Yesterday I wasn’t feeling well so I left work early. After taking a brief nap when I got home, I decided to go for a ride in hopes that I’ll sweat out whatever was making me feel under the weather.

Closest trail to my house was Coal Canyon. As I mentioned on previous articles, Coal Canyon is a ride in, ride out type of ride. It’s a long grind up with a rewarding descent on a fire road. The ride up is usually uneventful. You either listen to music or enjoy the surroundings to get your mind off the constant climb.

Reaching the 3 mile marker, I see a rattlesnake on the middle of the road. This one had a real pretty color approximately 4ft long. Off course I had to stop and take a short video. The last time I ran into a rattler on the trail was when I rode at San Clemente Single Tracks (SCST), May of this year. Then I was only able to take a picture of the snake coil up as I ran out of space in my memory card for a video clip. With the Flip Mino in hand, I recorded the rattler move to the side of the road. Always at a safe distance, I gave it some assistance by throwing little pebbles at it.

After the entertainment, I continued to climb for another half mile then I decided to turn back. Bombing to the bottom was fun as usual however there were plenty of sandy patches that slowed me down. By now, the sun was setting thus getting darker in some areas of the trail. As I turned one of the corners, there was a buck that I startled. I was able to get the Flip Mino out to record however, the buck was too far and was just a speck on the clip. Good times, even when solo!

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As you peruse through our site on a daily basis, from time to time you may have noticed that we post videos.  From Tech tips, races, events and to our weekend rides.  We like to offer a first hand visual of our topics, if possible.  With that said recording devices are a big part for us.

We recently received the Flip Video Mino for review.  At first glance the Flip Mino mirrored the likes of an MP3 player, specifically an iPod.  Yes, it’s that small.  It’s hard to believe that a recording device can be this little.    

The unit has simplistic controls.  It has an On/Off button on the side, and on the face of the device has the Play/Pause, Delete, Forward, Reverse, +/- for volume control and a big red button for on/off recording.  All these buttons positioned beneath the 1.5” viewing screen.  The unit also has a built in, retractable USB plug.  You can plug it straight into your PC/Mac or Laptop and upload.  The USB also doubles as your battery charging plug.    

Here are the details from Flip:
• Dimensions 4” x 2” x 0.6”
• Weight 3.3 oz.
• 2GB on-board flash memory records upto 60 minutes of video
• Sealed, internal rechargeable lithium ion battery that recharges through built-in USB arm
• Flat back-panel with touch-sensitive buttons
• No-glare display screen (1.5”)
• TV quality video
• Instant playback, pause, fast forward/rewind, and delete features
• Available in black and white models
• Connects to TV for instant viewing
• Built-in high-speed software enables instant video sharing from any PC or MAC:
o Save and organize videos on computer
o Email videos and video greeting cards
o Publish videos instantly on video sharing sites like MySpace, YouTube, and AOL
o Capture still photos from video clips
o Create custom movies with your own music
o Make your own DVDs and have them shipped anywhere in the world
• MSRP: $179.99

This past Sunday I took the Flip Mino on a ride with some friends, Rommel and Art.  We headed to Santiago Oaks.  Check out the video, it looks pretty clean with exception of the footage taken from a distance.  I was wearing my gloves and wasn’t quite familiar with the controls so I was fumbling with it.  Also some of the footage were out of focus; this may have been due to the user (me).  I will be taking more videos in the coming months.  Check back for an update.

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