Starise

lol! It’s fun on a fat tire bike. Thanks Marilyn. Yikes that’s hot over there! I should go there and sell ice cream. :) I’ve been wanting to get a drone, but no, the insta 360 X 4 camera comes with a stick that becomes invisible in filming, so the camera is mounted to the side of my bike on a pole. Insta makes a very long pole which I don’t have. If you use it you really get the drone effect. The last video I shot I had the pole mounted to the front of the bike. I haven’t uploaded that one yet. DJI makes a 200.00 dollar drone, US currency. It’s perfect for vlogging and well within many budgets. One of my friends has a drone and his comment to me was not to get a really good one first because you will inevitably crash it a few times.

Hmmm. I don’t know exactly because if they watch it the video is always linked to the source, YouTube. But maybe there is a difference as you say between watching the vid from Worthy and going to YouTube. I’m going to look into this. Yes, your decorations are very nice!

So far we haven’t had much snow. I set out in this day for a ride. I composed the music for the first part of the video and added a Japanese track to the rest. There are services that charge a fee to let you use their music, but that seems counter productive to me since I’m a musician and have the tools. The main thing is TIME. It will make future videos more time consuming if I go that route. I had this track laying around and used it.

I think YouTube is lying to me because I seen a much lower count there as opposed to the numbers here. Either that, or people are looking and not watching.

That sounds like such a blast!!

Those are so nice! I admit it’s very pleasant to have that stuff around on the holidays. Thanks for sharing such beautiful work. I like to hear the sentimental side of the origins of these things.

No I don’t recall ever seeing your decorations Deb. Sure post a link! My friend lost his wife maybe 10 or so years ago. They were driving in the car, she slumped over and never woke up. I think collecting is something he remembers they did together. He has spend a lot of his life in church work.

Good thoughts Marilyn, Sounds as if you had a lot of fun then. Thanks! One day we will have the celebration of celebrations!

So I made and uploaded this, but it appears my video was blocked in one area on YouTube because I shot video of an automated light show the owner apparently monetized. If the video is blocked to you I would appreciate it if you notify me. I can see it just fine. I may need to edit that house from my video. The Santa collection is a friend of mine and I know he did not mind me shooting video. The Downingtown PA parade is typical of many towns in my area on Christmas. I could have gone to several others, and honestly if my wife had not wanted to go I would not have attended this one. I admit it was fun once we arrived there.

I’m glad I’m not involved in most of that process. I would be terrible at it anyway. As a man one of the simple things I really appreciate when it’s cold is a fleece lined base layer. Top and bottoms. Or my hat made in Ireland of sheep’s wool. When I wear it there’s no need to comb my hair. I picked up several base layers for only 10.00. They are made by body glove. See that’s the problem. I always know what I want, but I can’t gauge what anyone else wants. The affordable range for gifts when buying multiple gifts often isn’t anything they really want, which can just be a waste of money.

Thanks so much for the encouragement Marilyn. I love all of it. Now you can look for more since I’ve been egged on :)

Update- I have good news and not so good news. First the good news. I have the bike set for 28mph now. Before when it was at 20mph limit, when I was coasting a hill the bike actually slowed me down if I got over 20. Now the bad news. I had a flat tire on my front wheel already after only a few rides. I noticed it yesterday, added fix-a-flat, reinflated and figured I was good to go. Today the tire was flat again. So I did some research and got a pair of inner tubes 26-4.0 size made for ebikes. I spent double on what was advertised to be a better thicker tube. I plan to keep an extra tube and my portable inflator on each ride from now on. Luckily the tire didn't go flat while I was on a ride. lastly while I was ordering tubes I bought two fireproof ebike storage bags . There are seldom problems with these batteries catching fire, and usually when it happens it's because someone went against safety pratices, but to be sure I bought the bags to keep the batteries in when we aren't riding the bikes and will keep them at a 55-75F temperature.

My wife said it was bizzare. Maybe because I'm bizzare? I loved playing different characters.

Cool! I intend to make a video of a bunch of decorations, mainly from my friend's house. He must have one of the largest personal collections around.

I think I had a plan here. It was fun.

Hi Michael, They covered this all very well. I might add a few things to consider if looking to buy an e-bike. One would be the type of sensor the bike uses. There are two major players here for the type of bike I have. Lektric and Avlenton. They use different types of ways the bike responds to the rider. Lektric uses a cadence sensor and my bike uses a torque sensor. The cadence sensor measures how fast the rider is pedaling while the torque sensor measures the force on the pedals. These two approaches give each bike different riding characteristics. Cadence sensors have a quicker activation which means the bike is in assist as soon as you begin to pedal. They take less effort because the bike is assisting you at all times.As long as you are pedaling the motor will be engaged. Cadence sensor bikes tend to be jerkier and harder to control. Cadence sensors tend to drain the battery faster. Torque sensors provide measured output determined by a strain gauge constantly making adjustments to input. The more force the rider applies, the more power is added by the motor. If there is less force, the motor applies less power. The end result is a very adaptive seamless ride either fast or slow.This is a more advanced technology and as a result tends to be more expensive. Motor types- Most e-bikes use a drum type motor located in the rear wheel. More expensive models use a mid drive motor. The advantages of a mid drive are minimal compared to the cost, so companies most often opt for this design. My bike has front shocks like a motorcycle which is a nice thing to have on bumpy surfaces. While it doesn’t have rear suspension, you can get an accessory for it to mount under the seat that is a small shock absorber. Of course, bikes can be bought with front and rear suspension. I see that on bikes more designed for super rugged trail riding. On ordinances- Lots of people buy e-bikes and things that look like little motorcycles with pedals. I believe the idea in the city is that the e-bike is supposed to be pedaled, but I have seen many just going around using only the throttle. They have bikes that can go from 60 to 120 miles all depending on the bike, and they only need to go 5 or 6 blocks.

No, I never was :)

Thanks Marilyn. Comments much appreciated. Yes there are still plenty of rail tracks in use here. Lines run cargo to the power plants and we have rail cars linked between major areas. Many ride a train into work every day. Not sure why they closed this particular rail line. I enjoy making the videos and helping other to feel they are on the trip with me.

Well I dropped the bike twice in this video, really it was three times because I was trying to dismount the bike when my shoe caught it and we both went over. That one didn't video very well so I left it out. The other one was simply carelessness. Then another when over estimated tghe power to climb a hill. Maybe if I had used only the throttle coming at a different angle I would have made it ok. We live and learn. I tend to learn by experience which isn't generally fun. When I started out I was expecting it not to rain since nothing was falling....and the battery. I learned that this bike only rides when there is power to it. Otherwise it's like pedaling a load of bricks. Not anything like a regular pedal bike. I doubt most people use a bike to go that far- over 80 kilometers. Batteries are not ideal in the cold and they don't last as long pulling muddy grades. Probably better to stay at the 40 mile mark or 64 kilometers. 40 miles is still pretty good for range. I might look into the purchase of another battery in the future. It would add 20lbs to my bike but might be worth it for longer trips.

Hi Marilyn, Thanks for watching. My next video will show an 80 kilometer trip that pushes the e-bike to the brink, in the rain. On your point 1, Yes in rural areas here there are generally no fences. In the city residences often have fences in their back yards. Down my road fences are optional and a few neighbors will put up a fence for privacy only in the back and often just around the sides. I have to have a fence surrounding my back yard as it’s required by law and to get insurance coverage on my house since I have a swimming pool little children could wander over, fall in and drown. No one wants to see that happen. My fence is just a wood fence with wire fence nailed to it. It needs to be replaced as it is getting rickety. On point 2. The Amish are religious about upkeep of their yards, always mowing and tending their yards. One thing I like about living here. On point 3- I came from Georgia and in South Georgia it’s often untidy as you described. I can relate to what you’re saying as it seemed similar there. In my area there is the occasional older person here who just grew too old to properly tend the yard and don’t want to move. An occasional one here and there who lets things go, but not often. As an Amish area it’s a Swiss/German area. They tend to be meticulous in tending their properties. Not all over my state, but here this is true. on 4, Yes lots of two story houses here. Almost all farm houses are 2 or 3 stories. In my area that builder built cape cods. I modified mine to make it bigger, but they all have full ceiling height upstairs ceilings with knee walls. I have two bedrooms and a bath upstairs. Not all are though. There are a few rancher types here in my immediate area. My neighbor lives in one. On 5, The way the layout is over here, high voltage is always highest on the pole. Then lower telephone and cable along roadways. Since the old telephone has been replaced with cable and fiber optic those are the lowest wires. I don’t have poles down my road though because everything is buried. The down side to that is after 40 or so years the electric cables started to break down. I had to replace mine which was a big deal. Big trenches in the yard cut through my driveway, I had to replace it all.

Have you considered a scooter? No pedaling at all.

FYI you can buy fat tire bikes without the electric motor. I’m sure those are much lighter. I see guys riding them out on trails in the snow. That’s one big advantage of the “fat bikes “ as they are called by bikers. They are at home in snow and you can even add studs to the tires for ice. I can’t wait until it snows.Whoo hoo! For longer trips as in over 50 miles, the motorcycle. The bike has an advantage in many other situations. It’s quiet even though my motorcycle isn’t super loud. It allows to see an area better because it’s not nearly as fast. It can go places motorcycles are not allowed to go, like dedicated bike trails. I hope so! There are tons of e-bikes of all kinds coming from China. My bike has a battery certification. Generally the most inexpensive bikes won’t have that certification. The certification means the battery was tested under rigorous conditions. And large companies who have a reputation to uphold like Aventon who has 1800 service centers in the US has a lot on the line if something like that were to happen to one of their bikes. There is a list of dos and don’ts with any electric bike, same as not putting a gas can near a fire with gasoline engines. I would stay away from the cheaper uncertified bikes. If anyone is a candidate to test lithium batteries it’s me. I have multiple lithium power banks at home all over the place in addition to an electric car :) I was going 24.5 mph yesterday with the bike locked lol. I wasn’t very clear about my description of that in the video, sorry. The bike has hydraulic brakes. You would be right that some areas have ordinances as to how fast you can go. This is why the bike is shipped locked at 20mph. If I unlock the bike to 28mph in the app. I should drive responsibly in the city and know their ordinances.

Thank you Marilyn. Yes I play a lot by ear and playing based on the basic key structures which I mesh at times. When I play church music I look at the chords and notation. That’s cool you are also a musician! We have the ear playing in common!

After the first ride, I feel as if I’m getting the hang of the bike. Probably a good thing my first ride was in the country.

I left my double keyboard stand at church, which doesn’t matter because I can’t find my power supply for the second keyboard. Maybe it’s at church too. Guess you can tell I am not the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes. In any case I played this on one keyboard. The King IS coming again and He won’t be coming as a cute baby but as a massively all powerful KING.