Test Route: Tualatin River NWR Loop
In the overflow loop at the closed-for-the-pandemic Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in Sherwood, Oregon.
One of the benefits of having postponed this spring’s Nevada BDR trip with my brother Eric is that I’ve got time to work out details I hadn’t spent much time on, like how best to plan routes of my own, getting more comfortable with action cameras (currently I have a single GoPro, but I’m looking at others), and developing a video editing style that I can apply to trips both short and long.
Last Friday (my forced COVID day off from my day job) I took a quick spin on the Quota to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and then looping back via farm country. All in all, it was about an hour or so. Along the way I experimented with a couple of mounting positions for the Hero 7 camera while also working out the best way to control it. I liked the phone control, but, of course, you can’t be on a navigation app and the GoPro app at the same time. I do have a Garmin Montana, but it’s a bit much sometimes when compared with how easy it is to use Google Maps (if you can get Maps to do what you want).
The Map
I didn’t actually plan this route ahead, but when I got home I mapped out what I had done in Google My Maps and used that map as an anchor for the video.
Goole Maps has its shortcomings and the jury is out, for me anyway, on relying on Google Maps to navigate any serious adventure travel. If you leave the road system, it’s out. Period. But, there are a lot of “roads” that are plenty challenging and fun for big adventure bikes, which is what keeps me wondering if maybe it could be up for the job. I’ve already been using My Maps to research and plan future off-highway routes (gravel, dirt, two-track) that are all public roads. There’s an embarrassment of riches close enough to me for day rides, starting with Tillamook State Forest. Those rides will become the topics of future videos (a series!). And through those rides I’m sure I’ll develop a more researched opinion on what Google Maps really can be use for (and what it can’t).
The Video
I had a lot of fun putting this together with iMovie, and I think I’ve hit on a style and format that I like. The idea for this video series would be to always publish a map and the video at the same time, rounded out with a blog post. If you wanted, you could go do the ride yourself. Or, you can just enjoy the video. Either way, let me know what you think!
