By the time you read this, I will be in Croatia. I am on the airplane now and I can’t remember an International flight being so bumpy. I tried listening to several books I’d downloaded, but I don’t have patience for them. I tried reading a play a friend wrote. I can’t concentrate on that either. I need to get my mind in a happy place because I feel trapped.

I am thinking about a cyclist I stopped on the street the other day because I couldn’t believe the contraption he had mounted on his helmet. I have been around gadgets my whole career so nothing should phase me, but this caught my eye. As far as I’m concerned, this had a big wow factor.

I saw the cyclist going West on E. 61st and Second Avenue. Lucky for me, he had to stop for a red light.

I didn’t hesitate. I went right up to him, “Hi, what is that on your helmet? At first I think I startled him because he hesitated. Then he realized I was being sincere, so he pulled his bike closer to the curb so I could get a better look.

I knew it was a camera, but it was so sexy looking I needed a better look. The cyclist told me it was a video camera made by Hero2 and sold on Amazon.  I took a picture of the him wearing the unit and then I found a close up of it on the Internet, so I could show you the intricacies. Seeing someone using a video camera is not that unusual, but seeing it mounted that way was very intriguing.

Without much coaxing, he told me he tapes his bike routes so that he can share them with other cyclists looking for interesting paths. As we know from Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, sharing on the Internet is very trendy, especially for people with hobbies. They get a real charge out of sharing their discoveries. It is very important that cyclist know scenic, yet safe roads. Manhattan is a tough course.  These videos are for all interested parties.

I guess that is why my new young friend was offering his expertise. He told me he had other video cameras before but this one was the lightest and easiest to use. “It is very important that I don’t feel off balance when I ride. The whole idea is not to be aware that it is sitting on my helmet,” he explained.

When he finally drove off toward Third Avenue, I thought to myself that gadgets are a great conversation piece. I just met a stranger and we instantly bonded over a common interest. How beautiful is that?