Phat biking

It's been quite a while since I made a video. This one, was fun to make. The entire video was shot using my iPhone 6S and edited on my iPad Pro. Im super happy with the results. It was a lot of fun to make for a few reasons. For starters, it was a perfect evening after work. I really wanted to be in the woods and the setting sun, smell of the pines and lush trails were just what I wanted. Secondly, it was a 'back to basics' ride; I used flat pedals, took no tools with me, and just wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. No lycra. No SPDs. No camelback. Just the essentials; like back in the day. At any rate, good times. Need to start doing this on a regular basis again!

Back to the iPhone

After using the HTC One (M8) for the last year, I missed the simplicity and design of the Apple iPhone. The HTC was actually a good phone and the camera, specifically, was amazing but now that I use a Macbook Pro, I was eager to switch back to the iPhone.  You know... all those synergies and whatnot. Although, one thing I never liked was iTunes. Syncing up my music library and contacts has been a real pain in the ass. But I think I've got it now.

My previous experience with iPhones has been positive. When I was living in NY, I used a couple different versions of iPhones and really enjoyed the straight-from-the-pocket creativity it provided. Looking through my blog there are actually 34 posts tagged "iPhone". Not only did I enjoy snapping photos and using fun applications like the Tilt Shift Generator, Shake It & Pano, but I also enjoyed taking short video clips and splicing them into videos.

Aside from the photo/video fun that iPhones provide, they just work really well. The user interface is intuitive and friendly. I'm glad I made the switch back to Apple.

Endomondo App

I've been meaning to blog about the Endomondo app I have been using with my iPhone 4s. Maybe you haven't noticed, but usually, when I say how many miles I rode in a blog post, I hyperlink the mileage. If you click the link it will take you to my "work out" at Endomondo.com. What I love about this app... First; it's free. Had to get that out of the way. But other than being free it's incredibly easy to use. You just open the app, select the activity (road riding, running, mountain biking, kitten juggling etc) and off you go. You of course enter your personal information (height & weight) when you initially join Endomondo. The app then tracks your distance, speed, elevation gain & loss and even the calories burned. I've found it to be incredibly accurate. When you're finished riding, you just stop the app (though it can be set to automatically stop after 10 seconds of no movement - and automatically resume when movement is detected again). You can then view your route in satellite or map view just as you would with Google Maps. What's even cooler is that you can then log in, online, and view your statistics, set goals etc. Pretty awesome. I chose to embed today's ride just for kicks. I love it.

Houston by iPhone

As I mentioned in my last post; I spent a couple of days in Houston last week on business. I didn't take my DSLR, but I did use my iPhone to capture some of the buildings near the cross streets of Louisiana and Dallas. I wish I had a real camera with me, but these images give you an idea of some of the architecture in the area.

Haven't had a bath in 22 years

I have to say: baths are amazing. When I think of simple pleasures and the finer things in life, baths now come to mind. Last night, in Houston, when I got to my hotel room I was stressed from a rough day spent working with my boss. I was eager to shower, change out of my monkey suit, and hit the streets for some exploration. While playing with the mixing valve for a steaming hot shower, the notion of a bath entered my brain. Why not? I was at a 4 star hotel, and the tub was spotless after all (I'd never take a bath in my tub!). So I dedicated the next 30 minutes to some much needed me-time. I propped my iPad up and played some Explosions In The Sky, grabbed a few extra towels and filled the tub. The next half hour was spent soaking, contemplating and reminiscing of the times when my 8 other brothers and sisters would take turns bathing in that old brick house outside of Pittsburgh. It was then that I realized it had been over 22 years since I last turned all pruney in a giant porcelain trough. Vivid memories came flooding back to me of evening sunsets and the sound of my siblings still running around outside. I could hear them through the open upstairs bathroom window . I remembered a time, I must have been 7 or so, when my older sister Molly shampooed my hair making me giggle as she lathered my noggin comically. And the water; oh the water! Grey with a day's worth of playing in the woods, catching grasshoppers in the garden and baseball with my friend Cody, down the street.

Many times since then, I've wished for a bath; after every race or long road or mountain bike ride, I think of how nice a hot bath would feel on my tired legs. Why haven't I bathed? For one, I'm 6' tall and the bath tubs in the places I've rented in Boston, Baltimore and New York were tiny! For two, those same bath tubs were never a place where I would want to submerge myself, no matter how clean I thought I could get them.

Anyway, baths are fantastic. I'll add a bath to my business travel routine from now on. As glorious as they are, 30 minutes is a long time and I simply couldn't take the heat after that. My body temp was definitely elevated. I looked like a lobster when I hopped out! ....mmmmm lobsters.

I'll be your mirror

I scored this sweet new Shepard Fairey print while riding the crosstown bus through Central Park last night. Fairey was asked by ATP, to create this poster to help publicize this weekend's music festival: I'll Be Your Mirror. This print was released for sale yesterday but it had sold out immediately. However, there must have been a glitch in the Obey Giant website because when I checked back yesterday evening I was delighted to find it was still available! *Snag!* I think its pretty cool that Fairey incorporated the old Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, into the print. Side note: I love the fact that I was able to buy this print using my iPhone; so convenient. Every second counts when trying to buy new Fairey pieces; they usually sell out in a matter of minutes!

Rather than describe the print myself, I'm going to cut & paste Mr.Fairey's own words here:

All Tomorrow’s Parties is a great independent music festival that does events around the world. I attended one in LA a few years ago to catch great shows by Iggy and the Stooges and Mission of Burma. ATP has a great concept of asking people or bands to curate the festival. They have asked people like Jim Jarmusch, Matt Groening, Thurston Moore, The Melvins, and for this year’s festival, Portishead. I love Portishead, so I was happy to be asked to create the poster this year. The festival is happening in an amazing building on the boardwalk in Asbury Park NJ, so I incorporated the building into the design of the poster. I’ll be doing murals, an art show, and DJ’ing as part of the ATP festival, so I’m getting to indulge all my passions in a concentrated way this week. Oh, Public Enemy is performing their classic sonic thunderstorm of an album “Fear of a Black Planet”… shake your rump and pump your fist!!!! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, improve your life immediately and get that record. Or, get to Asbury Park and check it out.

-Shepard Fairey

My sister Mary and I are heading over to Asbury Park, NJ this Sunday to check out Fairey's album art show titled Revolutions during this ATP event. He's created a lot of excellent album covers over the years, for some really great bands, to include the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Idol, Tom Petty, and 311. I don't think we'll take in any of the shows but I'm sure we'll be able to hear them jamming out. We're more interested in seeing the Revolutions show; it's going to be fantastic and I'm pretty stoked to check it out!

I also found this little gem where you can download a mix tape of tracks from the bands playing at the I'll Be Your Mirror Show this weekend. Enjoy! [click here to listen/download]

iPhone picture of the day

iPhone photo of an R32 train at the 168th Street Station,
processed to look like an old Polaroid using the Shake It app.

Lowest platform

There's so much going on these days and I haven't been carrying my DSLR around with me. But I have been taking pictures with my iPhone. Using the phone is better than nothing and keeps my photographer's mind active. Though I can't expose what I see, the way I want to, the phone at least freezes the moment for me. And it really is true what they say: The best camera is the one you have with you at the time. So, with all of the iPhone pictures I've been taking lately, I decided to use my flickr account to hold my "iPhone only" images. I even threw a widget up on the blog here to link to my flickr iPhone account. I'll be using several apps to process the images, like the Shake it app that I used to create the Polaroid effect seen with this image.

This image was snapped at the 145th Street Station while transferring from the D Train to the A Train this past Wednesday night.

Snoring & dreams

I snore. Quite loudly I'm told. the other night my wife used her iPhone to record my snoring for me and now I understand why she gives me "love jabs" during the night. Hearing the audio recording of my obnoxious flapping soft throat tissue, I wondered what I was dreaming about as her phone hovered over my face... my mouth open, a puddle of drool on my pillow, my eyes closed, my thoughts meandering through my life. I dream often and vividly and usually remember the dreams. They are often bizarre, intermingled experiences, desires and interests that jumble together; sometimes pleasant and sometimes not. So I took the audio clip and made a video during my lunch break; just for kicks. This is my night life.

Lady in red

After weeks of not climbing, my friend Kreuter and I got a couple of hours of hours in at Brooklyn Boulders. We were both surprised at how easily we conquered a couple of 5.8 and a 5.9 routes right off the bat. However, there were a couple of 5.10's that shut us down. We each gave the routes several attempts but just couldn't make it past the crux of the climbs. Next time.

I took the R train out to Brooklyn. After a couple of stops the lady in red boarded and took a seat next to the cab bulkhead. I couldn't resist trying to capture her with my iPhone. How I wished I had my DSLR with me. I got a decent shot of her and then processed the image in my phone using Tiltshift Generator for selective focus/blur and vignetting. I love the way it came out. It reminds me of an Edward Hopper painting.

iPhone picture of the day

iPhone snap shot, processed in the phone using the Tilt Shift Generator app and Shake It app, uploaded to my server using an FTP Picture Upload app and blogged using the Blog Press App.

Phattire video

Last Sunday, while riding at Sprain Ridge Park I took some footage with my iPhone (3GS). This involved perching my phone atop rocks and logs, held fast by small twigs and pebbles. An iPhone tripod would have been really nice although goes against my low-tech intentions. Once I had the phone precariously balanced I'd grab my bike, ride through the scene, and double back for the camera. I did this about ten times until my battery was just about dead. To make the most of my footage I added the "out takes" and camera grabs. At any rate, enjoy.

More miles under my tires

Yesterday I went back to Sprain Ridge and put the knobbies to the singletrack again. I got there late in the afternoon, around 1:30 and it was hot but not unbearable like it has been lately. Fortunately, a lot of the trail network at Sprain Ridge is covered by a dense canopy.

Aside from riding every trail I could, my other goal was to test my prototype Grapefruit Spoon Chain Guide. As it turns out, my "backyard rocket-science" did not prove to be completely successful. I dropped my chain about ten times during my 3 hour ride. Each time my chain dropped, was equally frustrating. I fiddled with the device and adjusted the height countless times before just giving up. I see a new purchase in the near future.

On the plus side, I did take a lot of video with my 3GS. I'm going to splice it together tomorrow night and see if I can post up a little vimeo action for ya'll. Stay tuned.

Dirt

Yesterday I took a train up to Sprain Ridge Park and ripped around in the woods for a few hours. I got there around two o'clock in the afternoon and didn't see another soul on the trails (That's a first). The weather was hot and humid; the trails were bone dry, the vegetation; wilting from the heat. I took it easy, stopping often for snapshots with my iPhone, to catch my breath and take in the sights. I love the terrain at Sprain Ridge. The topography is one thing, with enough hills to tire you out, but the ground itself is a perfect mix of baby-head sized rocks, rooty sections, logs, switchbacks along exposed rock faces and bermed turns.

The ride was perfect, even with the small time-out I took to fix my 42 tooth chain ring. I had smashed it into the rocks a few too many times and bent the tips of several teeth in towards the center line of my bike. I knew I'd need the big ring to get back to the train and didn't want to prematurely fatigue (loosen the links) my chain, so I grabbed the nearest file (rock) and went to town on those teeth. (Blurry photo of teeth burs here.)

Apple of my eye

While over at John Nack's blog I found this video shot and edited entirely on the new iPhone 4. As a Lionel Trains fan, I find the subject matter especially interesting.

"Apple of My Eye" - an iPhone 4 film from Michael Koerbel on Vimeo.

Picture of the day

iPhone panorama from a trip to an abandoned theater several weeks ago.

Adaptation in the streets

I get a kick out of delivery bikers here in the city. I always wonder how much love they have for their bikes. Do they love their bike as much as I do mine? I can tell you from experience that your work bike is something you don't neglect or take for granted. Your livelihood depends on the care and maintenance your give to it. I enjoy seeing work bikes that have been altered for optimal street use. The chopped bars below, while not anything I haven't seen before, still made me grin approvingly the same way seeing road cranks with massive chainrings on a beat up mountain bike does. There is an adaptation that occurs to bikes on the city. Quick release levers are hose clamped shut to deter theft. Slick tires are mounted to rims. Frames are wrapped in cardboard, inner tubes and tape to help resist chipping paint from frames and in some cases protect the identity of a beautiful (and valuable) bicycle. I have even seen carbon fiber wheelsets, XTR components and titanium hardware on some bikes.

The bike below was nothing special. It was not a high end racing machine. It didn't have any light weight Gucci parts. Whoever the Evil Kineval is out there who chopped his bars narrow enough to split the wickets between yellow cabs in order to deliver someone's tofu pad thai; I salute you!


- Posted from my iPhone

Location:96th & Amsterdam, new York, NY

Half a century

This morning I woke up and just wanted to ride. The weather was beautiful. I knew that the forcast called for thunderstorms later in the afternoon but thought that if I could get out of the house by 8:30 (which I did) then I had a chance at a real challenge ride. I have been wanting to attempt a metric century (65 miles) for a while now and thought today could be the day. I was wrong. I got home with only 50 miles under my belt (half a century). Nevertheless, it was a hell of a ride and I can now say that I've ridden from my house in Washington Heights, to Coney Island, floated around in the ocean, and rode back home.

The ocean was cold but felt fantastic on my legs and after stretching in the water I soon found myself floating about on my back taking in the sights. Coney Island is so cheesy; I love it. Below is the route I took which I mapped on the ever so handy Runmeter iPhone app.

26 miles on the fixed gear

I set off on the fixed gear this morning with the intention of popping down to MOD Squad Cycles and back. Nothing more than a 4 or 5 mile spin. I figured the fixed gear would save my stitched finger from shifting and braking. MOD Squad is a pretty cool little shop. They're located in South Harlem just north of Central Park. I got good vibes from the people working today and got a little nostalgic for the years I spent working as a mechanic in bike shops. As I was knee-deep into reminiscing about greasy days gone by there was a loud record skip... the culprit: a customer complaining about the shop not carrying a particular type of bike rack. It was then that I decided days gone by are sometimes best left ... gone by. I did pick up a snazzy new Knog cap before leaving and headed back home.

iPhone snap of the RFK Bridge from Queens.

Funny thing about headed back home: I couldn't do it. It was too nice out. Riding, after running the past few days felt so good on the legs, and so I just pointed the bike south and pedaled. I didn't really have a plan but did have an interest in checking out Randalls Island. So, off I went. I ducked into Central Park and took the bike path down to 59th street and shot across the Queensboro Bridge. Once I was in Queens I churned north up to the RFK Bridge. My ride turned out being 26 miles instead of the 4 or 5 I planned on.

iPhone snap, riding across the RFK Bridge into Randalls Island

Riding across the RFK Bridge was amazing. It's narrower than the George Washington and the view is pretty amazing. There are stairs you climb at each end of the bridge and they've built a little gutter at the side of the stairs for you to push your bike within. I planned on taking the RFK Bridge North, off of the island and into the Bronx but the walkway was closed and so I had to take the pedestrian bridge west into Manhattan. From there I pedaled west and hopped back into Central Park to complete the top loop of the bike path and exit at the same point I had entered the park an hour or so earlier. From there it was just a 70 or so block ride home.

iPhone snapshot of my Pista under the RFK Bridge in Queens.

As I sit on the couch drinking glass after glass of water I'm feeling great. I think a quick run ought to just about wipe me out for the day. Looking forward to a hearty supper!

Bespoke

Busy day today. Did a million things. This calls for a bullet point recap:

• Kicked the day off with a 2.5 mi run around Washington Heights this morning.
• My girlfriend and I hopped a train down to Morningside Heights and had a french style breakfast at Le Monde.
• Enjoyed the Bespoke Exhibit at the Museum of Art & Design. (I now want one of A.N.T.'s Truss Frame bicycles)
• Browsed the Farmer's Market at Union Square and came very close to buying some free roaming, hormone & antibiotic free, beef
• Grabbed some food items at the Trader Joe's in Union Square

Time to clean up the house, fix a nice dinner and then satiate my need to know more about Alternative Needs Transportation...