Field Journal: Lights, Camera, Pedal!
Vince Patton, Producer/Reporter
Sunday, February 03, 2008 — I want this on the record. Jeanne Gostnell is an angel with legs of steel. Nick Fisher has great stamina and balance. And I had the easiest job of the week.
Jeanne and her husband were two of only 19 people who have ridden in all 20 Cycle Oregon rides. We were following Jeanne as we covered the 20th anniversary ride.
Nick is the Oregon Field Guide videographer who got all the creative shots of Jeanne and the others pumping those pedals for 50 to 70 miles a day.
All I did was drive the van.
Jeannne let us put a camera the size of a lipstick tube on her helmet for a personal “point of view” shot.
The camera was connected to a recorder hanging in a fanny pack from the back of her bike.
Talk about patience. She’d ride a nice long stretch, we’d meet at pull out and check the tape. Nothing. The recorder had shut down.
So we tried again. Another long ride. She pulls over. Nothing.
Something was turning off the recorder. The Start/Stop button was getting bumped in that fanny pack. So we turned it over, taped the button into position and sent Jeanne on her way a third time.
After she careened down another long stretch she pulled over. We opened it up, checked the tape, and voila! It worked. It took 45 minutes to get one shot that might last only a few seconds on your screen.
Other shots came from Nick’s camera as he leaned out the open van door to shoot Jeanne pedaling. To shoot Jeanne panting. To shoot Jeanne struggling. To shoot Jeanne cruising. 
All I had to do was pace the van’s speed to Jeanne’s, keep a safe distance from the riders and watch for oncoming traffic on the narrow mountain road from Oakridge to Rainbow.
(Other photos here.)
At one point we mounted a small camera with a suction cup to the roof of the back of the van. Nick then operated it with a remote control while standing and hanging out the van’s open sliding door. It captured a neat angle looking head-on to the bicyclists behind us.
Jeanne never once complained about the exhaust we undoubtedly sent her way.
I’m amazed at the stamina 2,000 people have to ride 500 miles over 7 days. I don’t know how they manage it.
By the way, my colleague at OPB Radio, Casey Negreiff, rode his first Cycle Oregon this same year. You can read or hear his take on what it’s like for a first time rider.
