20110902
20110701
3 years! part two of two
Many things change during this 3 years:- Nokia N78 (95% of my photos are from little beauty),
- a used Marzocchi MX Comp 105mm ETA '06 (did a revolution in my XC skills),
- discovered Rush (it's the best band ever),
- Sushi (my beloved cold metal friend),
- Adobe CS4 (blow my mind in happiness and creativity),
- discovered a super girlfriend,
- 3 CamelbaK backpacks (Scudo LE, Fairfax and The Don)
- Walkman X1060 (could this be the best mp3 sound I ever heard?),
- rented a very small apartment in Lisbon,
- create and documented a alternative pop loc/push loc for my RS Pike (university project),
- death of my mother,
- Stan's NoTubes conversion kit,
- I dropped university,
- new glasses
- lack of money
- ...
All in all, right now a enjoy a excellent life quality, although I still don't possess a freezer.
For example, I live 25min (biking) from Monsanto, which is biggest park in Lisbon and it's 1 of 3 major mountain biking spots (the others are Arrábida e Sintra).
20110630
Panasonic?!
No, actually was Panaracer tires that I saw last week. A friend of mine bought 2x Panaracer Rampage 2.35", 2x CG All Condition 2.35" and 2x CG AM 2.35".
In a near future I'll give my point of view about these tires, just like I did before with the OOP Mountain King 2.4" UST, Continental's MK 1st generation.
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| Panaracer should always use pink! |
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| AM 58-559 |
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| All-Condition 58-559 |
 |
| Green and yellow for excellent and good traction. Red is no good. |
20110504
Timing and tired!
Today the water company came to "open" the water for the new headquarters of Jorgex's MTB points of view and it's big sister blog Jorgex & Sushi.
There are some photos here but tomorrow I'll buy a heater, install it myself and Friday is the inspection/activation. Saturday and Sunday will be for moving my stuff. Next week is my birthday!
Very little time because I still have to do 9 hours at work every single day. :(
There are some photos here but tomorrow I'll buy a heater, install it myself and Friday is the inspection/activation. Saturday and Sunday will be for moving my stuff. Next week is my birthday!
Very little time because I still have to do 9 hours at work every single day. :(
20110228
3 years! - part one of two
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| Hydrate or Dry... Or Die! |
Today I did not pedal. I went to the local cinema house and watched 127 Hours with a couple of friends. They laugh about it because the main character uses a camelbak or a camel bladder just like me! Yes, Jorgex goes to work with The Don 2010 from camelbak.
The Don is far from perfect, however it does carry lots of useless stuff like:
- 3L of H2O
- Nokian N78 cellphone
- Wallet
- Smart Wallet (Lezine tire levers, Topeak Mini 18+ and a Leatherman)
- MacBook Pro 13.4"
- WB external something 3.5" 2TB (on week end) or a 16GB pen drive (during week days)
- Interweb from Vodafone
- Deoderant
- ZON paper work
- ZON neck leash - wasabi color
- 2 notebooks
- 3 pens (2 blue and 1 black)
- 4 chains (Wippermann and a Rohloff S-L-T 99)
- Buff, cap and a black mountain bike rain coat from AGU
- Wallkman 1060X, USB cable and AKG Q350
- ZON's Stress Ball (super useful before, during and after customer phone call)
- 1 or 2 Ramen to dinner at work, with 1 bowl and a fork
- 1 orange/mango juice
- Power bars
- Always carry one magazine like MBR, TopGear or portuguese mags like Exame Informática (to outsmart/retain ZON clients), Visão.
- Home keys
In the end, I carry to many things inside The Don. It's a well made frameless pack. By the way, The Don is very stable when the bladder is full (of water or air)... I forget what I was thinking.
Anyway, my friends and colleagues from work are starting to understand the way of Jorgex. (^_^")
P.S. - Unlike the main caracter from 127 Hours, I hear crappier music. Recently I start hearing Rhapsody, Death and Blood Stain Child. I'm a sucker for metal.
20101229
20101217
Christmas
Guess what, it's Christmas time. Time to get your presents lists ready to dispatch to old Santy Claus over on the North and get ready for the new year approaching. We wish you all the best gifts possible, let all of us get merry round-shaped presents, cardboard boxes from CRC and the like and then start enjoying all the new kits, parts and gizmos for 2011.
Merry X-Mas everyone!
Merry X-Mas everyone!
20101214
Crappy life...
In the end of the day, this is my life:
I'm a few inches away from poorness. The only kind of work I do/find is telemarketing and I receive 2.5€ per hour, which is very low to survive in Portugal. By the way, I'm living in a friend's room. I can't rent my own apartment!
I worked many years as collaborator in windsurf events (national and international), 1 year in an atelier doing serigraphy (does this work exists in english?), 2 months in Decathlon (cycling department) as salesman/mechanic assistance, 4 months in telemarketing doing inbound (selling snail slime, reader's digest, herbs/teas, ear devices for two companies, plus outbound in ZON in prospect department (selling ZON cable tv for people that never had cable tv or had the competition) and right now I'm in retention department (holding back our clients).
Although, ZON offers the best TV, Phone and Interweb services, the portuguese population thinks that the competition is best when ZON was the lowest prices and most benefits. How can I fight against old people that are with PT phone for 30 or more years and PT (MEO/Sapo/TMN) offers a very basic 3 play services? It's very hard to convince this people. There is a moral code that once a portuguese sign a contract, they are loyal to the end.
I also work a lot with Adobe Acrobat CS4 and PhotoShop CS4. I do a few things in Illustrator CS4 and I dominate MS Office 2007 and MS Office 2008 (Mac), yet no one want's this photoshop services.
Did I tell you that I'm a finalist in Materials Engineering? (O_O)
Life is unbearable in Portugal and IMF is coming in March 2011...
I have an empty life. :(
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| Poor Sushi and I... |
I worked many years as collaborator in windsurf events (national and international), 1 year in an atelier doing serigraphy (does this work exists in english?), 2 months in Decathlon (cycling department) as salesman/mechanic assistance, 4 months in telemarketing doing inbound (selling snail slime, reader's digest, herbs/teas, ear devices for two companies, plus outbound in ZON in prospect department (selling ZON cable tv for people that never had cable tv or had the competition) and right now I'm in retention department (holding back our clients).
Although, ZON offers the best TV, Phone and Interweb services, the portuguese population thinks that the competition is best when ZON was the lowest prices and most benefits. How can I fight against old people that are with PT phone for 30 or more years and PT (MEO/Sapo/TMN) offers a very basic 3 play services? It's very hard to convince this people. There is a moral code that once a portuguese sign a contract, they are loyal to the end.
I also work a lot with Adobe Acrobat CS4 and PhotoShop CS4. I do a few things in Illustrator CS4 and I dominate MS Office 2007 and MS Office 2008 (Mac), yet no one want's this photoshop services.
Did I tell you that I'm a finalist in Materials Engineering? (O_O)
Life is unbearable in Portugal and IMF is coming in March 2011...
I have an empty life. :(
20101130
20101115
The Don 2010 is super!
Last week a friend of mine (Fukendie) needed a proper crankset. So we went to another friend (Freddy) to pick up a borrowed RaceFace Evolve XC or something like that.
It sounds easy but it wasn't. For some reason, the RF crankset had a small slack between the crank and bearing. So, we removed an Shimano LX from another bike that Freedy had and installed the RF Evolve again. Same problem!
Suddenly the solution crossed my mind: interweb! Fukendie and Freddy said how am I going to do it in the mindle of nowhere and I showed my brand new CamelbaK - The Don 2010 - for a mere 65€.
After the big camel display, Fukendie and I went home with Freddy's RF Evolve XC crankset. This crankset was the last missing part to complete Fukendie's bike: an Spec. Epic S-Works 2009.
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| Smart Wallet is great! |
Suddenly the solution crossed my mind: interweb! Fukendie and Freddy said how am I going to do it in the mindle of nowhere and I showed my brand new CamelbaK - The Don 2010 - for a mere 65€.
- I placed the camel on the floor and and zipped it
- I removed the MacBook Pro 13" and a interweb thingy from Vodafone in one of many internal pockets of The Don
- Connected the hole thing and establish communication with RF website
- Download the respective pdf et voilá
- From another major internal pocket at the bottom I removed the mythical Lezyne's Smart Wallet
- Inside the Smart Wallet there was a Topeak Mini 18+ with a 10mm alan key just to remove the crank nut that Freddy wanted
After the big camel display, Fukendie and I went home with Freddy's RF Evolve XC crankset. This crankset was the last missing part to complete Fukendie's bike: an Spec. Epic S-Works 2009.The point was that The Don 2010 save two men lives in half an hour and it did with saffron stix pattern style! :)
P.S. - Is it slack or play between mechanical parts? I don't have much verbal skills.
20101030
New bag for work!
How could I refuse a camel for 65€?
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| It's The Don 2010 with everything inside from CamelbaK Scudo '09 SE, plus Scudo itself! |
20101016
20100919
20100829
Another fresh start
Today I was kicked from my room and today I already start living in a new room/house.
Stupid bastard that landlord...
By the way, I have Eurythmics greatest hits in my X1060 playlist:
Eurythmics - When tomorrow comes
Stupid bastard that landlord...
By the way, I have Eurythmics greatest hits in my X1060 playlist:
Eurythmics - When tomorrow comes
20100817
Multi-release cleats - can't get much better than this
Ever since I've put multi-release cleats on my Shimano's, my riding style and ease have improved a lot. They're genious!
They blend the ease you get from flatties of knowing you can take your feet off the pedals whenever you want with the safety and performance pedalling you get from clipless pedals.
This is due to the ability to unclip by twisting your feet not only sideways (like you do on normal cleats), but also diagonally (up and left or right, according to which foot you're twisting), which makes the rider feel much safer, since that diagonal twist is a much better way to unclip when over-steering on a sharp corner, for instance.
Having that said, before I end this post, I'd like to send a big shout out to all the guys at chainreactioncycles.com for "giving" me the best helmet 38€ can buy, all thanks to water damaged boxes. Speed Stuff Attack, from 126 to 38€. That's a no brainer!
Cheers
They blend the ease you get from flatties of knowing you can take your feet off the pedals whenever you want with the safety and performance pedalling you get from clipless pedals.
This is due to the ability to unclip by twisting your feet not only sideways (like you do on normal cleats), but also diagonally (up and left or right, according to which foot you're twisting), which makes the rider feel much safer, since that diagonal twist is a much better way to unclip when over-steering on a sharp corner, for instance.
Having that said, before I end this post, I'd like to send a big shout out to all the guys at chainreactioncycles.com for "giving" me the best helmet 38€ can buy, all thanks to water damaged boxes. Speed Stuff Attack, from 126 to 38€. That's a no brainer!
Cheers
20100803
20100625
Flats vs Clipless - that same old battle / School's out!
Hey everyone,
Since my dad bought some Shimano DX shoes and the first set of clipless pedals in the family, I've been keen on trying to ride with them. I've been doing so for a couple of months now, and before that, I've always ridden flats, ever since I started riding.
So, based on my long term experience with flats and my new experience with clipless shoes, I can now start a small but hopefuly enlightening comparison between the two of them. Please note that my point of view on the subject concerns DH use only.
I'll start my writing today so I can bring you some precise and fully thought out opinion, instead of "on the knee" kind of writing.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Well, school's finally out. It's time to go catch some waves down at the beach with me mates during the week and shredding some berms, jumps, rocks and roots at the weekend. Then coming home to watch some World Cup video gold (thanks Dirt TV and Parkin bros!). It's quite a time, this.
I'd also like to give a big shout out to all portuguese riders that are now racing all the DH World Cups, especially to Emanuel Pombo, who's been making us real proud here in our little european corner, having qualified in every stage untill now, pulling some really good results out of the bag. Cheers m8, best of luck to you. ;)
Cheers!
Since my dad bought some Shimano DX shoes and the first set of clipless pedals in the family, I've been keen on trying to ride with them. I've been doing so for a couple of months now, and before that, I've always ridden flats, ever since I started riding.
So, based on my long term experience with flats and my new experience with clipless shoes, I can now start a small but hopefuly enlightening comparison between the two of them. Please note that my point of view on the subject concerns DH use only.
I'll start my writing today so I can bring you some precise and fully thought out opinion, instead of "on the knee" kind of writing.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Well, school's finally out. It's time to go catch some waves down at the beach with me mates during the week and shredding some berms, jumps, rocks and roots at the weekend. Then coming home to watch some World Cup video gold (thanks Dirt TV and Parkin bros!). It's quite a time, this.
I'd also like to give a big shout out to all portuguese riders that are now racing all the DH World Cups, especially to Emanuel Pombo, who's been making us real proud here in our little european corner, having qualified in every stage untill now, pulling some really good results out of the bag. Cheers m8, best of luck to you. ;)
Cheers!
20100615
Old Pike 454 teaches new tricks. Order now!
I'm so anxious for tomorrow's oral report defense or something like that but tomorrow will be an important day because I'm reviling a new mechanical actuator to substitute the common Pop Loc, Pop Loc Adjustable, Push Loc and Xloc at my college - FCT UNL.I call it "The Box". Actually it is a smart box with the remember ability which surpasses everything that Rock Shox and Cannondale's Simon have done to date (2010).
Finally my Sushi - Canyon Nerve ESX 7.0 SE '08 - will show how reliable and smart it is.
The tricky part in using this Shape Memory Alloy prototype was the heat. Body design and electrical installation are crucial, not to mention battery and high cost, although it's a very low tech, low weight and super reliable.
Order now! 50€ each, I guess... 5 meters of this stuff is 80€, then I have to educate it and assemble it. :)
P.S. - I have another theory: How smart is my Sushi/NiTi? Well, it's possible to measure it by using music. So I gave 3 songs from my library and it picked up Toto. (0_0)
TOTO - Home Of The Brave
20100531
20100419
2010 Season up ahead (Felgueiras race report)
After the winter fog blows over and the sun starts to shine upon all us riders out there, it's time to get the gear out, try out the new goodies and have some great fun on bikes. After all and deep down, that's why we go out there every time and ride.
For me, riding can be enjoyed in many ways. Be it simply chilling out and just flowing through the local trails with the other dirtbags, or feeling like a nervous wreck on top of that threatening start gate.
I'm lucky enough to experience both, even though the usual and most common experience is the first one.
Anyway, last month, I raced the 1st stage of the Minho DH Regional Champs, held in Felgueiras.
About the track, simply awesome.
It started off with a bit of pedalling, and some tricky little jumps over roots. These were followed by a considerably big drop, that landed on a steep downhill, which made you feel like a rocket as soon as the wheels touched the dirt.
Then we had a super fun "S" berm turns bit, followed by the first road gap of the track.
Next to this was the toughest section of the track, by far: a super challenging rock garden, in which we entered through the steepest wall I've ever seen on any track, and had two small drops in the middle.
Then it was flat on through the rest of the track, with some sweet air, twisty turns and rocky singletrack right up to the sprint to the finish line.
Saturday practice went well, my dad said he didn't like all the pressure that the competition puts on you, so he rode down once and shuttled us for the rest of the day.
Only this way could my brother and I have made so many practice runs. Cheers dad.
I started to really enjoy the whole track,taking the practice runs easy, and enjoying it. I came home with a big grim on my face.
Sunday practice didn't go so well, though. After some stupid mistakes and sketchy runs, I even ran into a slower rider, standing on one of the fastest sections of the course, and had to take the blow, so I wouldn't hurt the guy. Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting to land on my *ss, on top of some very, very spiky plants.
If you're reading this (although you probably aren't), next time, PULL OVER. Cheers.
The race runs themselves weren't good at all, I was feeling really beaten down, making lots of stupid mistakes, ending up with a shitty time, which placed me way down in the result chart...
So, to sum up, although the results were worthless, I had a lot of fun, I learned some pretty important stuff, increased my riding self confidence (through that evil rock garden) and came to know one of the best tracks I ever rode in.
Cheers!
For me, riding can be enjoyed in many ways. Be it simply chilling out and just flowing through the local trails with the other dirtbags, or feeling like a nervous wreck on top of that threatening start gate.
I'm lucky enough to experience both, even though the usual and most common experience is the first one.
Anyway, last month, I raced the 1st stage of the Minho DH Regional Champs, held in Felgueiras.
About the track, simply awesome.
It started off with a bit of pedalling, and some tricky little jumps over roots. These were followed by a considerably big drop, that landed on a steep downhill, which made you feel like a rocket as soon as the wheels touched the dirt.
Then we had a super fun "S" berm turns bit, followed by the first road gap of the track.
Next to this was the toughest section of the track, by far: a super challenging rock garden, in which we entered through the steepest wall I've ever seen on any track, and had two small drops in the middle.
Then it was flat on through the rest of the track, with some sweet air, twisty turns and rocky singletrack right up to the sprint to the finish line.
Saturday practice went well, my dad said he didn't like all the pressure that the competition puts on you, so he rode down once and shuttled us for the rest of the day.
Only this way could my brother and I have made so many practice runs. Cheers dad.
I started to really enjoy the whole track,taking the practice runs easy, and enjoying it. I came home with a big grim on my face.
Sunday practice didn't go so well, though. After some stupid mistakes and sketchy runs, I even ran into a slower rider, standing on one of the fastest sections of the course, and had to take the blow, so I wouldn't hurt the guy. Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting to land on my *ss, on top of some very, very spiky plants.
If you're reading this (although you probably aren't), next time, PULL OVER. Cheers.
The race runs themselves weren't good at all, I was feeling really beaten down, making lots of stupid mistakes, ending up with a shitty time, which placed me way down in the result chart...
So, to sum up, although the results were worthless, I had a lot of fun, I learned some pretty important stuff, increased my riding self confidence (through that evil rock garden) and came to know one of the best tracks I ever rode in.
Cheers!
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