Wildflower Century photos up

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Just finished the '05 Wildflower Century page at
www.ChainReaction.com/wildflower05.htm. Photos aren't great, due to the
always-threatening weather during the ride. You can also view a page of
photos without descriptions from the prior year at
www.ChainReaction.com/wildflower04.htm. Very different day last year, as the
temps got as high as 94 degrees (vs 48-60 for most of this year's ride, with
one brief period where the sun came through at it hit 70).

Great ride, although I wish it weren't flat for the last 30 miles!
-
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Well, where are the wildflowers?

--
Mike DeMicco <[email hidden]>

Hi Mike,

What camera were you using for the pictures? I was interested in the
wide shot:

http://www.chainreaction.com/images/P4256552wild04wide.jpg

Is that a stitched panorama image, or do you have a particularly wide
lens? And can you take that sort of picture without getting off the
bike first? 🙂

Jason

Quoted message said:

Hi Mike,

What camera were you using for the pictures? I was interested in the
wide shot:

http://www.chainreaction.com/images/P4256552wild04wide.jpg

Is that a stitched panorama image, or do you have a particularly wide
lens? And can you take that sort of picture without getting off the
bike first? 🙂

Jason

Jason: That particular photo is from an Olympus D40, 4 megapixel, 35-98mm
zoom (shot at 35mm, obviously), heavily cropped top & bottom to give the
"wide" effect. Most definitely taken while riding, as most of my photos are.

For the '05 ride, I used my Fuji 510. At 5 megapixels and 28mm max wide
lens, you'd think it would be a better choice. Unfortunately, it's noisier,
has very poor white balance, and inconsistent exposure. The main thing it
has over the D40 is shape; since it's less boxy, it's easier to hold level
while riding.

In general, I'll take photos on the bike up to about 35mph or so. Above that
it's just a bit too sketchy doing the one-handed thing. With the Fuji, I'm
more inclined to stop to take a photo, due to the exposure issues (with the
Olympus, you can set it to a higher ISO and get reasonable quality with a
faster shutter speed, while with the Fuji, the higher ISO is pretty noisy,
and, as mentioned before, exposure & white balance are all over the map).

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com

Quoted message said:

Well, where are the wildflowers?

In general, it was too dark for them to show up well. There were a number of
them, but the constantly overcast skies kept them from opening up and/or
looking very colorful.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

I thought there were WAY more wild flowers this year than last!
Especially purple lupins. (Dennis Moore, eat your heart out.)

I also didn't see nearly as many chain drops and flat tires as last
year. Although riding through the water where streams were overflowing
across the road was a bit weird. The ride wasn't touted as a cross-type
ride.

I completed the 107 ten minutes shy of eight hours. Not bad for me, an
old guy past 55 at 225.

And I welcomed the fact that the last thirty was flat!

Bill

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

Well, where are the wildflowers?

In general, it was too dark for them to show up well. There were a number of
them, but the constantly overcast skies kept them from opening up and/or
looking very colorful.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

Old Roadie said:

I thought there were WAY more wild flowers this year than last!
Especially purple lupins. (Dennis Moore, eat your heart out.)

I also didn't see nearly as many chain drops and flat tires as last
year. Although riding through the water where streams were overflowing
across the road was a bit weird. The ride wasn't touted as a cross-type
ride.

I completed the 107 ten minutes shy of eight hours. Not bad for me, an
old guy past 55 at 225.

And I welcomed the fact that the last thirty was flat!

Bill

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

Well, where are the wildflowers?

In general, it was too dark for them to show up well. There were a number of
them, but the constantly overcast skies kept them from opening up and/or
looking very colorful.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

wel, wel