Fri Funny Vids

some SNL crew action with Mr Casablancas!

and another with Rihanna - so much content from these guys!

Angola in da' house

For those of you that know me, you know my heritage is Portugee....for those of you that really know me, you know that I was born in Angola.  Angola's recent history has included a long civil war with repercussions and consequences that are still being heavily felt to date.  The infrastructure was torn apart in the civil war and much of the country's natural resources were sold (and future rights) in order to fund the long lasting civil war.

The aftermath has left the country in shambles struggling with a landscape dotted by many many a land mine.  At one point Angola had the most land mines per square mile in the world.  The African story of poverty, disease, HIV has not spared Angola either.

Having been born in Angola, my ears are always piqued when I hear the country come up in an article, TV, conversation, etc...so it was with utter dismay when I read that Miss Angola had just been named Miss Universe!  Say what?  yup, an African sista' from my birth country is now Miss Universe, or Planet, or Galaxy, or whatever it is that 'The Donald' is calling it these days.

Hopefully this opens up a new chapter in Angola's history and the whole country will be able to gain some positive momentum and visibility to the rest of the world.  Hats off to Miss Angola...and lots of well wishes that this is a small step (hopefully the first of many) in the right direction.

Bozo-zone Bike Shop

After riding the Bangtail Divide trail on Saturday, I swung into a bike shop to get some beta on additional recommended rides in the area.  My policy is to usually go into a store ask for some beta and in exchange buy something in order to fulfill what I perceive to be my end of the obligation...

the exchange went something like this....

Me, "Hey guys, what is up?  I just got done riding Bangtail and was wondering if you could point me the direction of any additional sweet and recommended rides?"

Bike Shop, "So what ride did you just do?"

Me, "Bangtail Divide as a loop."

Bike Shop, "That is a nice ride."

Me, "Yeah, great ride and was hoping you could point other great rides."

Bike Shop, "Do you have the map?"

Me, "Yes and I was hoping you could point out other must-do's in the area" - at this point I realized that this conversation was going no-where....

Bike Shop, "They are ALL must do's - they are all awesome trails." - this seem to confirm my thought above....

Me, "So I there any trails you would recommend NOT doing" - thinking if I switched the line of questioning up I might get a little further....

Bike Shop (imagine Beavis & Butthead laugh at this point), "uhhh, yeah, the ones that don't have smoke and aren't on fire - huu haaa haa haa haa".

At this point I knew it was a lost cause and they had been about as helpful as someone pouring gasoline one of their aforementioned smokey firey trails so I proceeded to look around a while longer and left the store without spending a dime and with about as much insight on what to ride next.

I have compared Bozeman to the Republic of Boulder before and these funny little episodes just seem to confirm the validity of the comparisons.  It might have been a one off on the specific bike shop - fortunately the MTBR forum has a wealth of information regarding trail beta so there is definitely more than one way to skin a Bozone kitty cat.

MTB: Bangtail Divide

On the menu for the ride agenda for Saturday was a trip over to Bozeman to ride the much talked about Bangtail Divide trail.  It is a 31 mile loop (or 23 miles if you do it as a shuttle).  I opted for the loop since the return was around 7-8 miles on a paved road...once you got done with a little climb, it was mostly downhill back to the car.

The excitement of the day was seeing a bear barreling through the brush as I was bombing downhill and apparently spooked him/her.  I decided to keep the foot on the gas as it was on the uphill side of me and trying to run away.   As it turned out it was running sorta' parallel to me and going uphill at the same time to get away.  It stayed with me for a good few seconds and I kept watching as it hauled booty up the hill.  I was probably going close to 20 mph at that downhill section so he must have been going slightly faster to be busting off at an angle going uphill while more or less keeping pace.  Pretty damn cool!  I figured it was a good idea not to linger because I had no idea how big it was and whether it was young and mama bear was lurking somewhere....don't think I could have outridden a pissed off mama bear!

The Bangtail Divide trail parallels the Bridger range so once you gain the crest, it opens up into amazing views of the Bridgiers, with views of the Crazy's in the background too.

Looking West at the Bridgers

 looking South and capturing the Sotuh end of the Bridgers:

 Looking North and capturing the North end of the Bridgers:

 Obligatory bike portrait with the North end of the Bridgers:

Details of the ride:

I decided to do the route from south to north (or counter-clockwise) as this seem to be the way everyone recommended.  The ride starts with a 2000 ft climb up to the ridge where you roll along the ridgeline for a while and then get a really fun and fast downhill.  The uphill had many switchies but the trail was not all that steep or technical so it made the climbing plesant.  

Rumor has it that this was built as a bike specific trail but unfortunately, you can tell that moto's have been on it and have trashed sections of the trail with deep craters where they throttle it through the mud when conditions are still wet.  You had to pay particular attention to the downhills because you would scream around a corner and have to dodge pot-holes that would toss you off your bike in a NY minute.

 As can be seen from the topo below, there are killer views of the Bridgers (range snaking from bottom left to top left - or north to south in this case).

Tweedy vs Black Eyed Peas 2

Thanks for content hook up Dan-O!

more is better....this time Mr Tweedy sings some Black Eyed Peas...

Jeff Tweedy vs Black Eyed Peas

MEGA-CLASSIC - this is footage of Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) reading the poetry that is 'My Humps' by The Black Eyed Peas - in and of itself, the concept of someone reading lyrics does not sound all that interesting but this is FUNNY shizzle....

Jeff Tweedy recites "My Humps" from Jasmine D on Vimeo.

MTB Brakes Mechanical Vs Hydraulic

For the past few years, I have struggled with the pro's / con's of using Mechanical Disc brakes versus Hydraulic Disc brakes.

I have always leaned towards the mechanical set-up and the more research uncovered that it was a better choice for me.  As with many things, it is a personal preference and arguments can be made either way as to what makes the most sense.

Below are some of the pro's/con's to the mechanical setup:

• Mechanical Bennies:
• Weight - lighter than Hydro's
• Easy installation and adjustment
• Easy Maintenance
• Easier to fix on the trail if something goes wrong
• No issues with pads touching and locking
• Less $
• Easy pad adjustment and modulation
• no 'air bubbles' in lines, etc
• Mechanical Con's:
• less 'linear' progression vs Hydros
• less finger power needed

Hydro Brakes:

• Hydro Bennies
• Less pressure needed to engage brakes (less white knuckling action)
• More of a linear progression on brake engagement
• Better 'stopping power'
• Hydro Con's
• Heavier
• More $
• Higher maint - bleeding of cables
• More 'finicky' - brakes pads touching creates all sorts of problems (inadvertently grabbing the brake levers without the disc will cause some pain)!
• Difficult trailside maintenance if something breaks
• Less straight-forward pad adjustment (if needed)

I have ridden the mechanicals for about 10 yrs now and have seen the wife tinker with hydraulic setups for a while.  Having seen the higher maintenance required for hydro's has made my mind up for my preference.  I give up a little on the stopping power (still have plenty for being able to stop very quickly). That could be easily offset by moving to a bigger rotor (185) size as I am currently running the 160 (especially with 29'r wheel setups).

All in all, I have been super psyched with the Avid BB7 mechanical setup.  Big Thumbs up!