How to Ride report??

[tobster9]

Hmm..Im heading down baja way and would like to blog some of the stuff I see and do, how do people blog their rides? is everyone packing netbooks or laptops? or doing it through an iphone etc?

Any suggestions for an easy way to blog with pics etc, maybe its simple enough to go to an internet shop and up load pics from a cam when shops are available...............

thanks

[Motorfiets]

Originally Posted by tobster9

Hmm..Im heading down baja way and would like to blog some of the stuff I see and do, how do people blog their rides? is everyone packing netbooks or laptops? or doing it through an iphone etc?

Any suggestions for an easy way to blog with pics etc, maybe its simple enough to go to an internet shop and up load pics from a cam when shops are available...............

thanks

for me it was a laptop or ipod at night writing the stories

if I don't write something about that day.... everything will all run together.... then when you have internet upload pictures to the web and laptop along with the story

[tobster9]

thanks for that, I know the question sounds obvious but space is a precious commodity, and Im not sure how well a laptop will do being bumped all over for 6-8 weeks, good to hear what different people have used sucessfully......

[Sean-0]

Whats wrong with a pen and paper ? keep a log .... use it as reference when doing your R/R

they never run flat ,

[tobster9]

good point Sean, but in this modern age the hungry biker is eager for more and the hungry biker wants it now and with pictures, I could do an arty ride report and hand draw instead of pics, then scan them when I get home and post em up, only problem is they would look amazingly crap...........

[UltiCOW]

A few weeks ago I asked myself the same question. Looking back, I would have done a few things differently. I have not 'published' my ride report yet, but a few tips that can go a really long way:

First, get a gps unit that logs your track (eg records your location every few seconds. I used a gpsmap60 and powered it from the bike. That way, whenever I was on my bike, I was recording. One less thing to forget ;)

Then sync your cameras clock to the gpx. Every time you see something interesting, you can take a picture of it ;) whether it's your start/end location or a land mark or people, etc you can use the pictures as a time line and correlate them to a position using the generated track file. You can mark locations on the gpx unit too, eg label them numerically and write corresponding notes in a notebook or so. Or take notes on paper and photograph it (again, that gives you a time and position)

Of course keeping a live log would be better, but I know myself and a week into any trip I would start postponing...and eventually stop writing altogether ;) I find a visual time line combined with aerial photography and a few notes the easiest way to accurately piece together a trip from memory.

Read other reports, and think to yourself what made this/that one especially good ;) Oh, and if you have friends, sync their cameras/camcorders too.

-Ollie
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

[tobster9]

wow, thats almost moto journalism! Seems like that would be at the upper end of a ride report for accuracy and detail, my ride report will be a little less polished I think, I think its going to be photos on camera and a few notes when I can make them, next trip I will have GPS etc thanks for your input

[Ranger Red]

Originally Posted by tobster9

Hmm..Im heading down baja way and would like to blog some of the stuff I see and do, how do people blog their rides? is everyone packing netbooks or laptops? or doing it through an iphone etc?

Any suggestions for an easy way to blog with pics etc, maybe its simple enough to go to an internet shop and up load pics from a cam when shops are available...............

thanks

when are you heading down?

[Sean-0]

I understand your hunger ..... i have the same . gimme now gimme now
Tho i have found KISS is the best way

take pics i do all the time , when i snap a shot , i jump on the pad and pen , quick note on time , where , what ,,,, if you get into the habit its really easy to do .. then go home upload your pics , and then as you look at them , your notes will correspond with what your looking at , jolts the ol brain into a false sence of ,i remember that

[tobster9]

its bad, the only time I pick up a pen is to make a list of plumbing parts, sign my visa or write a birthday card!

maybe I should look at changing that, chances of me reading my own writing more than 10 mins later is only around 50% though....the pics part shouldnt be an issue...

[Jamie Z]

Originally Posted by Sean-0

take pics i do all the time , when i snap a shot , i jump on the pad and pen , quick note on time , where , what ,,,, if you get into the habit its really easy to do .. then go home upload your pics , and then as you look at them , your notes will correspond with what your looking at , jolts the ol brain into a false sence of ,i remember that

Pictures have become my journal. If I write, I spend far too much time logging every little detail. I've found if I take lots and lots of pictures--they don't all have to be Ansel Adams--that helps me remember the places and people I encountered along the way.

For example, I almost always take a picture of where I camped or the hotel or wherever else I stayed. Not because I always camp at interesting places, but it helps me recall where I stopped and what I saw.

To further Sean's suggestion, rather than a note on a pad and pen, virtually all modern digital cameras will record audio. I will occasionally snap a photo and then make a quick comment attached to the photo using the camera's microphone. Look in your owners manual to learn how to do this. It's even simpler than a notebook.

Jamie

[LWRider]

I usually blog while on the road. I have a small netbook that I keep in a neoprene "case" that just fits in the bottom of my tail bag, under my clothes. I have a wireless mouse I store in a ziplock in a side compartment. I also carry a DSLR with zoom lens. The netbook has a memory card slot that the card in my camera fits. That makes it easy to get the pictures onto the computer. Once there I use Photoshop to resize the pics for the blog. I usually type the day's blog in OpenOffice Writer, rather than online at the website directly. That lets me focus on what I write without worrying about batteries dying in the middle of posting the blog. I get it all written beforehand, then I go online to the blog and paste the story in and upload the pictures. Typing on the small keyboard is a bit of a pain, but the portability of the computer makes up for that. I am not writing really long article son the road anyway. The mouse, is worth the space it takes up (little).

I have done this using just WiFi on the netbook and on a recent five day trip I could go online 4 days, but this was in the Blue Ridge so access was pretty good. Almost any McDonalds nowdays has free WiFi. On the last trip (to Maggie Valley for the Kickstart Classic ride to Birmingham and back to Florida) I used a new aircard for access, so I had no need to search out WiFi spots. The card is a business expense and is pretty cheap, a bit over $50 a month and it lets me not only blog wherever I am, I can place orders and deal with just about anything with my publishing companies from almost anywhere I might be.

Cheers,

Mike

[UltiCOW]

Originally Posted by tobster9

wow, thats almost moto journalism! Seems like that would be at the upper end of a ride report for accuracy and detail, my ride report will be a little less polished I think, I think its going to be photos on camera and a few notes when I can make them, next trip I will have GPS etc thanks for your input

Its interesting to see how people tick ;)
What "almost moto journalism" is for you, is "pure laziness" for me ;) I dont mind letting technology do all the work for me ;) Just one way to procrastinate a little more...

Im not sure where to put the following question, but I guess it fits in here quite well:

What statistics / facts / etc are interesting concerning a ride report / documentation? I ask because I am trying to write a tool that would generate and visualise as much data as possible (ie everything except for the actual written report).
For starters the obvious ones I might find interesting would be:

• average/top speed per day
• time spent actually riding per day
• time spent on the road (inc breaks, etc)
• some ascent/descent information?
• arrival/departure times
• average/min/max elevation
• fuel consumption/cost
• acceleration/slope/speed/elevation/heading/lat&lon at every point in time

Guess the idea is clear ;) Do any of you keep records/lists/etc of anything else?
Thanks!

-Ollie

[kpt4321]

For long trips, I keep a written journal if I want to remember the details. For shorter trips, I do it all from memory.

In my opinion, if you're on the internet frequently telling a message board where you are, it's not an adventure. ;)

[rufusswan]

I do take hand written notes, but with a notebook computer you can record much more info and detail if you record yourself with the web cam.