Recession DIY: Bicycle Camera Mount

There are only a few short days before I embark on the Ride to Conquer Cancer. It's one of those rare moments when I can say that I've trained enough for this event. I've sweated through my 90-minute spin classes. I've been running outdoors. I've been biking outside. I've even set a new record on my Wii Fit playing "Table Tilt" because I have quads of steel now.

I'm excited about the upcoming 200km bike ride this weekend. I figure that I may never do this again, so I wanted to catch it all on film. Obviously I could get photos of my teammates and I standing around, but I really wanted to get "on-the-bike" footage. I wanted to put a camera on my bike... but does such a device exist?

A quick Google search revealed that you can put a camera on your bike... and you can make such an attachment yourself! There are several ways to do this, but I've followed the method suggested by Michael Hanscom. I foraged for an old rear-mounted light attachment and purchased some nuts, bolts, and washers at Canadian Tire. Sure enough, the assembly went smoothly and my camera fits in snug and securely.

My primary concern is that my camera would fall out during my bike ride and smash onto the road in a terrible way. The camera I'm using is a light point-and-shoot. As a bonus, it's waterproof. (Pentax Optio W30) Despite my fears, I'm pretty confident the camera and mount will both make it through the long ride. We'll know for sure when I update this blog on Monday.

If you would like to construct a camera mount for your bike, you can check out the following websites:

• DIY Bicycle Camera Mount (Michael Hanscom)
• Building a Bicycle Camera Mount (Camera Hacker)
• Bicycle Camera Mount for under $1 (Indestructables)