Yes, this series is back! It’s been a while, but as the weather warms up, and people start getting a bit more freedom back in their lives, it seemed like a good time to bring back the weeklyish ‘5 Random Things’ post.
1) Howling Wind Drone Tests
Late Friday afternoon The Girl and I headed out to the coast. While it’s certainly a nice place to go if you want to make sandcastles, my reasoning was more simplistic: It was windy as crap out there!
While here on the site action cam and drone footage does well, over on YouTube, it does exceptionally well for me. My main GoPro release videos have upwards of 2 million views on them, and my DJI videos usually do upwards of 500,000 views after a few months.
And in particular, one type of video does well for me: Crazy wind drone testing.
It’s probably because nobody else is stupid enough to try and fly their drone in 50KPH+ winds…over water…for the fun of it. But hey, someone’s gotta do it (inversely, I have zero desire to do so-called ‘range’ tests to see how far a drone can go away from you).
In any case, out we went. And here’s the resultant of that for the DJI Mavic Mini:
Thankfully, I didn’t get as wet as last time. The wind/wave action was from a very slightly different direction, so the sea spray wasn’t as strong. Next time I’ve got a Skydio 2 video planned…but instead of me being static, I’m gonna do it full-send with the bike and the crazy winds. Should be fun! Looks like maybe next Wednesday the winds might pick up again. My minimum threshold for these types of videos is 40KPH, but I prefer 50KPH. It was showing 40KPH yesterday sustained, but now the forecast has changed. Such is life.
2) Running with the cargo bike
On Saturday after the littlest one’s morning nap we decided to make an adventure out of my run. I didn’t have anything super-structured or such. I figured a 10KM run would be nice, and The Girl figured getting out of the house with the kids before lunch would be good. So, we made it a combo dish.
She pedaled alongside while I ran. They’d stop here and there to ‘investigate’ things that toddlers would enjoy, and then we’d leapfrog each other back and forth. Once we got into the Bos (the forest), I’d take the lead and she’d follow along, where I could show her various paths I’ve been exploring. The more and more I run in there, the cooler I find it. So many hidden spots and awesome areas to enjoy quiet workouts.
Somewhat astoundingly, all three kiddos remained awake. I can’t remember the last time that happened on a bike ride nearing an hour. Usually someone falls victim to the gentle sway of the bike. But perhaps given they were having fun chasing me and shouting, it kept them all awake.
Oh, and you can watch the short video of that up on my Instagram page within my ‘Pinned stories’ by choosing Cargo Bike Wows archive.
All in the run was 10.7km at a nice clip. While it was still pretty windy, I was largely protected in the wind.
Good times!
3) Filming Quarantine Corner Episode 3
Later that night, The Girl and I would film Quarantine Corner: Episode 3!
Not sure what that is? No problem, I’ll get you all caught up.
Back a bit ago at the height of the pandemic here in Europe, we started filming a more lighthearted video series about some of the behind the scenes bits from the world of DCR, for DCR Supporters. Think of it as an extended version of the sorta-weekly DCR newsletter, skewed towards non-technical stuff mostly with both The Girl and me.
In other words, it’s all the antics and behind the scenes fails – detailed and expanded up…at the kitchen table. Yup, that’s right – the kitchen table. Given that we’ve got little Peanuts at home, we couldn’t both simply leave them at home to go to the DCR Studio and film together, so we’ve been doing it from home…and thus dubbed it the Quarantine Corner.
Over the course of the episodes we’ve touched on everything from a review of Netflix & Chill (the flavor, and the concept), to making masks, to whether or not to accept a pizza sponsorship, and plenty more things. The videos are always shot over a bottle of wine (or more). And as a one-shot pass with a single camera.
By now you’re like – wait, how come I haven’t seen these? To which I’d guess:
A) Your spam filters killed our e-mail
or
B) You’re not a DCR Supporter
For those not familiar (which is probably all of you), DCR Supporter membership has been around a few years and is mostly a low-key way to support the site here. Supporters get no ads and a nifty icon next to their name when they post comments. They also get some supporter-only e-mails with behind the scenes videos and content. Mostly videos. In any case, if this sounds like your cup of tea (or, if you just want to support the site), you can sign-up here – and as part of the welcome e-mail there’s a link to all the videos to date.
4) Peloton Workout
I know, I know, I need to get this review done.
It’s basically done for all practical purposes (in my head, data capture, screen captures, etc…). It’s really more of the logistical PITA that is getting this elephant-heavy bike from home to the DCR Cave to shoot all the final photos/video bits.
Obviously, I took apart the entire bike when I bought it in the US and flew back with it from Vegas in early January (also, a hilariously long 200-part Instagram story, pinned, just choose the part 1 section to watch first). But frankly, I really don’t feel like taking it apart again.
So I think it’ll fit in the cargo bike in one piece, but I don’t think it’ll be very graceful. At. All. Which, of course, has never stopped my previous cargo bike loading antics.
In any case, I did the workout:
It was a structured power one. Frankly no different than you’d find in any app like TrainerRoad, Zwift, The Sufferfest, or otherwise. Except the music was vaguely in-beat with the aspects of the workout. Still, makes time go by quick – so no complaints.
5) Finally, some pasta
Last but not least, as is oft the tradition with the ‘5 Random Things’ series, food must make an appearance. So, lest you think we’ve not been cooking these last few months – we have. And, last night was fresh pasta night. You’ve seen me make it before. So, here’s the mini-gallery:
I made the dough first, then the sheets, then cut fresh fettuccine using the usual cutters (the same ones I’ve had for like 15 years, even the same box), and then dunked it in water for a quick cook and everyone in the household enjoyed it. Even the littlest nut.
With that – hope everyone has a good (and safe) week ahead! Reviews incoming!
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Are there plans to be able to support you direct in Euro? I think it is a little bit strange that you have to pay lots of stuff in Euro, just like I do (I’m less than 150km away from Amsterdam), but I have to support in dollar..
Indeed, as Frank said it’s actually charged behind the scenes in whatever currency you use. So in the case of the DCR Subscription, it does it via PayPal and will automatically convert that day from $20USD to your currency based on exchange rates.
Same goes for the DCR Analyzer.
Ultimately, I had to pick some ‘baseline’ initial currency and given 43% of readers (the largest group) use USD, it won. :-/ And I figured if I put on the message about $20USD/20EUR, then Euro folks would be upset they were getting charged a $1.76 extra. And if I put $20USD/18.24EUR, then it’d probably just look silly. ;)
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FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
I’m gonna have to start making my own pasta. You make it look like it ain’t no thang! And I have a kitchen aide.
Are there plans to be able to support you direct in Euro? I think it is a little bit strange that you have to pay lots of stuff in Euro, just like I do (I’m less than 150km away from Amsterdam), but I have to support in dollar..
It works automatically with Paypal, the dollar price is converted to Euro. Why would the currency be an issue?
Indeed, as Frank said it’s actually charged behind the scenes in whatever currency you use. So in the case of the DCR Subscription, it does it via PayPal and will automatically convert that day from $20USD to your currency based on exchange rates.
Same goes for the DCR Analyzer.
Ultimately, I had to pick some ‘baseline’ initial currency and given 43% of readers (the largest group) use USD, it won. :-/ And I figured if I put on the message about $20USD/20EUR, then Euro folks would be upset they were getting charged a $1.76 extra. And if I put $20USD/18.24EUR, then it’d probably just look silly. ;)