Looks like iTunes has listed the updated feed TrailTapes Mountain Bike TV. If you use iTunes you can subscribe with one click. It looks cool on the video iPod.

Purchased a new Panasonic PV-GS250 3CCD miniDV camcorder today. I had originally chosen the 150 for $300 less, but the store clerk’s advice not withstanding, the lower model did not have an analog input, only output. Gotta have the input for the bulletcams, you see. And now that I have 2 cameras I can shoot 2 bulletcams, one foreward and one backward, recording on 2 separate tapes, rather than switching between them during a ride. But the real seller for me was the external mic jack. I can hook up a clip-on lav mic or use a handheld mic for interviews and get really nice audio.

We’ll test it out on Saturday when we shoot the first segment for TrailTapes. The topic of the pilot episode is winter riding. Forecast for Saturday calls for snow showers. Perfect! We’ll talk about clothing to wear for cold weather riding, special setup of the bike, lights, insulated hydration pack hoses and a special tech tip on how to make studded tires. Watch for the pilot in February.

I am looking for “correspondents” to submit footage and stories or story ideas to the show. A correspondents may act as a “reporter,” to cover a mountain biking event, a “storyteller” with a feature or “how to” segment, or other mountain bike related topics. Potential topics for upcoming episodes include bike cops, choosing a lock, safe commuting, spin class, skate parks, trail-logues, trail building, trail etiquite, race coverage, preparing for a race, Chicago nite ride (held in July) and other event coverage as I can find “correspondents” to cover them. Coverage of major events like 24 hours of MOAB would be cool. And other general maintenance and tech tips like, how to change a tire or fix a broken chain while out on the trail. If your an avid mountain biker and ameture videographer and are interested in producing a segment for TrailTapes, please contact me.

It seems odd to me that there aren’t more mountain bike related podcasts. Maybe that’s because I’m a gadget freak, but oh well. The few I’ve found have been quite good. You can find them in the links.

I just subscribed to MTBCast.com hosted by Joe Polk. He’s based in the Atlanta, GA area, so, while there is some national mountain biking news, most of the content focuses on mtb issues in the southeast US. As of this post, there are only two episodes, the second recorded on Christmas morning. Apparently there was not much in Joe’s stocking. The Christmas episode has interesting news about Atlanta adding green space and converting old rail beds to bike trails. I’m looking forward to hearing about his planned road trip to MOAB.

Joe is literate and upbeat and the MTBCast.com podcast is well produced. Well worth the download.

 Sequence of Mountain Bike Video for Testing: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A short sequense of Mountain Bike Video to test the iTunes redirect.

New helmet-cam mountain bike video from Fort Custer, Battle Creek, MI. Went there in 2004 and returned in 2005 because the trails are so cool. This is the Crazy Beaver trail section. Looks to be relatively new, or at least rerouted in parts as there is some new, loose gravel. Or at least there was in July 2005, when I visited. Here is the video.

Helmet-cam mountain biking video of a late season nighttime group ride at Rock Cut State Park in Rockford, IL. Shot September, 2004.

Mountain biking video from the Trenches trail at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, MI, a WWI army training facility, now overgrown and a forest preserve. The trails are like a BMX track through the woods.

TrailTapes.com will soon offer TrailTapes: Mountain Bike TV, a video podcast, or “vodcast.” The show will feature interviews with mountain bikers, bike vendors and manufactureres, mechanics and other interesting people doing interesting things on mountain bikes. I plan to launch the show in February. Topics for the first couple episodes include:

• Winter Riding
• How to make your own studded tires
• Trail building to IMBA standards
• Bike tune-up tips for spring
• New products for 2006
• Ray’s Indoor MTB in Cleveland, OH (hopefully an interview with Ray, himself)

I hope to make it a monthly show that you’ll be able to subscribe to in your video-capable podcast aggregator, like iTunes, and watch on your iPod.

Here’s the opening sequence.

The helmet cam videos are sorta cool, but let’s face it. One, unless you’re in Moab or BC, one midwest trail look pretty much like another. After uploading the mountain bike videos on the videos page and figuring out how to make them into a video podcast, I thought, why not do a real Mountain Biking TV show. Make TrailTapes, Mountain Bike TV.

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Today I bit the bullet and bought an iPod. The new 60GB video iPod, capable of holding a zillion songs, photos and the latest episode of Desperate Housewives.

I’ve spent the better part of this evening importing my CD library into iTunes. But the really cool part to me is the podcasts. And with these new video capable iPods, the video Podcasts. So I’ve been searching iTunes and Google for mountain biking podcasts and especially video Podcasts. Here are a couple noteable ones.

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I’m planning a winter mountain biking vacation. Well, more of just a mountain biking trip for the weekend to, of all places, Cleveland, Ohio. When did Cleveland become a destination for mountain biking? Just a couple of years ago due to Ray’s MTB, indoor mountain biking.

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