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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
biking it
Dan Staudacher, Photographer
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Essexville | MI | USA | Posted: 8:40 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Earlier this summer I've been joking that if gas tops 3 bucks a gallon I'd start riding my bike to assignments. It's been the norm lately for me to put over 75+ miles on my vehicle (each day - sometimes over 100-miles) while looking for features aside from my one or two assignments in town. With the price of gas, schedule permitting, I'm considering parking a bike at work for this down-time when I look for features about town. We have showers available at the office so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I know, it sounds ludicrous, so much for fast response time to emergencies, but we rarely have hot breaking news in this neck of the woods... Anyone else considering this?
Dan |
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Dick Van Nostrand, Photographer
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Bay City | MI | USA | Posted: 9:09 PM on 08.31.05 |
| ->> What kind of mileage do they pay for bikes?--Dr. Van Nostrand |
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Pete Lorence, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Loughborough | Leicestershire | UK | Posted: 9:25 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Great idea, Dan! Not only will it be a LOT cheaper but you'll be saving the environment and getting yourself fitter.
Now, if only the rest of the world ditched their cars and walked/biked when they didn't need to drive we wouldn't be in such problems! How about a ban for car journeys under 1mile ( Assuming you're not carrying a tonne of kit ;-) )? |
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Robert Caplin, Student/Intern, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 9:26 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> I've thought about it, not b/c of gas, but for the ease of getting around and parking in Manhattan.
Is there anyone on this forum who rides a motorcycle or Vespa scooter type of thing? If so, how do you deal with the gear and rainy days? |
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Dan Staudacher, Photographer
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Essexville | MI | USA | Posted: 9:28 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Good one Dr. Van Nostrand! I know, I know, it was a stoopid (cq) question, but I'm serious. I just paid off my 2001 Mazda Protege (and what a **sweet** ride she is;) )in May with 95K on her, I'm just trying to minimize the damage.
Dan-O |
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Dan Staudacher, Photographer
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Essexville | MI | USA | Posted: 9:33 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Pete,
I agree 100-percent. I'm trying to figure out the pros vs cons to convince to "the eds" to let me do it. |
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Dan Staudacher, Photographer
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Essexville | MI | USA | Posted: 9:41 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Robert,
Even though I hardly live in the Big Apple, I think it's good way for a shooter to slow down. I remember a speaker at a flying short course (sorry-forgot the name) whose message was STOP THE CAR and get out. I'm guilty of not doing that.
->> I've thought about it, not b/c of gas, but for the ease of getting around and parking in Manhattan.
Is there anyone on this forum who rides a motorcycle or Vespa scooter type of thing? If so, how do you deal with the gear and rainy days? |
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Dick Van Nostrand, Photographer
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Bay City | MI | USA | Posted: 9:50 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Dan,
All kidding aside, the slower pace of a bike might open all our eyes to some new features. We all move way too fast and I know some shots I've missed when I tried to find a spot to turn the car around. |
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Jason Orth, Photographer
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Lincoln | NE | USA | Posted: 10:02 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> There's a great audioblog by Brooks Jensen, the publisher of Lens Work along these lines about using the bike as a tool for photography. I don't know if there's a free link to it, but it's included in some sample discs if you buy from their site.
On that note, I'm about ready to get a scooter. So if anyone's got some opinions, I'd like to know. |
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Dan Staudacher, Photographer
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Essexville | MI | USA | Posted: 10:27 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Pete,
I don't know the conversion rate for the U.S. versus U.K. petrol, but if you can, please enlighten us Yanks to how good we've got it over here.
Thanks,
Dan |
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Gabriel Hernandez, Photographer
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Harlingen | TX | USA | Posted: 10:31 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> I wouldn’t mind riding a bike around my town, but I don’t know how fast I can get to a town that is 20 miles away, like today were we had a tornado watch in a town that’s 20 miles away. I receive a quarter for every mile, which I think is ridicules and don’t know if they will raise it. The gas increased by 53 cents and I was luckily to get paid today.
Now a scooter sounds like a good idea. I wouldn’t mind saving money for one. :) |
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Dan Staudacher, Photographer
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Essexville | MI | USA | Posted: 10:40 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Robert,
While I don't plan on riding a scooter, I've thought this out enough that I'd carry my gear in a backpack and carry lots of plastic bags. Probably the longest lens I'd carry would be a 80-200mm ƒ2.8 or maybe a 300mm ƒ4. Maybe some bubble wrap for padding, too.
Is there anyone on this forum who rides a motorcycle or Vespa scooter type of thing? If so, how do you deal with the gear and rainy days? |
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Mitchell Clinton, Photographer
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Carlsbad | CA | USA | Posted: 10:57 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> I've got a 1959 Vespa scooter that I use for most of my day to day stuff (running to the store for bread, to the post office, etc.) It is a bit of a rattle trap, but lots of fun to ride, gets some great looks and even gets used from time to time in shoots.
Still use the 4-wheeler if I have to (longer distance, bad weather). The bottom line is that with no pain the monthly gas bill is less than 50% of what it was prior to the scooter. When you live in the San Diego area there is no good reason not to ride your bike a bit more or to use a scooter for some of the day to day stuff. |
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Adam Hemphill, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Willimantic | CT | US | Posted: 11:08 PM on 08.31.05 |
| ->> If you can manage, do it! Slim down your kit, get a poncho, and get out there. I know I would if it was realistically feasible. |
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Lucas Jackson, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Ventura | CA | USA | Posted: 11:45 PM on 08.31.05 |
->> Robert,
I have a 95 Honda CBR600 that I have used about a dozen times to get to assignments (I have had the bike about 4 months.) Basically I use a backpack that can fit my ThinkTank system (2 flashes, pocketwizards, notebooks, TTL cord etc, etc) 2 full sized bodies and two lenses (70-200 and 17-55.)
I have also thought this out quite a bit and it looks like I am going to be using this system alot more than I have previously I am going to invest in one of these: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009R852/104-8477089-387196... to use for the equipment. Although if it is raining when I start the day I think I might be able to suck up the gas expenditures. If you are staying in NYC it really is a great way to do things Robert, you can also get hard bag systems for many motorcycles that could hold tons of stuff (like 300s and other helpfuls.) Not to mention that my bike gets roughly 30-40mpg AND its about 100x more fun to drive from assignment to assignment. |
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Craig Mitchelldyer, Photographer, Assistant
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 12:15 AM on 09.01.05 |
| ->> I just bought a Harley Davidson Road King Custom and used the extra dividers that come with my lightware cases to fit a couple bodies and a few lenses into one saddle bag and a light stand, monopod and softbox, etc in the other. Works like a champ, no worries about parking and 40 miles to the gallon :) and like Lucas said, it makes going to work much, much more fun. |
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Colin Corneau, Photographer
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Brandon | MB | Canada | Posted: 12:34 AM on 09.01.05 |
->> Dan, with taxes and everything here in Canada (we dole out our gas by litres like most of the rest of the world, instead of gallons) it works out to be roughly 4 or 5 bucks a gallon. So yeah, you have it pretty good, really.
And we Canucks have it good compared to a lot of Asians and Europeans; the true cost of gasoline is really shielded from Americans. Not to go on a rant or anything, it's just a global reality.
I think hybrid cars will really be the way to go, notwithstanding scooters and bikes and what-not. The price is higher upfront, but over the life of the vehicle -- 3 or 4 or 5 years or even longer -- it will pay itself down easily. More so if you consider that gas is only going to go UP...forget it ever getting cheaper, folks! |
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Seh Suan Ngoh, Photographer
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Singapore | SG | Singapore | Posted: 12:54 AM on 09.01.05 |
| ->> For a while, I'd thought you were talking about cycling to work. Guess I'm grossly mistaken! :p |
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