Archive for the ‘Video’ Category

This month, I’ve been doing a daily video on Chris Is Proud Of You. Each video is a short/reel/tiktok that reminds you that you’re great and should be proud of yourself.

It’s been fun but challenging. I originally thought it would be relatively easily to short a portrait video each day. I could shoot it on my phone and upload it directly from there. But the time it took to write something meaningful to day, get the sound right, get the lighting right, do even minor edits, encode and upload turned out to be a lot of time.

The videos were well received and I was pleased to provide some additional content for my students. But nothing went viral. I clocked up around 17,000 views on TikTok and 3,000 on Instagram, which is tiny numbers in the grand scheme of things. YouTube numbers aren’t in yet as the videos are still being published there. All in all, it has been a fun month but also a relief to take a breather.

This month, I’m hosting a daily series of classes on the theme of resilience. We’ll be doing movement, breathing, mindfulness and meditation classes with a new one every day and all free on YouTube. You can subscribe to the Holbeck College YouTube channel to get all of the classes.

I cycled down to Bray to see the air show. Much better on a bike as most of the roads were closed but the guards were waving bikes through. Saturday was sunny but Sunday was nice enough. Some rain on the way back but still warm. Here are some videos.

Catalina flying boat

The Flying Dentist

Aer Lingus A320neo

I’m now so old that Vine came and went before I ever really knew what it was. But I have jumped into the world of #shorts on YouTube. Here is my first attempt, before I realised that the YouTube app has the ability to overlay a ghost image to help you line clips up.

The 7in7 challenge may be over, but you can relive the adventure vis the video below.

The Endura FS260 is a rain cape designed for cycling. Capes are lightweight and stuff into your jersey pocket when you are not wearing them, so you can set off with it in your pocket knowing that if it starts raining you will be able to pull another layer on.

In my opinion, the FS260 is a great option. It’s far below the super-expensive Gortex £300 options, and if you pick the correct colour (some are cheaper than others) you can get it for less than £50.

It does a good job of protecting me from the rain, although will not keep me dry in heavy showers. It also does a good job at keeping my warm and I often take it as an alternative to arm warmers.

The back covers my jersey pockets to keep everything dry.

The sleeves are a little long and it is not skin-tight, so if you are in a race situation, you are going to cause a fair bit of drag compared to something like a Gabba jersey.

Overall, highly recommended for cyclists, and it works well when running, too.

The Garmin HRM-Dual is a heart rate monitor that I do not like. It has no internal memory and I keep seeing drop-outs on Zwift.

Worst still, though, when it comes to replacing the battery you have to unscrew the back. And Garmin’s official website recommends a Philips #0 head screwdriver: but it’s actually a #00. I figured this out too late and now my heart rate monitor is ruined (and on it’s way back to Garmin).

If you can live without Bluetooth in your heart rate monitor then get the Garmin HRM-Tri. Otherwise, get the Polar H10.

I’ve been running some yoga classes for the triathlon club. Below, you can find a 46-minute flow class designed to open up your hips: it is great for running, cycling, sport in general or just building some strength and flexibility. There are more classes on the way so drop me a message if you want to join them live.

How do you keep your feet warm during winter cycling? In this video, I will compare regular socks with the Pactimo wool winter socks and Rapha winter socks, as well as discussing what else I do to keep my feet warm when the temperature gets down towards zero.

The Mavic Crossmax SL Pro Thermo shoe is a winter cycling boot. It supports SPD (mountain bike) cleats but Mavic also produces a road version named Ksyrium Pro Thermo that supports SPD-SL cleats.

My hands and feet get very cold on the bike so I have been on a long quest to work out how to keep them warm. These shoes are the closest I have come so far. They do an excellent job of keeping the wind and rain out so when coupled some winter socks your feet should stay toasty.

They have a lot of fastenings. There is a zip along the front and velcro around the ankle. You can tighten it using a boa dial. Once you have the boots on, you can ignore the zip and velcro and just tighten using the dial. My socks do sometimes get caught in the velcro when putting them on.

They are reasonably light. I measured one shoe at 582 grams, which is only 10 grams more than my summer Mavic shoes. That said, my summer Mavic shoes (573 grams) are heavy compared to non-cycling shoes or even my Shimano triathlon bike shoes which come in at around 350 grams each. For a boot, they feel pretty reasonable.

I am a size 11 in a running shoe and I go for an 11.5 when I buy Mavic. That said, they are generously sized, allowing me to get my big socks in them, so I could probably have gone with an 11 as well. They are pricy, so it depends on how much you value warm feet.