Think you can cycle a long way?

Flabbergasted. Astonished. Respectful...even at time disbelieving. That was how I felt after reading 'Unsurpassed' the incredible story of Tommy Godwin...a long distance cyclist who has given new definition to the word 'endurance'.

The year was 1939. A 27 year old amateur cyclist from Stoke on Trent pedaled away from home to set about challenging a cycling magazine competition with a challenge to see who could cycle the farthest distance in a calender year, under club riding rules. Now here is the crazy part. 1 year later, Tommy had racked up a thigh screaming, buttock blistering 75,000 miles (120,00km). Yes, you read that correctly...an average of 205 miles per day, times 365. This was on a heavy steal bike, without modern nutrition (and in fact through war time Britain and rationing) and through a notoriously nasty winter.

To put this into perspective: A fit and trained cyclist can do a 100 miles in a day and be pretty much OK  the next day with good nutrition and a good nights sleep. 200 miles in a day is a whole new level that heads into Audax territory - and you just don't hear of riders being able to sustain anything close to that level of distance for weeks...let alone months...let alone a year.

At his peak in June, Tommy knocked out the following distances over consecutive days...in miles:

258
295
361
291
231

I just can't imaging riding 361 miles in a day, even with fresh legs! Astonishingly...at the end of his 1 year completely smashing all other records...in true Forrest Gump style but without the Hollywood script writers, Tommy kept on riding until he hit day 500, and with 100,000 miles done, and only 1 rest day!!

You would think after a ride like that he'd have earned a jolly good lie down - but 3 weeks later the war had caught up with Tommy and he was conscripted into the Army. Problem for the Army was, Tommy could still not walk properly yet!

The story of Tommy Godwin has further endearing quality's too because of his humble upbringing, complete lack of fame and ego...and for those who have pushed themselves physically on long rides can appreciate, the incredible mental strength and bloody mindedness he must have had to keep going. Really inspiring stuff...some great photos and information here if you are interested in his story.

His record still stands.

Contour Plus 2 Camera Review - Part 1 - Out of the Box

I recently purchased a Contour 2+ helmet camera, and thought I'd review impartially, and in detail how it fares. I'm going to do this in a couple of parts, first of all talking about what you get for your money, and then in part 2 after a bit more use, I'll look at the software, and some results from using it.

First of all, you need to know that Contour have gone bust. This is a great shame, and its probably bad news for anyone who brought a camera recently, and needs support. Parts of their website  are still up, but there are no official links available to download the "storyteller" software (which does not come with the device in it's packaging - more on that in a  minute) and there is also no support available on their website.

Contour devices are still being sold however! And consumers need to be aware that there some risk with buying one of these - if it breaks, you'll have to negotiate with the store you brought it from with regards to a refund. On the plus side, these camera's have dropped in price if you shop around, and you can get a quality product for a bargain. So first of all, here's what you get for your money.

Opening the box

It's an impressively tidy package, and the build quality of everything seems pretty good:

The Contour 2+ Comes with:

• Waterproof case: Looks solid & genuinely waterproof with a good seal - though I haven't tested it underwater yet. The case adds quite a bit of weight and if you were mounting it on the side of a cycle helmet, I think it would pull your head to the side too much. I'm not going to use this on my helmet.
• USB 2.0 cable
• Rubber lens cap
• Gigastone 4gb MircoSD card + SD Adaptor. It;s worth mentioning 4GB won't last you long (maybe 1 hour of full HD video recording). I purchased an additional 32GB micro SD separately.
• 2 adhesive mounting points + 1 spare adhesive pad for the rotating mount (see below)
• 1 Safety cord
• The Camera

Mounting

Out of the box you only get 2 mounts. The mounts are basically just rubber sliders with an adhesive back (made by 3M) that you stick to your helmet. I'm not sure I totally trust the adhesive backing to hold for long, and especially not if the the camera is in the waterproof case. The problem is that bike helmets don't actually have any fully flat surfaces on them. The mount does flex a bit, but I can still see a few small air pockets after attaching mine (and waiting overnight before use to let the seal form, as recommended).

The mount pictured above rotates so you can adjust the camera angle, and so far this rotation hasn't "slipped" on me. The Safety strap however, is not long enough to attach to the helmet (It's designed for goggles) but I'll make my own which will be easy. Note also the safety strap that comes "out of the box" only fits the adjustable mount pictured above. On its own, it looks like this:

Although its an additional $AUD 65-100, it's probably worth buying the bike mount kit. I cant see the mounts that come out of the box lasting forever, and if its wet, I'd mount the camera on the handlebars in the heavier case. Here's what you get with the separate bike mount kit:

Finally, a few useful links.

To the owners of contour, if you want these removed I will do so immediately on request. But it seems unfair to consumers, that the products are still on sale, yet your can't download the software. or even read the instruction manual, from your own support web site. The software (Contour Storyteller) is essential for configuring the device. For video editing, you can use either contour software, or any other video editing software. I will post more information about the software soon...

You can download both the instruction manual, and windows installer for Contour Storyteller from dropbox here .This is not my own link...it was found with a search engine and I take no responsibility for the content on there!

All in all, I'm enjoying using this so far. I immediately have noticed a difference in driver behaviour as well...if a motorist notices the camera, they tend to be more likely to behave with their driving.

I'll follow up with "Part 2" soon.