Brammo Blog–Video Clips of the Pride Parade

3 07 2012

Blog 7, Lucky Lucky 7. Probably not for the people reading this blog, but somewhere there is somebody who is lucky.

This Blog today is a continuation of yesterdays post. My niece  (who flew back to South Carolina at the ungodly hour of 6am this morning…bye AP, hope to see you again soon) and I rode in the Pride Parade here in Albuquerque and I used that opportunity to try out my brand new, unopened and untested helmet video camera. I had planned to take some of my video clips and make them into a single movie, which I would then inflict share with all of you. And by “all of you” I mostly mean the clatter of voices in my head.

Just this morning I made a major executive decision, after a brief discussion with said voices in head, and decided to post the individual clips instead.

Why? Some could say laziness. In fact 3 of the clatter voices said laziness. But I beg to differ. If I edited all the clips together there would be one fairly long video that would likely bore the pants of many of my “readers”…and yes I like to live in a delusional world where I actually have readers.

But if I include individual clips:

A) The clips are short and likely/hopefully less boring to watch.

B) Readers get to choose which clips to watch and how many to watch. Watch a couple, watch them all; it is all your Choice. And isn’t that what AMERICA is all about? Choice, Freedom and the option to watch endless YouTube videos of sleeping cats falling off TVs or post-anesthesia children cursing like Longshoreman.

C) Instead of one long introduction to a single clip, I now get to make several, short pithy comments…and I love to be pithy.

D) There is no D.

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I decided to break it down like this: Some pre parade clips, Some parade clips, and a single post parade clip.

We start with PRE PARADE 1

Short clip. 16 freaking seconds of your life. Of course it is also a boring and semi useless clip. But it shows my niece, the Enertia and our place in line (just in front of the Taos Pride truck).** Plus I am just learning how to use the video camera, so I considered this a practice run. Sadly the whole day was a practice run since I couldn’t check how I was doing until I got home and hooked up the camera to my computer.

**We could have ridden with the Dykes on Bikes at the front of the Parade.  We did hang with them at first and almost went with them. But they tend to ride fast–well fast for Parades–and I, probably incorrectly, thought it would be better to go slow and be in the middle of the parade.  Next year, I will likely be a “Mike with the Dykes on Bikes”…which is a guy who rides with the women up front. It just looks a bit more fun.

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Pre Parade 2

This is where I got bored waiting for the Parade to start and decided to drive around a bit and look at the people getting ready. The Bus was the place to be if you were a gay male. That Bus was ready to party. Clip is 3 minutes and 5 seconds…not horribly exciting, not horribly boring either. Your choice to watch or bail…

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Pre Pride 3…

Ok..12 seconds and purely to show that the TV News was there. I am an attention whore.

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Pre Pride 4…the last pre parade clip…

Again, showing a News van, this time radio. Yes, I am constantly seeking attention and confirmation…I should probably be in Therapy…ok, I should probably be in more Therapy. Ok, I should probably NEVER leave therapy. Shuddup voices!

Plus we get the “Bear” organizer on the microphone telling us to make some noise. His earlier taunt was “People this isn’t a protest parade, this is a Gay Pride Parade. Stop being so somber and make some NOISE.” Bear Dude…we love ya, but it is hotter than the face of the Sun right now and we aren’t moving at all…the only noise I want to make is yelling across the street to http://baileysonthebeach.com/ for, “Una cerveza por favor.”

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Ok, So finally The Parade. I have way too many clips and will try and limit it to just a few.

This first clip is from the very start of the Parade. I let my passenger know that some kids are coming up, so get ready with the Candy. I also notice a small group of Protesters. This actually surprised me. We are a pretty laid back town/city. It shouldn’t have surprise me, but I really didn’t expect anybody to be protesting.

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I didn’t quite get it on camera, but my niece almost nailed the cop with some candy…the female cop had to lean back quickly to avoid the sugary missile. A bit later on my niece did hit a woman right in the forehead, but her aim got better after that. 46 seconds…I think it is worth it to watch just to see the protesters. Sad little people. Wasting energy on hate is silly in this beautiful world we live in. I hope they are happier in their next lives. Happy? Heck, I hope they are downright gay in their next life 🙂

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Parade clip 2.

Short. 32 seconds. I like this one for the woman at 26 seconds in that is pointing and going, “Electric bike. Electric bike.”

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Parade clip 3 is on yesterday’s blog. That one is nice for the people up on the roof of Kelly’s Brew Pub. Not going to post the whole clip a second time.

But here is a screen grab.

Hmmmm, a beer at Kelly’s sounded good at this point of the parade…so did an ice cream at ColdStone Creamery…or just mix them both together…

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Parade Clip 4.

At 5:29 it is the longest clip, but a nice one. This shows the second most crowded spot on the parade.** It feels a bit like the top of a mountain stage in the Tour de France as the crowd really gets in close. Well that and the fact that I had to give a blood sample at the end too…they are really cracking down on performance enhancing drugs here at the Pride Parade. **The most crowded spot is at the end of the parade by the State Fair Grounds…sadly we didn’t quite make it that far…see yesterday’s blog for info on that.

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Clip 5 is cut. So just imagine how mind-crushingly boring it must have been if these other clips made it and this one got cut.

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Clip 6 could be cut, but is only 30 seconds…and at 8 seconds in there is a woman pouring water on her dog to cool the dog down…so that is a bit fun.

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and the last Parade clip…Clip 7.

also short…33 seconds…and largely forgettable. But it does show the Nob Hill location of O’Neill’s Pub…which was featured in my “I Park Where I Want” blog. That and it has me being photographed (4 seconds in) for the millionth time.

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After the Parade, we went to the surface of the Sun…I mean the Zoo. This clip show where I like to park…also featured in “I Park Where I Want”.

You can hear the motor fan running. The clip ends with me looking over to where I am “suppose” to park. Motorcycle Parking? Isn’t everything and everywhere motorcycle parking?

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So that is the Parade…plus 1. Not really much about the Enertia. She did fine. No overheating. With her single gear she is easy as can be to ride “stop & go” type riding. And she never got dizzy nor nauseous like my niece. 🙂

What did I learn about filming with a Helmet Cam?

1) Hold head as still as possible.

2) When I do move head, move slowly.

3) Don’t film parades while in them. Boring.

4) Do film more action footage. Get to the mountains and film the bike going fast on curvy roads. That is much more interesting. For Me, the voices in my head and my imaginary readers.

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Till next time….

Gavin

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For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com
For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness:  visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com


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Brammo Blog: Real World views from a Real Electric Motorcycle

26 06 2012

Blog 2, 6/26/12.

Today we talk about: Holy Moley is it CHEAP to fill up an Electric Motorcycle.

Now I know everybody has seen this image before…it is all over the interwebs.

or this one:

We get a chuckle, a bit of a laugh. Until we are the one driving up to the pump and realize that it is too close to the truth. “Hmmmm, buy needed medication or fill the gas tank?” should never be a thought running through anybody’s head.

Almost everyday I drive by an ironically named gas station: Pump and Save. Hahahahahahahaaaaaa, excuse me, hahahahahahaha. How about some truth in advertizing…Pump and make OPEC happy. Pump and there goes your vacation budget. Pump and kiss your retirement goodbye. Just about anything works, except: Pump and Save.

Even the most economical gas cars are really quite expensive to fill up and drive on a daily basis. Example: Toyota Prius. Good car (a bit fugly) and an industry leading 50 mpg. Good going Toyota!  A Prius owner can go 100 miles for 2 gallons of gas…at 3.50 a gallon that is 5 million dollars….oops, sorry, my math ain’t so hot (neither is me English)….so 7 bucks for 100 miles in a very functional and well built, though slightly fugly, Prius. Not bad! But not great considering it is the best the automobile industry has to offer.

Now look at the Enertia, which I have been lucky enough to ride for the last 8-9 months:

Yes, look at her sitting there in front of the Mountain Lodge off old Rt 66. I love this photo as it make me think of riding the Enertia through the world of Fallout 3, but that is a subject for another blog on another day…

The cost to “fill” the Enertia’s “tank” is just about 1 cent a mile to charge up from any 110v wall outlet here in New Mexico. 1 cent a mile = 100 cents for 100 miles…which is like zero dollars to fill up…again, not so good at math.

Actually we are talking (or typing and reading) a hundred miles for a buck. So the Enertia is 7 times cheaper than the best mileage gas car on the road. (and looks hella better and WAY MORE FUN to drive. And that is all proven by SCIENCE.)

And it is because electricity is so much cheaper than gas (and can be renewable and clean—Wind, solar, hydro, tidal, geothermal—Mother Nature is very giving. It’s like moving back in with your parents and sponging off them, but way cooler and no living in the basement with your Cheetos covered “Night Ranger ROCKS” T-Shirt.)

And it works for Electric Cars too. 100 miles in a Nissan LEAF is half the price or less than the Prius. And if you are fortunate enough, or had the foresight and have paid-off solar panels on your roof, well all miles could be essentially free and clean, thanks to Mr. Sun. I love you Mr. Sun…

So when you drive to work, or to the store, or when you’re out shopping to prepare for the coming Zombie Apocalypse, remember the two gas signs above…and know that they could look like this:

Plug and Save…now that is a “fuel” station I would love to see stretching from Sea to Shining Sea. 🙂

Gavin


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Brammo Blog: Real World views from a Real Electric Motorcycle

25 06 2012

With some very “not subtle” prodding (looking your way BrammoFan), I am reopening my blog and focusing it down to Brammo Motorcycles and the trips and experiences I am having just about every day of the year as I ride this Electric Motorcycle. Real world observations. Real world photos. This will be mostly a Photo Journal, peppered with some brilliant insights….or probably just insights that fall somewhat below brilliant…ok, very far below…jeez, you think I would get some respect from my own blog…but noooo, the dang critics in my head keep pestering me to be honest.

I am not a prolific blogger, but I will work hard to get a couple of new posts every week.

So…..without further ado:

Blog 1, 6/25/12. Today we talk about:

I have always counted on the Kindness of Strangers…or “business that allow me to charge.”

When I first received the “Loaner” Enertia from Brammo I assumed I would always just charge it overnight at home. I even set up a charge station with a nice little sign I bought from BrammoFan.

And I did charge mostly at home…still do. It is easy and you wake up every morning to a fully charged bike.

But one trip I was planning to ride looked to be impossible without outside charging (the loaner bike is Brammo’s first model and is really quite nice, but does have a 40 mile range. Great for commuting, not so much for long distance drives.)

Well the Rio Rancho Annual Toy Run was coming up and I really wanted to take the Enertia. Thousands of riders, a good cause and I thought it would be great to show off the Electric a bit. But the ride started 20 miles from my house, add in 10-15 miles on the ride, and then 20 miles back home—much of it at 55 mph which drains the battery faster than slow city commuting—and it is easy to see that 40 miles or less wasn’t going to make it.

So bail on the ride? No Way! First, I called the Toy Run staff. Sadly they did not have any electric power at the start of the race nor at the ending spot. They did let me know that the start was in the parking lot of the local High School and I could call them. So I called Rio Rancho High School. A very nice gentleman who runs the school’s activities told me it would be no problem at all to charge at the school. He informed me that there were outside outlets on the Gym and to “have at it”. Yea! Thanks Rio Rancho High School. You were the first place I charged away from home (and you are Walter White’s school in Breaking Bad–but that is another blog for another day).

So I left home early—the ride started at 11:00 am—as I needed extra time to charge at the school. One day that won’t be an issue, but right now I do have to make extra time and effort if I want to go electric and still do the longer rides I enjoy. The trade off, to me, is worth it 🙂

I depart at 8:30 am and get to the school at 9. Easily find the plug, plug up and….wait. I read a bit, I walk over and talk to some of the early bird gas bikers—the ride seems to bring every Harley rider in the State of New Mexico. At 11:00 the bike is about 95% charged and I am ready to join up with the gas bikes and my scooter friends.

So we do a ride of 15 miles and my scooter friends want to stop and get something to eat…I’m like, sure I can eat…and I start following them to a new place they want to try. Unfortunately for me they are riding away from Albuquerque and my home…which is where I like to charge. And when we get to the restaurant, well I am pretty sure I won’t be able to get all the way home. So I ask the staff…”Hey, I have this electric motorcycle, do you mind if I charge while my friends and I get some food and drinks?” “Sure, let me go get an extension cord.” That was a surprise…they even went out of their way to help me. But he comes back, “Hey, I can’t find our extension cord…but you can park the bike inside our storage area and charge there”.

So I rolled my bike up and into the back of the restaurant…Crazy. But hella nice.

Which brings me to the point, finally, of this Blog. I have yet to be turned down when I have asked a business if I can charge my bike while I shop, buy or eat at their establishments. It is really amazing. I usually have my argument ready, “it only costs about 10 cents an hour in electricity to charge**, and I will be spending much more than that while I am here…and I tip well.” But I don’t ever have to do that. A simple, “Hi, my bike is electric. I see you have an outside plug, do you mind if I use it?” “Sure, no problem. That’s a cool bike”, is the usual response. Often followed with many more question.

So I thought I would give a quick shout out and thanks to some of the places I’ve charged.

As mentioned: Rio Rancho High School…the school in Breaking Bad AND you guys have your own solar array…you guys ROCK.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Co.: I am upset with myself as I wanted to get a photo of the bike charging in your storage area…but forgot! Instead, here is a photo of their menu. You helped me to ride over 70 miles that day…the most I’ve ridden the Enertia in one day.

Subway: The Subway in Tijeras, NM has let me charge at least 3 times. One of my favorite rides goes out that way, but it is just a bit too far to go without some extra charge. So I stop, grab a sandwich and surf the web a bit and off I go with a nicely charged bike and a fairly full belly. Thanks Jarred…or Michael Phelps…or whoever Subway is using as their spokesman.

I am downtown most Tuesday Nights to play the Pub Quiz, Geeks who Drink, at the Blackbird Buvette. Plus I’m friends with one of the owners…and the Blackbird is a cool place to hang just about any time. As a bonus they have a lamp post out front that I can charge at. And if that isn’t working, they let me charge on their back patio…Thanks!

While Downtown, Albuquerque does have two pay charge stations…Good to have, though I haven’t needed to use them yet. Too much free charging available so far to start using my credit card to charge…but maybe one day.

I’ve charged at Walmart, Smith’s Grocery, Lowe’s Home Improvements…just to name a few. Anytime I am stopping for 30 minutes or more, I go ahead and charge. Every 30 minutes gives me 5 more miles in range.

And last, but not least, my work. This is the one place, other than home, where I have charged the most.

Covered parking AND free juice? What’s not to love about that.

And that is the wonderful part about electrics. There is a source for charging EVERYWHERE. And it is cheap and easy to use. Go to your favorite restaurant and ask them if you can fill your car’s gas tank while you eat. They will look at you like you are crazy. Because storing and delivering gas is hard, expensive and kinda dangerous. Storing and delivering electricity is not. Heck, by code every house and business have outlets every few freaking feet. I can attest to that as we have a one year old granddaughter and about 12 billion outlet covers in our home.

Still there is the slowness of filling my tank (which is why I do it at home, work or restaurants where I know I will be a while) and the shortness of range. Those two obstacles will be overcome with time, and, in fact, are already improving. My loaner gets 40 miles, but the Brammo Plus coming out this summer gets twice that. The Brammo Empulse will get 100 miles and has fast charging, which will fill those batteries at twice the rate of 120v wall charging. A few more years and the battery will last longer than what my butt will allow me to ride. And then we will have all the conveniences of electric drive: quiet, smooth, quick, easy, nearly zero maintenance and fuel that is cheap and everywhere; without the downside of range issues and slowness of charging. And we will have a fuel that can truly be zero emissions…when you have nice solar panels on your roof and 310 sunny days a year 🙂

Till next time….

Gavin

**This might be my next blog…the insanely low cost of charging. Or Park Anywhere! Or “Want people to be nice to you? interact and talk to you? Buy an Electric motorcycle.”


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Why….

22 09 2010

Ok so lately I’ve gotten a bit “excited” about solar power. Just ask my poor family…sigh. Poor things have to listen to me constantly talk about peak solar power production and micro-inverters vs standard inverters and polycrystalline photovoltaic cells vs monocrystalline silicon. Endlessly. God–I’m a horribly boring human.

And it shouldn’t really be too surprising, my first huge fear back when I was 5 was that the Sun would go super nova (damn you Marvel comics of the 60’s—-though I will forgive you as you did help with my vocabulary). I literally couldn’t sleep as I worried all the time that the Sun would just suddenly explode.

Now I’m older and worry a bit less about the Sun going nova. Now I mostly just ponder, “Mmmm, if the Sun goes nova I wonder what my peak solar power production will be for those few nano seconds before I am vaporized.” Yes, I am that obsessed.

Coinciding with this solar obession is the fairly obviously offshoot of wanting to use only solar power for just about everything.

Clean, freeish (more on that in another post), local in a way….just a nice way to power my computer, lights,  fridge. And hopefully a way to power all my non-human transportation (I still plan to bike and walk and putter about as much as possible). Which leads to:

ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION

Ok, my commute is rather short (5 to 7 miles each way depending on route–shorter by car or scooter, longer by bike). So say 12 miles round trip. And we have lovely weather here in central New Mexico (310 sunny days. Hardly ever any humidity. Some snow in the winter, but hardly ever horrid). Which is why I’ve been carless for over 5 years. I bike from May to October and ride one of my scooters from October to May. Fun, easy, cheap…and great parking at work . 🙂

Still, when the temperature is  in the teens or less–brrrr— on my early morning commute to work in January/February, well it is times like that when I wonder when I will break down and buy a cage. That and the occasional hail storm, ice storm–the worst–, or being called in late at night and not wanting to “gear-up”. Those days add up a bit as I get older. So I often wonder, “Ok old man, when are you finally going to get a car again?” And that day may be sooner than I thought…more on that in my weekend blog about “Electric CARS.”

So I will likely be getting a car soonish. But on top of that I really want an Electric Motorcycle too.  Why?               Why not 🙂

Actually it just fits me well. I like riding on less than 4 wheels. I ride almost always alone. My commute is short. Why lug around all the weight of a cage? And why use gasoline when I have solar panels on my roof??

So…Been wanting an Electric car for 3 years now. Been wanting Solar Panels. And now I also want an Electric Motorcycle (or scooter…but the Electric motorcycles are just more advanced right now…and actually way cool. Yes I have only ever owned scooters, but maybe now is the time to expand and add a large wheel motorbike to my “collection”). Well with the solar added this summer, one of three down, two to go. 🙂 —Yes Becki I am trying to keep the economy afloat all by myself. Though, sadly, both the future car and motorcycle purchases will likely be in 2011. So I hope the economy can keep itself afloat until then.

And with that I pause here….I envision three posts this weekend.

One post on my Electric car travails (Aptera to LEAF to Fiat 500EV…oh how this has been a fun and painful odyssey…I would say damn you Aptera, but in reality I learned so much about electric vehicles from my time over at ApteraForum.com).

One post on the latest news from Brammo Powercycles. If I had endless money I would buy everybody I know one of their electric motorcycles…Beautiful and efficient…My latest techno crush.

And one post devoted to my lovely solar panels. Facts, figures…you know, all that exciting stuff. Like showing vacation slides to strangers. Who doesn’t love that?

Mmmm, if I’m smart I will make a post about my wife and kids too… 🙂

Gavin


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