Sunday, August 30, 2015

 

Motorcycle Trip To A Private Observatory [Motovlog #60]


In this episode, my friend Matt and I make an overnight motorcycle trip to his private observatory, where we spend an evening searching the Summer Triangle for celestial objects, asterisms, etc., such as the Ring Nebula, Dumbbell Nebula, Coathanger, Albireo, Epsilon Lyrae, and others.



Friday, August 21, 2015

 

Motorcycle Shopping and Riding Aimlessly [Motovlog #59]


A summer cold front blows through overnight, dropping temperatures from above the century mark to less than 75 degrees. I take advantage of the relief by sneaking away for an aimless ride and going motorcycle shopping for a Sportster.



Tuesday, August 11, 2015

 

Suffering through the dog days and thoughts on upcoming adventures


One of the toughest things about motorcycling in West Texas is August. The constant 100-plus-degree temperatures and strong south wind usually dictate a short break –– at least for me –– from riding bikes with any consistency until cooler weather returns in September. My August riding typically gets relegated to nighttime only, when temps are a bit cooler and the beating sun is at rest, and such rides through the darkness make filming new episodes of Tim Kreitz Adventures mostly impractical. GoPros hate the darkness. So do DSLRs for the most part. I did a few nighttime episodes last summer, but was displeased with the video quality and ultimately decided to only do daytime filming.

That said (and in the interest of not going a month without any new episodes), I've decided to suffer through at least one more ultra-hot August ride. My longtime friend and bandmate Matt, whom you've seen in a previous episode of Tim Kreitz Adventures, has invited me to make a motorcycle trip with him to his private astronomical observatory, located about 100 miles east of the Midland-Odessa area, where we will observe the stars, drink beers, and philosophize about the ways of the world. I've been there with him before, but never took cameras. I'm working out the particulars as to how I will get good footage in near-total darkness. But we will be doing some astro-photography that night and the dome is equipped with redlighting, so I should hopefully end up with some interesting content either way. Fingers crossed. That'll likely put a cap on August, as we wait for the infernal temperatures of late summer to subside.

As the mercury drops going into fall, several more road trips are tentatively planned, including a few overnight stays in semi-distant locales. Those may possibly include (but will not be limited to) the Davis Mountains of far West Texas, Guadalupe Mountains National Park on the Texas-New Mexico border, and Big Bend National Park near the US-Mexico border. There are a host of ghost towns yet to be explored near the Mexican border as well, including the famous Terlingua and a few others. Along the way, a side-trip to observe the legendary Marfa lights and perhaps enjoy some craft beer in Alpine is also being considered. Britt plans to go on all these rides with me, and I also hope to include some of the other faces you see from time to time on the channel, including Matt, Clif, Rodger, and the rest of the gang.

In a recent conversation with my younger brother Eric, he remarked that with close to 60 episodes of Tim Kreitz Adventures in the can, I must surely be running out of ideas for content. Sure, a lot of ground and many locations have been covered thus far, but the truth is that we have not yet begun to discover all the secrets of West Texas. The channel continues to grow, and that's a constant inspiration to make each new installment bigger and better than the one before it.

Until the next episode, cheers and God bless.



Tuesday, August 04, 2015

 

So-Cal Motovlogger Meetup 2015 with Extras [Motovlog #58]


We head from Texas to Southern California for the So-Cal Motovlogger Meetup 2015. From beginning to end, SCMM2015 was epic in every way. Palm Springs, San Bernardino, and Idyllwild will never be the same again!

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THIS EPISODE
Anytime I post a finished episode of Tim Kreitz Adventures that documents a ride or trip I particularly enjoyed, I always feel as though I have somehow failed as a videographer and storyteller. That's mostly because it's difficult to properly convey four days of fun and adventure in a ten-minute video. Details will always get lost and some of the more complicated or even mundane moments of footage will inevitably be left on the cutting room floor in an effort to pace the video appropriately and make it easy to digest for the ever-growing number of attention-span-challenged people who consume modern social media.

In addition, not everything can be captured on video: the smell of the pines and cedars on top of the mountain at Idyllwild; the infernal heat of a 112-degree Palm Springs summer day; the scent of suntan lotion on bikini-clad girls; the taste of homemade moonshine and ginger beer by the pool. All these things must be documented in liner notes like these, even though they can never really be fully described.

The same goes for the emotions one experiences when riding a motorcycle through a new and wondrous setting. The heart-pounding thrill of dragging a rented Sportster's footpegs up a 5,000-foot mountain ascent, the relaxed calm of a quiet rest stop, and the joy of finally meeting online friends in person for the first time can't be accurately represented within the context of a motovlog –– but they are there. And in many ways, they are the spirit of such an experience that lingers in the heart and memory the most. So as you watch this episode, keep those things in mind, and enjoy. Cheers.