23 December 2014

The sun is out. And so am I.

The day started foggy, but with no rain in the forecast and a new pair of gloves sitting here and waiting for their first ride I really had to get out on my bike again. Hwy 84, one of my favorite routes in the area and perfect for a warm-up brought me to the beautiful pacific coast and indeed, the sun was out for most of the ride.


At Bean Hollow State Beach

At this time of the year the California State Beaches along Hwy 1 are pretty much deserted and parking is free of charge. Only a few people were out there, walking their dogs, sightseeing and taking pictures of the stunning scenery.

Along Hwy 1 heading south the fog became thick again for a few miles but had been eaten up by the sun shortly before Santa Cruz. We had ridden past the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz many times before and I had spotted a specific piece of art in the past but never stopped to take a closer look. Well, now was a good time to check it out further. There was construction going on for the arts center's new theater and in order to get closer to that cow and to take a picture I had to enter the hard hat area - risking my life, almost. ;-)


Back at my bike I found it got invaded by members of the Boisea trivittata species. The Boxelder bugs were sunbathing on black/warm spots of my bike. Well, most parts of my bike are actually black... They mainly sat on the seat, top case and tires. Alright, macro photography time: setting the camera to manual focus mode, selecting the closest focus point of the lens and using my body to move back and forth to get the subject into focus, getting down to the level of the bug and focusing on its eyes. And being aware that one needs to take many, many shots to maybe (!) get a decent one. Even at an aperture of f/11 not much of the bug's body was in focus, just the head and some parts of its legs. Will try an even smaller aperture next time to  increase the depth of field some more.



As mentioned earlier, testing my new BMW GS Dry Gloves was another reason for getting out today. Since we have not yet figured out what kind of hand guards to install on the R, my hands are fully exposed to the wind. For most of the year, the Held Evo Thrux 2221 work perfectly for me and heated grips do the rest when it gets a bit cooler. But for this time of the year I wanted something less permeable to wind.


The BMW GS Dry Gloves claim to be water- and windproof, come with SuperFabric (which combines goatskin leather and abrasion resistant fabric) and GORE-TEX X-TRAFIT, a breathable three-layer laminate. In today's condition with temperatures in the high 50th/low 60th (14-16 deg Celsius) and high humidity I usually have the heated grips on. Not so today which is a good sign. The only thing I am not sure yet is their breathability. I need to challenge them some more in lower temperatures but so far I like the gloves a lot.

10 comments:

  1. At least one of you seems to get out on a bike every once in a while ;-) Isn't it great to be riding in December (especially with the temps you're getting)? I still remember Christmas Day 2009, when Guido took me out and about on his Beemer.

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    1. Yes, Christmas Day 2009 when you caught the riding bug again. I remember, too. Although it is raining again today we really can't complain about the weather. Very fortunate to be here. Merry Christmas to Roland and you!

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  2. Oooh I forgot what sunshine looks like. Raining sideways here this morning.

    Glad you got out for a ride. Those boxelder bugs look pretty cool. Nice macro shots.

    Merry Christmas to you two and a Happy New Year.

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    1. Thanks! Macro shots are funny in a way. You take the pictures but only back at the computer you really see the subject up close in all its details. I must say that insects look very cool that close but they also make me shiver.

      Merry Christmas to Brad and you and all the best for 2015!

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  3. Really nice shot of the beach. I don't think I will ever tire of pictures of the Pacific coast. Especially off season...

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    1. Oh yes, you are right. I love to spend time at the ocean, too and of course to take pictures. The Pacific coast is really beautiful!! Happy New Year 2015!

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  4. Hey, lonesome rider, what happened to the "apple cow"?
    I would love to have your "cold" temperatures. So I enjoy your nice picture of the beach and take a deep breath before we will get snow by tomorrow morning.

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  5. Ugh, snow!! Hopefully it won't last too long!

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  6. No, only tomorrow. But after that it's getting colder. (-4 Grad C daily high temperature) I know, that's pretty warm for Calgary ;-)

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    1. Indeed, it's cozy for Calgary. But here, even -1 C feels cold to us softies now. I'm willing to accept freezing temperature though to kill the bugs. And in the sun during the day it still feels nice. Ok, time for a hot tea! :-)

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