JonPatrickHyde
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JonPatrickHyde

Eagle Bicycles Z-Series Aero Road Bicycle Review

Eagle Bicycles is a USA-based designer/manufacturer of performance/professional quality bicycles and bicycle components. I was selected in 2017 to represent the company as one of 12 Ambassadors. Eagle sent me their top-of-the-line racing road bicycle, a Z-Series Z3 model. Equipped with custom carbon aerobars, deep dish carbon aero rims, a state-of-the-art carbon aero frame, and Shimano Ultregra Di2 electronic shifting, this bicycle has been the fastest, best balanced bicycle road bicycle I've ever ridden. I've had the bike 9 months now and I've put 9,121 miles on it. The video below was shot after 6 months and 6,000 miles. https://youtu.be/tS6tauBFknc Eagle sells their bicycles direct - no retail markup and no middle-man - so this amazing bicycle is half of what other similar bikes cost. It's an amazing ride!
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JonPatrickHyde
Photos of the Delta IV NROL-47 - US National Reconnaissance & US Air Force - from Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Platform #6. Shot from 2 miles away with a Nikon D4s and Nikkor 500mm f/4 AF-S II lens. 1/1600th second, f/8 @ ISO 100. I used a ProMediaGear Tomahawk gimbal on a professional heavy Manfrotto monopod to track the rocket. I followed it through its second stage (1st stage rocket booster separation).
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JonPatrickHyde

The Thomas Fire - Air Battle for Santa Barbara

The Thomas Fire is poised to become the largest wildfire in the history of California. It has burned 253,000 acres, including nearly 1,000 structures, and has claimed 2 lives. (UPDATE - Thomas DID become the largest fire in California History until just recently being dethroned by the Mendocino Complex Fire which as of this writing - September 13th, 2018 - is STILL burning). 153 fire crews with over 8,300 fire personnel manning over 1,000 fire engines are fighting the active fire lines. The problem is that the mountain range that surrounds Santa Barbara is very steep and very dangerous. There are few access roads to many of the more remote peaks. And many land owners have built sizeable homes in the most precarious locations along the mountainside. This means that the only effective way to fight the fire and prevent further structure damage is from the air. Currently there are 32 helicopter crews assigned to the Thomas Fire and 6 fixed wing aircraft crews. The majority of these crews can only fly during daylight. And they are limited to 7 hours of flight time per day. None of the fixed wing aircraft are flown at night. currently only 2 helicopter crews are rated for night flight.
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JonPatrickHyde

Thomas Fire Damage - Ventura, California - December 6th, 2017

Burning forward at an incredible speed - growing to 96,000 acres in 48 hours - the Thomas Fire has been the most destructive force the City of Ventura has ever experienced. Hundreds of homes and structures destroyed, tens of thousands of people displaced. And this monster shows no signs of weakening as it rips westward along the California Coast. ABOVE - in this neighborhood - only a few homes were spared from the wrath of the Thomas Fire. I used to regularly cycle through this neighborhood. I documented the catastrophic damage to a friend's family home - her parents, brother, and grandmother have lost everything they own. It was shocking how many cars were left behind and destroyed. This fire consumed anything in its path. At one point the fire wall was clocked moving at 20 miles per hour - consuming an acre a second - driven by high winds that gusted at 70 miles per hour. The fire jumped roads and quickly consumed anything in its path. Nothing in its path survived. This fire burnt through this neighborhood in just a few hours, leaving chared vehicles and piles of rubble that were once homes.
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JonPatrickHyde

Surviving A Widowmaker Heart Attack

October 14th, 2016 I woke up around 3am with the worst chest pain I've ever had. The second I sat up, it went away. "That's odd." I remember thinking. I got up and walked downstairs to get some water. I felt fine and thought it was just something oddball and perhaps even something I was dreaming about. I walked back upstairs and went back to sleep. An hour later I woke up with the exact same thing. This time it took a few seconds after I sat up for the pain to subside. I decided it had to be connected to the chest/sinus infection I was getting over. I got up and went downstairs, turned on the news and started my coffee. I ate a bowl of cereal and sat on the couch until 8am when a friend of mine who happens to be a cardiologist gets into his office. I called and we spoke and he suggested I come in for a visit at 10:30am.
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JonPatrickHyde

2017 Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod Di2 Disc

I just picked up this wickedly cool, ultra-advanced, pedal-rocket and have only spent 24 hours with it. The 2017 Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod (for high modulus carbon - ballistic quality carbon fiber weave) Ultegra Di2 Disc is Cannondale's top of the line carbon framed road endurance bicycle. My first ride was down through Santa Barbara, CA - to the Pacific Ocean and back. About 20 miles on dedicated cycling paths. Santa Barbara is riddled with dedicated cycling paths which criss cross the city allowing cyclists to safely traverse the many busy roads and the 101 Freeway (which cuts through the middle of the city). Nestled between a tall mountain range and the Pacific Ocean with only a mile or so between the two - there's not a lot of room for streets so traffic is often congested and from a cyclist's point of view - very dangerous. There are many trails and courses that allow cyclists to move across the city from the mountains to the ocean with safety and ease. It's a great place to live if you love cycling. Team Cannondale/Garmin train here in the spring before the Tour of California - which Stage 3 traditionally ends in downtown Santa Barbara but last year for the first time in the history of the tour ended at the top of Gibralter Road, a punishing 5,000 ft climb. The Synapse is the perfect bicycle for this part of California. It's hybrid geometry - a mix between racing performance and long touring comfort are well suited to the climbs, flats, and curving paths all throughout the region. Designed for long rides or for rides over rough roads (such as cobblestones - ala Tour de France type riding) the Hi-Mod "BallisTec" carbon frame is specially designed to absorb road vibrations while remaining rigid enough to transfer the majority of your pedalling efforts effectively to the drivetrain and the road. Equipped with Shimano's Ultegra Di2 drivetrain - powered by what Cannondale claims is the lightest and most effective crank and chainring system in the World - the aluminum Hollogram SI and Spidering crank system, this model Synapse is an effecient and powerful machine.
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JonPatrickHyde

FIKS:Reflective - Cycling Safety Gear That's Cool!

Ever dream about riding a Light Cycle from the movie "Tron"? Put these reflective decals on your bicycle by FLIKS:Reflective and you'll look the part as you cycle down the street. I've used these on my bikes the last few years (I've included a couple of shots of my older Cannondale which I used two different colors on the rims to match the paint scheme). They are incredibly effective in making you highly visible in low light conditions. Just a note - each sheet does both sides of a single rim. So when ordering - you need to order two sheets if you want to do both front and back rims on both sides. Add light to these decals and they immediately reflect an enormous amount of light back at the source. And as you can see - hit these decals with a direct light source (such as the flash on your phone's camera) and they explode with bright light.
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JonPatrickHyde

Hard Knock Life - Christmas 2016

It's not like prime lounge space isn't to be had in my house. But sometimes you just want to lay on someone who is laying in your favorite spot. When I die - I want to be reincarnated as one of my cats... They have it made... they just lounge around all day - sleeping (or playing) between meals. Or they hog the fireplace all to themselves... Or they sleep on a soft/warm blanket on the couch... Or nap on the dining room table chairs... (ignore the Frenchie behind the chair - he's just visiting for the holidays)...
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Bio
I'm a director of photography (cinema), commercial illustrator, & Nikon Professional Photographer. I'm the Founder of Summit4CAD.org - Cyclists Against Coronary Artery Disease.
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