Now that we are towards the end of January, I can reflect at 2015 as a year of fun on two wheels, hell there were times when I was living in the fast lane. I hit a stupid fast personal best top speed of 168 mph, rode a slew of different kinds of motorcycles; from Harley Davidson’s Sportsters and Dynas to Suzuki’s, Triumphs, and even a Can Am Spyder. Since I live in the wonderful San Francisco Bay Area, I had the opportunity to ride year round from the FREEZING December weather to scorching 100 degree weather. Rode with friends and family throughout the Bay from Stinson Beach to Alison’s and Four Corners to Angel’s Camp. Had one too many close calls while splitting lanes to riding with a friend that low sided. 2015 gave me a solid year of riding under my belt while at the same time gives me excitement as to what 2016 will bring. I leave with you below a video montage of my 2015 year. See you out there on the streets and ride safe.
Tag: Bay Area
Hello World!
The title should actually read “Hello 2014!”. Can’t believe that January is almost over and that this is my first post of the year. For 2014 I was really hoping to be more active on this blog. Still am.
Anyway, I am excited since I uploaded my first mtb video!
In the past I’ve recorded a few rides but those were my first going mtb and they just seemed a little dull. The video that was uploaded is nothing fancy; edited with Youtube’s editor and using Youtube’s music. However I’m just happy that I was able to accomplish a simple post to my Youtube channel that also motivated me to do a blog post about it.
Here’s the video below:
This was the first time at Joaquin Miller Park for my brother, so we took it easy. JMP is a hidden gem in the hills of Oakland. The trails are short, fun, and a little challenging. Since I’m still honing my skills, this park seems like it’s the perfect skill level for me.
If you have any questions about the park, what I’m riding, my gear, why the sky is blue, or have suggestions, or anything just ping me.
Cheers and ride safe for you folks on two wheels (thats both motos and pedal power).
Time Lapse Test Drive
Went for a test drive around the City to with my GoPro to see the different qualities of the recording.
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Thanks!
Back at the Embarcadero
Well, I found myself back at the Embarcadero this past Sunday. I was just planning on heading home right after work but my brother wanted to go out and shoot. So I went and grabbed my camera from home only to find it dead when I tried using it. Burn… Well, More panoramic shots from my cell phone. Cheers!
Friday Escape!
I’m going to try posting something up every Friday which will be called Friday Escape. Fridays are when most people are ending their weekly grind and starting their weekend. If you’re like me, by noon you’re ready to bolt out the door and get your weekend started. Hence, Friday Escape.
The idea behind Friday Escape is to post something that is relevant to the weekend quickly. Whether it is telling you about my plan for the weekend or an event that’s happening in the San Francisco Bay Area, since there is almost something going on every weekend here.
This week March Madness started and we have San Jose hosting several games that started Thursday at the HP Pavilion. Saturday you can catch a game our local team Cal take on Syracuse or Oregon against St. Louise, that is if tickets aren’t sold out.
The weather is going to be great all over the Bay so you can play tourist in the City, play at the many beautiful parks throughout the Bay Area, or locked in your room playing God of War: Ascension. What ever you chose to do, try not to miss out on the great weather this weekend. Crack the blinds open if you’ll be cooped up indoors. Keep in mind that we have spring showers coming in next week.
Panoramas from the Embarcadero
Last weekend I was down at the Embarcadero with my brother James. While I was there, I took several panoramic shots of the area with my Samsung Galaxy Note II. I’m pretty impressed with the quality of the picture and how fast the phone processes the image. Below you can view both the untouched original photo followed by a quickly edited version. Let me know what you folks think about both original and edited image or how great cell phone cameras are or how I need more practice on Photoshop. Thanks!
Original:
Touched up:
Original:
Touched up:
A Patchwork of Videos of the Bay Bridge
Last weekend my brother and I had time to check out the Bay Lights. I only had my GoPro Hero2 on me which I used to capture movements of the world’s largest art installation. Sadly the GoPro doesn’t record urban night shots that well. Instead of uploading an ok video of the Bay Lights, I figured that I’d throw it in a mix of videos and try to tell a story with it. Let me know what you folks think about. Thanks!
AFK Deviant Friday
Sorry for the AFK folks… I’ve been busy all this month and looks like that this will be my one and only post for November. Sad… I just got a Deviant Art account, igloojohn. So far I only placed up a few photos. I plan on putting up some illustrations in the near future… Also I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Friday! It’s storming out here in the SF Bay Area. So if you’re near or around the Bay, stay safe and dry!
Live105 Spookfest 2012
This past Friday, Live 105 held their 4th annual Spookfest, the Bay Area subsonic Halloween massive event at Oakland‘s Oracle Arena. All I have to say is “Damn! This shit was off the hook!”
Got to the Oracle Arena right before 8 so the first set that I caught was from Benny Bennasi. After Benny was R3HAB. Then Datsik for for all the dubstep folks in the arena. Finally we had Calvin Harris to close out the night.
What a night! Wished that Spookfest lasted longer than 1 am. Oh well.
Up next POP NYE!
Beyond Wonderland – Bay Area
This past Saturday in Oakland there were almost 400 noise complaints for a rave that was happening at the O.co Coliseum. This rave that lasted till 2 in the morning had headliners that consisted of Avicii, Alesso, Sander van Doorn, Chuckie, and much more. This rave that caused so much noise that can be felt and heard for miles was called Beyond Wonderland. And what a wonderful experience it was!
Beyond Wonderland has been around for sometime however this was the first time that Insomniac has decided to bring it north to the San Francisco Bay Area. The line to enter the venue moved fast, the weather wasn’t to cold, the Dj’s were killing it, and my ears were ringing till this afternoon 🙂
I have included a map (courtesy of Insomniac) of the venue below so you can get an idea of the venue. For those of you unfamiliar with O.co Coliseum and the Oracle Arena, the O.co is the home of both the Oakland Athletics and the Oakland Raiders while the Oracle Arena is the home of the Golden State Warriors. The O.co is set to the East of the Oracle Arena where they are both flanked by parking to the north and south. The venue was set in the south parking lot. There were 3 stages; the Caterpillar Garden which was to the north east of the venue, the Madhatter’s Castle set in the middle, and the Queens’s Domain to the south. There was a ferries wheel, drinks, and other “attractions” that were set between the Madhatter’s Castle and the Queen’s Domain.
With the name Beyond Wonderland I was coming to the venue expecting to go down the rabbit hole and find myself in a whole new world. Instead I ended up at the Madhatter’s table sober. Beyond Wonderland was like a bad regurgitation of the Electronic Daisy Carnival. I didn’t feel energy in the air, the ferries wheel and the picnic area seemed like an afterthought, and there wasn’t enough lights… What I mean by not enough lights is that the physical experience wasn’t all there. This is my opinion and I know that it aint fair to compare Beyond Wonderland with EDC. With that said, the sets were amazing! Which is the very reason why people come to these events/raves/festivals. To hear and see their favorite DJ’s perform and fuck them sideways.
Oh man, where do I start? I saw Avicii for the first time and his set was crazy! Craziest part of it was that in the middle of his set, someone ignited a tear gas or let lose a fire extinguisher. I was to the right side of the tent when what ever it was went off and as soon as it did, many of us cleared the tent fast! People were running while covering their face, some were chocking and coughing, and there were still people enjoying the music. So I’m sure that what ever it was, was not tear gas. If it were, I’d be dying and more people would had been affected. The music kept on going and once the ominous cloud cleared, everyone went back in the tent to enjoy the night.
I can’t stop saying how wonderful the DJ’s were. Cazzette, Thomas Gold, and all the other DJ’s that I saw that night. I wished that there was better timing with the different set times and less overlapping. Since there were overlapping set times I caught the tail end of some sets. For example, after Aviccii I went from the Queen’s Domain to the Madhatter’s Castle to catch the end of Chuckie‘s set. I wished that I saw all of Chuckie’s set since he was killing it.
The best DJ of the night would be Sander van Doorn. This. Guy. Killed. It. WOW! Sander’s set at EDC was one of my favorite form that weekend. But the set that Sander played for Beyond was a godly amount better! Holy shit! Can you say wow! Damn, damn, damn. Here’s a tease of Sander’s set from my girlfriend.
I’m thankful that Insomniac brought Beyond Wonderland and these wonderful DJ’s to the Bay Area. Over all the night was bad ass! I know that I’m being ignorant for writing that my ears were ringing the next day but I earned those damage ear drums. Next time I’ll bring ear buds. Which means that next time Beyond Wonderland is up here in the Bay Area, I’m going.
johnydecali 