Supplies?

I will be biking to the conservation area tomorrow to do a photographic tour. My fibromyalgia seems to be in remission at the moment so I think I can do it. I plan to leave before the sun comes up to avoid the roasting heat. Once I'm there, I can relax by the lake for as long as I want to recover. Returning home in the heat will be the killer but, once I'm home, I can sleep for a couple of days if I need to.

To minimize the weight and bulk, I'll be taking a monopod instead of my tripod and I'll wear pants with removable legs.

My equipment:

-2 cameras
-telephoto lens
-50mm lens with reversing ring (for macros)
-food and lots of water (most of the wight)
-business cards and tri-fold pamphlets
-bug spray
-water shoes (should I decide I have the energy to go for a swim)
-roll of toilet paper for the IBS emergencies

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list all day but does anyone have any suggestions on anything else I should be taking for an all day trip?

How about a cheap poncho and zip-locks in case of rain?

Dont go without your mobile phone, pleased to hear you will be taking lots of water, a foldaway waterproof jacket would be good, maybe a radio for a bit of company whilst you sit and have lunch, dont forget to enjoy yourself and report back with the usual cluster of great photos.

photobod wrote: Dont go without your mobile phone, pleased to hear you will be taking lots of water, a foldaway waterproof jacket would be good, maybe a radio for a bit of company whilst you sit and have lunch, dont forget to enjoy yourself and report back with the usual cluster of great photos.

You may want some water purification tablets. Sunblock and a wide brim hat (for off the bike time) to ward off the sun. "Emergency meds" if you have them.
Have a safe and great trip.

Dori wrote: How about a cheap poncho and zip-locks in case of rain?

We aren't expecting any rain until early next week but the motto in Ontario is, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it'll change."

I guess if I do go prepared for rain, it will guarantee clear skies ... never a bad idea.

photobod wrote: Dont go without your mobile phone, pleased to hear you will be taking lots of water, a foldaway waterproof jacket would be good, maybe a radio for a bit of company whilst you sit and have lunch, dont forget to enjoy yourself and report back with the usual cluster of great photos.

The mobile phone's a must. It goes everywhere I go. Strenuous activities like this tend to bring my remission to an abrupt end and if it turns out I can't make it back, thanfully, we have taxi "vans" here. That reminds me, I need to put their number in my phone.

No radio for me. I prefer the peace of the outdoors. If I get bored, just watching the people walking by will be entertainment enough, especially when they've got dogs. Who knows, I might even get a job out of it. If it comes down to it, my phone has a built in radio anyway.

Since you are biking make sure you are taking spare tubes and tools. Wouldn't want you to end up walking back with all your gears. BTW, whenever I go biking I always put some kind of identification in my saddle bag. If I fall and hit my head, someone could at least notify my family. People with certain medical conditions may also want to include information that could save their life.

Baydream wrote:

photobod wrote: Dont go without your mobile phone, pleased to hear you will be taking lots of water, a foldaway waterproof jacket would be good, maybe a radio for a bit of company whilst you sit and have lunch, dont forget to enjoy yourself and report back with the usual cluster of great photos.

You may want some water purification tablets. Sunblock and a wide brim hat (for off the bike time) to ward off the sun. "Emergency meds" if you have them.
Have a safe and great trip.

Once I'm there I'll be in mostly shady areas but the sunblock will be handy on the way home. I wear a ball cap under my helmet and when I'm using the camera, I turn it around so the rim is at the back. The kids call it "photo mode." I wish I could go without the helmet, as I find it too hot, but because of my tendancy to fall when I'm riding, I won't go without it.

lucky1one wrote: Since you are biking make sure you are taking spare tubes and tools. Wouldn't want you to end up walking back with all your gears. BTW, whenever I go biking I always put some kind of identification in my saddle bag. If I fall and hit my head, someone could at least notify my family. People with certain medical conditions may also want to include information that could save their life.

Thought about that, especially after the sprocket cluster broke a couple of days ago. Thanks. I use a fanny pack for my ID and everything.

Woohoo! My 16GB card arrived in the mail today ... just in time.

Happy days

Okay, the weather report:

Sun rises at 5:53am so I will be leaving around 5:00. Full moon tonight so lots of light available. I'll be riding my day bike and the lights are on my night bike so I bought a clip on tail light and I'll be using my "head" light (miner style). At 5:00, the temp will be 14°C (57°F) with 10% chance of rain. Riding east into a 7km/h SE wind ... perfect night for biking.

However...

At 4:00pm, the temp will be 28°C (82°F), 0% chance of rain but 90% humidity. At least I'll be riding west with the winds still SE at 12km/h.

I now have the taxi # in my phone (which is currently charging), should I need it.

So, here's my updated list. Let me know if I should add anything:

-2 cameras (Canon for the macros and Fuji that I decided to use instead of taking the telephoto lens)
-50mm lens with reversing ring and my home made soft box diffuser thingy
-second battery for the Canon and box of "AA" for the Fuji
-all of my existing memory cards
-lens cleaning kit
-knee pads (plan to do mostly macro)
-monopod
-bug repellant
-sun block
-ball cap
-tylenol (with caffiene and codeine)
-rain poncho
-plastic bags
-lunch (2 6" subs in separate sealed containers)
-bag of hard candies
-water shoes and extra socks
-toilet paper and extra underwear (fibro sufferers will understand this)
-notepad and pens
-business cards and tri-fold flyers
-photo rights (thank you Charles)
-and lots and lots of water

I will look for updates to this thread when I get up. Thank you all for your help so far. This is a huge leap of faith in my abilities and am looking forward to a great daycation.

Well, I'm awake but didn't get much sleep ... no surprise. Never do when it's needed. Will be leaving in about an hour.

Well, I'm back. I lef tearly because the bugs obviously didn't want me there.

I learned a couple of things today. First, macro + white flowers + direct sunlight + flash = serious overexposure.

Second, if I'm gonna put all that weight on my bike, I need to be sure I have enough tire pressure to handle it. Nothing wears me down faster than riding on underinflated tires.

All in all, the day went well. I am extremely sore, totally exhaustified, and am heading to bed (after taking a zombie pill to be sure I actually sleep). I found a new frog today. It was sitting on a milkweed leaf and it is so tiny, I could put it on the end of my finger and you'd still see my finger.

Got some amazing macros (I'm in awe) ... processing right now ... will post my favs whenever I wake up.

If you're following this thread, I've posted the pix here:

www.photographytalk.com/forum/macro-phot...42-fridays-bike-tour