cycling to work

[soundtrane]

Jose, I remember seeing a film which potrayed human couriers - on bicycles... some kind of thriller. shot all over NYC... 

[Tom Visser]

I actually felt quite safe riding in NYC.  People drove aggressively, but at least they were paying attention.  I only went down from being hit once while I lived there, and was riding pretty aggressively myself.  Here in Honolulu, it's another story, no one pays attention while driving, everyone is too "mellow".  Quicksilver...

[Ze Frias]

Jose, I remember seeing a film which potrayed human couriers - on bicycles... some kind of thriller. shot all over NYC...

You're talking about that movie with Joseph Gordon Levitt called Premium Rush. Saw it a couple of weeks ago on TV. Exactly what I mean lol.

[Miles Anderson]

here is my latest bike to work setup.

my favourite new part is the rifle case for my booms. 

my bike is a little difficult to steer with the heavy pelican on the back but it works.

 

also note this kit is indoor only. no zeppelins...

 

happy trails!

 

 

I've found that this is much easier when the heavy items are mounted lower down. if you had something on the opposite side of the bike it would counterbalance well.

 

get it down - lower is better.

 

http://www.xtracycle.com

[daniel]

 

Published on Jan 13, 2015

 

Quote:

The only thing you hear going down the trail is your bike, you’re tuned into every sound it makes.

 

One of the most satisfying things is a tire pattering down the trail, squashing muck -

sliding over roots and smashing puddles.

 

Unfortunately this lush, raw sound is often lost in most videos, overtaken by the music.

 

Curtis Robinson takes advantage of winter conditions and makes some noise with his Stumpjumper FSR EVO.

Featuring:

Curtis Robinson

Stumpjumper FSR EVO

Production:

The Coastal Crew

Social:

http://www.iamspecialized.com

 

 

 

 

great sound! adds to the tension.

did someone (i) post this already?:

mostly music all over, but i guess there would be a bit of drone noise if it they used actuality.

 

dan

[allistair]

+1 to everybody saying they bike when they can leave gear on location. It doesn't happen as often as I'd like, but nothing is more liberating than when it does. Otherwise it's subway or cab to set. As Jason said, biking in NYC with gear just isn't worth the risk to me.

[Simon Paine]

looks like theres lots of soundie/bikers ! awesome.

 

That probable deserves a thread of its own. Post your ride ! (or rides as the case might be)

[new mexico]

 

Uploaded by STREETFILMS

October 5, 2013

It's no secret that just about anywhere you go in the Netherlands is an incredible place to bicycle. And in Groningen, a northern city with a population of 190,000 and a bike mode share of 50 percent, the cycling is as comfortable as in any city on Earth. The sheer number of people riding at any one time will astound you, as will the absence of automobiles in the city center, where cars seem extinct. It is remarkable just how quiet the city is. People go about their business running errands by bike, going to work by bike, and even holding hands by bike.

The story of how they got there is a mix of great transportation policy, location and chance. You'll learn quite a bit of history in the film, but essentially Groningen decided in the 1970s to enact policies to make it easier to walk and bike, and discourage the use of cars in the city center. By pedestrianizing some streets, building cycle tracks everywhere, and creating a unique transportation circulation pattern that prohibits vehicles from cutting through the city, Groningen actually made the bicycle -- in most cases -- the fastest and most preferred choice of transportation.

It does feel like bicycle nirvana. When I first got off the train in Groningen, I couldn't stop smiling at what I saw around me. In an email exchange with my friend Jonathan Maus from Bike Portland, he described it as being "like a fairy tale." This jibed with my first thought to him -- that I had "entered the game Candyland, but for bikes!" In fact, for our teaser I originally titled this Streetfilm "Groningen: The Bicycle World of Your Dreams," before I talked myself out of it. Although there is a magical quality about being there, in reality there is nothing dreamy or childlike about it. With political will and planning, what they have done should and can be done everywhere.

In our Streetfilm you'll see the 10,000 (!) bicycle parking spaces at the train station, some of the incredible infrastructure that enables cyclists to make their journeys safer and quicker, and you'll hear from many residents we encountered who go by bike just about everywhere they travel. But as one of my interview subjects, Professor Ashworth, wanted me to point out: the three days I was there were bright and sunny, and the hardy people keep up the bicycling through the cold winters. As with many bicycling cities, there area also big problems with cycle theft, and residents are always yearning for more bicycle parking.

I think most of us would trade some of those problems for a city with 50 percent mode share (and up to 60 percent in the city center!!).

(fwiw ... A valid point @ the 11 minute mark. )

 

And, more preaching to the choir?   https://vimeo.com/streetfilms (Check out the "NYC 2005-2012 Metamorphosis"?)

[IronFilm]

And I thought only I'm mad enough to cycle EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME!! Glad to see I'm not alone :-D

 

But... am seriously looking to get a motorbike for two reasons:

A ) look more "professional"

B ) for those really far away jobs

[new mexico]

Uploaded by STREETFILMS

February 28, 2016

Quote from Vimeo page:

"I was in Santa Monica bicycling along the beach on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail to pick up some b-roll of bicyclists for a future Streetfilm when this incredible four-person Dutch crew flew by on bikes - with a full load of gear in hand. I immediately jumped on my bike to catch up to see what they were up to (it took a freaking while, as you can see they were pedaling fast!)

They were in the Los Angeles area to shoot a documentary on poker players and decided the easiest way to get lots of establishing shots in Santa Monica was to park their vehicle, rent bikes and ride around lugging $60,000 plus in film gear. I was quite in awe. I've done myriad feats of strength filming by bike, but I probably wouldn't even consider attempting this. They looked like they were having a ton of fun and made it look easy - after all, as they pointed out, they're Amsterdammers and they should be able to do anything by bike.

Hey guys, sign me up for your next shoot in the states!

: End quote

 

[Jim Feeley]

That looks fun.

[Philip Perkins]

The couldn't rent trailers for their bikes?  Nah--not butch enough!

[VASI]

Having an $60K equipment while you are bicycling in Omonia, Greece; is like you put a gun in your knee.

- Hey, look; we look fabulous.
- Give what you have, including your wallet.

LOL

[IronFilm]

On 6/10/2016 at 7:01 PM, new mexico said:

"I was in Santa Monica bicycling along the beach on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail to pick up some b-roll of bicyclists for a future Streetfilm when this incredible four-person Dutch crew flew by on bikes - with a full load of gear in hand. I immediately jumped on my bike to catch up to see what they were up to (it took a freaking while, as you can see they were pedaling fast!)

They were in the Los Angeles area to shoot a documentary on poker players and decided the easiest way to get lots of establishing shots in Santa Monica was to park their vehicle, rent bikes and ride around lugging $60,000 plus in film gear. I was quite in awe. I've done myriad feats of strength filming by bike, but I probably wouldn't even consider attempting this. They looked like they were having a ton of fun and made it look easy - after all, as they pointed out, they're Amsterdammers and they should be able to do anything by bike.

Hey guys, sign me up for your next shoot in the states!

So extremely envious of them! I love love love cycling.

I usually cycle to most jobs (although I walked to one last week! As was just around the corner from my office), however that is rather odd by NZ standards....  nobody else does. And I still have a motorbike for when I need to travel further/faster for work.

[daniel]

On 6/11/2016 at 1:08 AM, VAS said:

Having an $60K equipment while you are bicycling in Omonia, Greece; is like you put a gun in your knee.

- Hey, look; we look fabulous.
- Give what you have, including your wallet.

LOL

On the other hand, if the kit is not on show, bicycles are very under the radar - no one expects a fortunes worth of sound kit in bicycle pannier, more likely some geography books and a packed lunch.

[mono]

 

[mono]

 

 

[LeTiger]

Just chiming in - not sure if I saw this posted but I do a lot of audio/video from a bike (it's my biggest factor when making a purchase decision, as to whether it will fit for the next adventure.) Tons of great advice in this thread, and Russ & Laura are some of the best in the business for making it work if you hadn't come across their channel yet: https://www.youtube.com/user/russroca 

 

If you have any specific questions, or have gotten stuck in the process let me know, always happy to help, and it looks like we're posting bike / recording videos - I'll just drop this here for additional inspiration... http://filmedbybike.org/

 

Cheers, 

[mono]

 

 

 

[mono]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mono]

 

 

 

 

[mono]

 

 

 

[IronFilm]

On 12/27/2014 at 2:54 AM, soundtrane said:

Jose, I remember seeing a film which potrayed human couriers - on bicycles... some kind of thriller. shot all over NYC... 

 

As someone who has spent years and years as a bike messenger I can say it was pretty unrealistic. It is of course a movie not a doco. 

 

Hard to really know the bike courier life without doing it, but I find the "Line of Sight" doco on alley cat racing (alley cat races are somewhat a form of a simulated timed courier runs that we'd be doing for work anyway) to be a useful little insight into their world:

 

 

Add to that feats of endurance from cycling all day every day for months on end, through all weather, while putting up with useless dispatchers hassling you on the radio. 

 

Fun times! I loved it. I really did. But isn't everyone's cup of tea, there is a very high turn over rate of bike couriers. 

[Philip Perkins]

In the pre-internet (and pre-fax) days bike messengers were thick on the ground in SF.  It was a lot of people's first job in the city, there was plenty of work and it was very tough.  No bike lanes, lots of hills+fog-slick streets+construction, drivers far more clueless than they are today and a big part of the southern part of the city was still criss-crossed with railroad tracks running on many streets and across intersections.   I rarely see bike messengers in SF these days...

[IronFilm]

Yeah. I'm certain SF still has bike messengers, but it would be nothing compared to their peak. 

 

Back in the mid/early 2000's when I was a bicycle courier for Deadline Express they had ten bike messengers working there (& this was just but one company of a number of ones operating in Auckland City), yet the old timers would talk about the "good old golden times" & how bad it has got. 

 

Of course now in 2018 us bike messengers look back at the mid 2000's and it looks like a freaking golden era from heaven in comparison to how it is now in 2018! For instance my old company Deadline Express has gone from having ten bike messengers to now for the last few years they've had only ONE old slow guy as their only bike messenger in the city (but the haven't shrunk their car/van/truck fleet, they're still in the top three or so courier companies in the city).