Android Apps and Software make this work.

99 days left to the start of our fully loaded, self-supported, bicycle tour from Vancouver, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Technically it’s starting at the Rocky Point boat launch in Port Moody June 1st. I have this romantic notion of dipping my bicycle’s wheels in the salt water of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans but not enough to start the tour in say Tofino or Victoria on Vancouver Island to make it truly coast to coast. I figure there’s enough of the Pacific Ocean mixed in with the head waters of Burrard Inlet to satisfy this need and in the process avoid the 125 kilometer distance from Mile Zero Monument in Victoria, BC to Port Moody if we had planned our start there. A win-win compromise in my mind.

99 days left to the start of our tour means tying up loose ends such as making sure posts to Blogger and Facebook from my smartphone are without problems. This means a few test runs on the bike posting pictures and words are needed. Mmmnn....it's going to be awhile. It's -4 out there as I type.

In this post I will list what Android Apps and software I am utilizing to journal on and off line using only my phone, card readers and a bluetooth keyboard.

Nexus Media Importer. An Android App that allows me to attach a flash drive or an SD card  reader without rooting my phone. This makes it possible to upload pictures taken with my Lumix DMC TS4 camera to Blogger, Facebook and Google Drive.

X-plore. A file manager for mobile phones that will allow me to move files to and from my phone, SD cards and Google Drive.

Google Drive. 15 GB of free storage on the web. I'm still working on integration of Google Docs (Part of Google Drive) with Google's Blogger. Working offline with Google Docs is an issue.

Blogspot's Blogger. It's free and easy use. Word processing and adding pictures off line is simple. You can have your post edited and ready to upload when you find a free WiFi connection.

Only 99 days to the start of our tour. I guess I better get back on the "Hamster wheel" and put in some more interval hours.

I Ain't Carrying No Laptop

The electronic equipment I'm replacing my laptop with.

I can recharge my smartphone about four times with this external battery.

This folding Keyboard is surprisingly comfortable to use.

  

This Micro USB card reader allows me t transfer pictures taken with my Lumix DMC-ST4 to my Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone. From the phone I can upload to this Blogger page, Facebook or deposit them in Google Drive using my phones data connection or an available Wifi connection.

The On-The-Go cable connector or OTG as it is called allows me to back-up my photos on another size card as an option.

And this basically replaces my laptop for the trip. Quarter the weight and quarter the size. Screen size of my phone would be a deal breaker for most but what I'm using it for I'm happy with the compromise.

My Android based Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus Prime GT-i9250. It's a couple of years old but does the trick.

I'll talk about the android software needed to make this work in my next post.

Kootenay Ride

Chain lubed. Tires aired up. Brake and shift cables adjusted. As I wheel the bike out the basement door, I notice it's a little cooler than I thought it would be. Oh well, I'm not going back to put another layer on. I'm already running an hour later than planned so I will just have to push a little harder to turn the furnace up. Before I swing a leg over the top tube, I enable the GPS function on my Smartphone and turn on the cool little app that records everything a bike nerd like myself would want. Finally! I quickly click in and push off only to find myself struggling to keep things up right. Of course I forgot to move the chain up the cassette after giving it a lube. The little rise up the street is enough to keep one from mashing through a few pedal strokes in that high a gear. I'm pretty quick at flicking a heel out to unclip my shoe from the unnervingly strong grip, to some people, of the clipless pedal. Twenty-four years of practice clicking in and out helps. It wasn't such an automatic move when I first started using clipless pedals. A friend and I on a loaded bicycle tour heading out of Vancouver for the Sunshine Coast had stopped just before crossing the Lion's Gate Bridge. My friend was waiting for me so I pulled up to his left and promptly fell over onto the roadway. While I was making my stop, I tried putting my left foot down the way I always have by sliding my foot back and out from under the leather toe strap. But my foot remained anchored to the pedal and I fell over like a two legged stool. As I lay on the road in a fetal potion expecting my head to be squished under the front wheel of a passing car, I twist my feet out of my new clipless pedals and stand my bike up checking for damage. Luckily for me there was no car or driver of a car to see me make the classic mistake of a cyclist toppling to the ground. My friend stood there and chuckled while he asked if I was OK.

Last time I made that mistake. Thought I was going to die.

This is just a test sample of an attempt to journal with my Smartphone and a Bluetooth folding keyboard. This will be how I post during my cross Canada bicycle tour this summer. I will be posting to Blogger and Facebook if you want to follow. I will also be using a micro usb reader to move my pictures from my camera, a Lumix DMC-TS4, to my Samsung Galaxy Nexus which has no card slot so software is involved. More on this later.