Bicycle Eyes is the work of Don Johnson, a writer/cyclist/runner who lives in rural east-central Indiana.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m a full-time free-lance writer who specializes in the antiques industry. I know what you’re thinking, ”Can you make a living at that?” Let me put it this way — I’m still feeding my family, the mortgage gets paid every month, and I’ve got a couple of shiny bikes that keep me happy both on the road and in the woods.
ABOUT THE BIKES
My road bike is a 2005 Giant OCR C2 which has more than 20,000 road miles. Before I was a cyclist, I was a runner. Nothing in the world compares to a marathon. When I gave up distance running for roughly 15 years due to a recurring injury, I felt practically gutted. Cycling put my innards back. There’s just something about being on a road bike.
My mountain bike is a 2008 Giant Trance 2. It replaced an off-the-shelf Schwinn that got me started biking during the summer of 2004. The Schwinn was great for puttering around that first season, but it was certainly not the bike for a long-term relationship. It was donated to an Indianapolis mission when I bought the Trance. After several years of mountain biking, I’m hooked. I love it more every time I go out.
ABOUT THE CAMERA
The pictures you see in this blog were mostly taken with an Olympus Stylus 770 SW. (That line is now known as the Olympus Tough.) Other than the small size, which means it easily fits in a jersey pocket, the Stylus 770 SW has three features that make it the perfect bike camera. First and foremost, it’s shockproof. You can drop it, and it still works. Having bounced it off the pavement during a ride, I can attest that the little bugger is tough. Second, it’s waterproof. No need to worry about a little rain. You can take this guy scuba diving and not fear that it’s going to go belly up. Finally, its freezeproof. Olympus claims the camera works down to 14 degrees. I’ve had it on colder rides, and it shot just fine. As an added bonus, it’s also crushproof, should you happen to sit on it. The Olympus goes with me on almost every ride and on many runs.
