The Kodak Zx1 pocket camera

Was given a great gift today, and it´s always great to be given a present, especially when this gift is a way cool new gadget... It is the Kodak Zx1 pocket camera.



The point of this camera is to easily shoot HD footage, to be used on YouTube or whatever. This particular pocket camera is ruggedized, and all buttons are rubberized. So sand and spots of water will be no issue, because of this rubberization as well as the fact that all ports (USB, SD etc.) are sealed off with thick rubber seals.

The camera comes with a cover, so that small incidents such as a massive MTB wipe out, will not matter as much (for the camera anyway). It also ships with a special mount strap, such that it can be easily mounted onto say a helmet or perhaps the handle bars of an MTB.

This newby to pocket cameraism will set out tomorrow on an MTB trail. I will be on a mission to bring you some glorious footage from the mountains of Madrid.

Hasta la próxima
Douwe

Camino del Norte planned for 2010

Following this year's Camino to Santiago (St. James Way) from Madrid, we are planning for another and similar adventure in the new year. In April or May we will be heading out on the Camino del Norte.

The Northern Way (Spanish: Camino del Norte) runs from France at Irún and follows the northern coastline of Spain to Galicia where it heads inland towards Santiago joining the Camino Francés at Arzúa. This route follows the old Roman road, the Via Agrippa, for some of its way and is part of the Coastal Route (Spanish: Ruta de la Costa).



This Camino will be a little bit longer than the one completed this year (820 km vs. 740 km.). It will also be quite different in other respects. As it largely follows the coast lines of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia, it will present us with many short climbs. All in all though, at first rough calculations, it will be an overall climb that exceeds the cumulative climbing we did on the '09 trail. Needless to say, we have started getting in shape for this 820 km feast that we will want to complete in 7 days. One thing's for sure, we will be eating well, as the regions we will cycle through are well known for its good food.

More on our preparations in upcoming posts.

Hasta la próxima
Douwe

A good weekend with two separate trails

Madrid has a number of really great spots for mountainbiking, of which many are really close to the city. Yesterday we decided to do a trail in El Pardo, a large nature reserve of which part is open to the public.

It is just north west of the city, and surrounds the village of El Pardo. This is partly known for the palace of El Pardo, which during the Franco years was the private residence of Franco himself. In below picture you can see Frans posing in front of this palace.

The MTB trails in El Pardo are great, but there is a lot of loose beach-like sand, so cutting corners here and there proved to be rather tricky. Only one minor crash though.



Today another trail in the Casa de Campo, and it is amazing how many hidden trails this gigantic city forest still has for me. Today I discovered a number of trails I had never been on before. I also descended the dreaded hill where I crashed the other day... this time I made it down OK. Casa de Campo is real popular with Madridś MTBers, and the restaurants at Lago usually serve as the watering hole for after a descent work-out.



We have started planning our next Camino, for 2010, and are considering doing the Camino del Norte. Essentially along the coast from San Sebastian in the Basque country, to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Among other great sights this will take us over the Picos de Europa. Cannot wait, we are condidering anywhere between March and June. We will be training through the winter, wanna make sure I'll be fit for this one. More on our plans in upcoming posts.

Hasta la próxima
Douwe