an easy chair next to the fire. He has had 3 months of time on his bike to motivate this trip and all he concludes is that he finally wants to reach the Atlantic.
Nevertheless I admire this guy, because of his toughness. It’s time for him to cross Eur-Asia:
13.000 kms…….