I notice that many of my time-lapse sequences are of tracks away from car traffic and as a result is not totally representative of my cycling experience in Hull. Although I am doing many longer rides that take me out of the city, I frequently criss-cross the main urban centre to get to interviews.
Here is a time-lapse sequence from my cycle across town yesterday. I took photos every 2 seconds at 13.00 and again at 14.30.
Today I spent time at Costello Stadium with a group that provides opportunities for disabled people to experience cycling with their family and friends. I not only witnessed people thoroughly enjoying themselves but I took the chance to join in. I circled the park many times on a very sweet red tricycle with a basket on the back.
The group have a collection of bicycles that are easy to ride for people with different forms of mobility. Clients and carers told me not only how much fun it is but how the activity builds confidence, new skills and fitness levels. The smiles, laughter and shrieks of joy made it very clear how much cycling is enjoyed by everyone.
I then cycled from the stadium to Beverley Road where I interviewed a key member of the Beech Holme Tandem Club. Although, Rachel and I have been regular participants in the weekly tandem rides and we held a focus group with four backriders earlier this week, I thought it would be valuable to have even more focused time with an experienced backrider. And it was great. Talking about cycling is not always easy for people. But in some cases, such as this, it was filled with fabulous stories and rich history of the area.
This map kind of shows my movements today – however it only captures half the trip. Double it and add speed for a better representation – my goodbyes at the stadium took longer than expected and I had to race back into town for my next appointment. Like yesterday, the weather was perfect which meant I was kind of warm when I arrived.
A few weekend’s ago (13.6.10), I cycled from Hull to Hornsea along the Trans Pennine trail with volunteer Sustrans Rangers. It was threatening to rain in the morning but it held out for the duration of the ride. We shared the trail with walkers (some with dogs), cyclists, an occasional runner, a few horses (with riders) and a mobility scooter. Everyone was riding a mountain or hybrid bike, except me. I was on my skinny tyred road bike. I coped pretty well as the trail is well surfaced for the most of the way. There was only a short length of gravel where I had to slow down and really concentrate to stop from wiping out.
We stopped along the way at an Open Farm to eat cakes and admire the vegie garden and free range chooks. We stopped at other times for rangers to kindly fix a cyclist’s loose seat and to clear debris from the path. We arrived at Hornsea in time for lunch and collectively consumed a mix of sandwiches, tea, chips, pasties and Tunnock’s snowballs at the cafe on the edge of the Mere. Ok, I was the only one to eat a Snowball.
I went out again with the Beech Holme Tandem Club on Wednesday night (23.6.10). This time there were five tandems. We cycled from Beverley Road to North Newbald, via Skidby and Little Weighton. It was about a 30mile ride and we stopped at The Tiger Inn for refreshments. Topographically it was quite different to anything I had done with them before. This time there were hills. Tackling hills on a tandem is technically and physically hard work. Everyone was putting in a lot of effort. It was a gorgeous summer evening which meant that it was pretty warm work as well. And oh my, do they go fast on the downhills.
I chose to ride my road bike this week as I’ve found that when I pilot a tandem, I can think of nothing but piloting the tandem. It makes me completely re-think how I cycle, which is terrific for fieldnotes. But, this time I wanted to capture the broader experience of cycling with the group. As a single rider I could get closer to tandems, talk more with riders and think about the landscape we were traversing – all of which is more than possible for an experienced front rider but not me (yet).
Photos were captured every 5 seconds using a Go Pro camera attached to my handlebars. I used over 1000 images in this time-lapse sequence.
Yesterday I cycled from Princes Quay to Bransholme and used the Foredyke Route, a quiet leafy and relatively smooth off road cycle path, for most of my journey. I have been on this track many times over the last few weeks, but usually I jump in and out of it as I criss-cross the city for interviews, rides and meetings. It is used by cyclists and walkers, many with dogs and in my experience, everyone is fairly considerate of other track users. Cyclists approach walkers slowly and walkers, if they are in the way, swiftly move to one side. Likewise, dog walkers rein in their pooches or direct them out of the way of danger. Much like a country town, people on the track tend to say hello to one another or wave.
I attached a handlebar camera and took a photo every five seconds. The blurry shots are the result of the camera bumping on the handlebars when the bike hit uneven ground. They represent the texture of the track. The images also provide glimpses of my wayfinding tools. Not knowing exactly where to exit via sight alone, I regularly checked my map and, at points, cycled with it in my right hand. When I was sure I had overshot my exit I referenced my location by GPS on my phone. Those very familiar with the track might also notice a few backtracks when I missed a point.
Music is Cool Aberrations by General Fuzz – licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Yesterday I rode with the Hull and East Riding CTC club from Cottingham Green to York for the annual York Cycle Rally. Although it was initially overcast when we set off at 9am, the skies cleared and it turned into a gorgeous blue sky summery day. We arrived at the show at around lunchtime. I attached my GoPro camera to my handlebars and set it to take photos every 30seconds. I’ve collated the images in a time-lapse short film:
Last night I cycled over the Humber Bridge with the Beech Holme Tandem Club. It was a lovely clear night and a great turnout – seven nine* tandems, two single bikes and a support bus. The ride was about 30miles with a refreshing pub stop at the half way point. We started riding at 8pm and arrived back after midnight.
* Thanks Allan.
UPDATE: I’ve made a time-lapse animation from images I took during the ride
UPDATE 2: Uploaded again, this time with music.
Hull was chosen because it is a high-cycling city that is often overlooked. People not from Hull don't necessarily associate it with cycling. Yet Hull was known during the inter-war period as the UK's "Cycling City" with large numbers of bike shops. It still has high cycling levels comparable to those of York. Read more here.
