Grays On Trays

If you’ve had the same kind of board for your snowboarding life, it may be time to buy a different board. If you’ve always had a flexible snowboard that’s easy to turn, buy a stiff one. If you’ve got a stiff board, buy a board with noodle-like properties. In either case, use your new board to explore different types of terrain.

At least that’s the conclusion I’m coming to after my second summer with a mountain bike, which is demonstrating the value of different rides for different types of terrain.

My 1985 Motobecane Super Mirage is an old-school road bike. It’s got 10 speeds, drop (curled) handlebars, shift-levers on the stem, two sets of brake handles (including “suicide levers”), and rim brakes. The tires, which should be inflated to 90-100 psi, are a mere 1.25 inches wide. Everything about the bike encourages the cyclist to ride in the classic hunched-over position.

Last year I purchased a mountain bike, a 2010 Gary Fisher Piranha. It’s got 27 speeds, flat handlebars, handle-bar mounted brake and gear levers, and hydraulic disk brakes. The tires, which should be inflated to 55-65 psi, are 2.25 inches wide. Everything about the bike encourages the cyclist to ride in a sitting-up position. The bike, by the way, also has a shock absorber in the front.

The differences between the two bikes represents more than the passage of time. They also reflect differences in design and intended use. While you can certainly ride the mountain bike on a paved road, its wide tires and lower psi will impede your progress. These two qualities, which provide stability on an off-road trail, also increase the rolling resistance. This means that on a paved road, you’ll have to work extra hard to get anywhere. (The same logic explains why your car gets lower gas mileage if the tires are under-inflated: the engine must do more work than it otherwise would.)

The road bike, which excels on the road, can indeed be taken to an off-road trail. Compared with the mountain bike on the same terrain, however, you’ll have a more uncomfortable ride (you’ll feel every bump). You will also have less control. Worse yet, the tree roots, rocks, logs, and drops on the off-road trail may damage the wheel or other components of the bike.

In other words, different terrain, different rides.

To a certain degree, the same logic holds for snowboards. A board that is extremely flexible may be good for hitting objects in a terrain park (jibbing), but it’s not so good for making large, sweeping turns at high speed down the mountain. A big-mountain board, meanwhile, will be so stiff that it will be hard to use in a terrain park.

Now, it’s important to not overlook the importance of learning good technique. But if you’re having trouble getting your board to do what you want, perhaps you’re using the wrong board. Extremely skilled riders can get away with a mismatch and still look good. Shaun White could outperform 99 percent of all snowboarders in the halfpipe, regardless of the kind of board he uses, while Jeremy Jones could scream down an Alaskan glacier while riding a park board. But I’m not White or Jones, and chances are, neither are you.

So before the season begins, consider the terrain you’re going to ride, and then ask whether it’s time to buy another board. Stiffness is just one quality that sets one board apart from another, so ask at your local shop.

Getting a second (or third) board will cost you some money. But it may be one of the best things that has happened to your snowboarding experience.

Start with a new snowboard. Add in bindings, boots, a helmet, goggles, and other supplies, and getting into snowboarding can easily require a commitment of $1,000–and that’s before lift tickets.

My summertime diversion of choice has been golfing, which, like lift-served snowboarding, requires laying out cash for access. I’ve been saving money this summer by leaving the clubs in the garage. That’s just as well, since my game has been stuck in the sub-basement ever since I started.

While some snowboarders enjoy a round of golf, many more, I suspect, take up road cycling or mountain biking. Riding a bike keeps your legs working, and can be a good aerobic activity. Both activities can also help you push yourself, as, for example, you navigate obstacles on a mountain bike trail or deal with a steep, winding descent on a road bike.

But is biking any cheaper than snowboarding or golfing? Not necessarily, at least in my experience. True, there is no fee for riding on the “open road,” beyond what you’ve paid in gas and other taxes, but you may need to pay a fee to park at a state park, or use a mountain-bike trail on private lands.

The biggest expense, though, is equipment. My wife received a bike-store gift card for $500 last year when we bought a new Subaru, and we used that money towards a new mountain bike for me. I could have bought a low-end mountain bike, but decided to upgrade to a Gary Fisher Pirana. Even the previous year’s model cost about $650, which meant that my new hobby cost me $150.

Many reviews of the bike panned the grips, so I bought a pair of riding gloves. Another $25. Still, $175 is about half the price of what I’d pay for a cheap set of golf clubs. Even so, I was going on the cheap by not buying bike shorts or biking shoes, and using a helmet that had been sitting around for a while.

This season brought more expenses. It started with getting a tune-up on a 25-year old road bike that I had left neglected for years. The shop recommended a new chain and a complete breakdown/reconstruction, so that was $300. A mishap with an old bike carrier resulted in a bent wheel, and another $50 for a new wheel. So that’s $350 on an old bike. (I should have thought to buy a new model. Oh well.) The incident with the bike carrier convinced me to buy a newer, sturdier model, the Saris Bones 3, for about $150. With the new carrier, I’ve been able to transport my road bike to a trail head that has led to some great urban rides.

This season, the trail I like to take my mountain bike on has gotten overgrown with brush, so I thought it was a good time to finally buy a hydration pack/back pack that would store water and some pruning shears. I opted for a more expensive model, the Camelback Mule, and at retail that came in at $90.

Subtotal so far: $765. And now I’m looking at $25 for another pair of gloves and maybe $75 for a new helmet, after I left both at a trail head the other day. (Truth be told, a 10-year old helmet should be replaced anyway.) So that’s $865. Add in some more money for a modest tune-up to my wife’s bicycle for those times we casually ride short distances from home, and the total is about $1,000–about the cost of getting geared-up for snowboarding.

The golf course I’ve given up, meanwhile, charges greens fees of $15 for a 9-hold round, which is my default outing. That means I could have spent the same amount for 66 rounds of golf–something that would take 4-5 years to do.

The moral of the story, which might be a case of “do as I say, not as I do,” might be this: Plan ahead, and go cheap if you can.

Around here, we’ve had what seems to be an insufferably long mud season this year. The last day of snowboarding locally was April 9. Even though the snow lingered for weeks after that (and may in fact still remain in spots), the lifts stopped turning when ski area managers decided that the costs of being in business were higher than the revenues they would collect.

Hiking isn’t that great of an option, either. First, we’re not talking about epic terrain anyway, so it’s hardly worth the effort. Second, the places that still have snow are private property, not public lands, so they are no doubt closed for snow sports. That leaves cold-weather golf, cold-weather road biking, and waiting.

Since the end of the lift-served season, we’ve been teased (or is it tormented?) by tiny dribbles and drabs of snow. On three different days we had snowfall that stuck, at least overnight, and even two days ago we had tiny snowflakes in the air. And this being spring, we’ve had lots of rain, too. The rain and snow have kept the ground suitable for cross-country mountain-bike riding, my new summer sport of choice. Watching and waiting has been a frustrating experience, a bit like pre-season conditions at ski areas, when we know that there’s snow on the ground but not enough for snowboarding.

Whether its snowboarding or mountain biking, sporting enthusiasts must endure a transitional time. What do you do when you’ve put the snowboard (or skis) up for the season?

Today marks the end of that awful in-between time, by the way: My favorite mountain-bike trail has opened, two or three weeks later than usual.

One of my golfer friends says that when he can’t sleep at night, he replays a round of golf in his mind. I think I’ve found an analog.

I should say that it’s a run on my snowboard, using the various ways to play on the slope: easing my way through a glade; riding up and down the  sides of the gully that serves as a natural halfpipe;  gaining speed down new corduroy; smashing through the mashed potatoes, or if I’m really lucky, getting face shots from powder snow.

Unfortunately, I don’t get many opportunities at home to accumulate such pleasant memories. It’s 5 minutes on the lift and 40 seconds down. OK, a minute down if I really push it. So building the memory bank to drips outside the Midwest is important.

While I’m now waiting for the local slopes to open, I’ve been working on my newbie status as a mountain biker. The trail I’ve been riding the most also provides opportunities to accumulate pleasant memories. It has rocks to pick your way through, stair steps (built with wood or relying on tree roots) to descend, bridges to traverse, pine trees to ride through, ascends to conquer, and descents that prompt me to say “whee!” (or perhaps “must maintain control!”).

Some of the best places for snowboarding are located on land owned by the U.S. government and managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Rumors on Capitol Hill suggest that there may be some changes coming for how the USFS manage the land under its control.

According to a story picked up by CBS4 Denver, the lame-duck session of Congress might pass legislation updating the list of summertime activities allowed on USFS land.

The Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Act of 2009 is sponsored by one Democratic Senator (Sen. Mark Udall–Colorado) and two Republicans (Sen. John Barrasso and Sen. Mike Enzi, both of Wyoming).

Here’s how the story describes the legislation:

Activities that would be allowed under the bill include zip lines, mountain bike trails, parks, hiking trails, Frisbee golf courses and rope courses. Forbidden activities include tennis courts, swimming pools, golf courses, amusement parks, water slides and water parks.

The bill was proposed by the National Ski Area Association to provide consistency across Forest Service lands, said Jerry Blann, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort president. Blann sits on the association’s public lands committee

You can find information about the proposal at Thomas.Loc.Gov. Click here for the text of the bill, as reported in the Senate.

Here’s what the Congressional Budget Office has to say about the legislation:

S. 607 would clarify the authority of the Forest Service to allow ski concessioners to offer additional recreational services on public lands. Based on information provided by the agency, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would have no significant effect on the federal budget. The Forest Service already has authority to allow its concessioners to provide off-season and other recreational services at ski resorts. Clarifying that authoritycould facilitate the agency’s collection of fees from ski concessioners (currently yielding offsetting receipts to the Treasury of about $30 million a year).

Because enacting the legislation could result in additional offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending), pay-as-you-go procedures apply, but CBO estimates that any increase would total less than $500,000 a year.

The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

On February 1, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 2476, the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2010, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on December 16, 2009. On July 8, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 2476 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Agriculture on June 30, 2010. S. 607 and the two versions of H.R. 2476 are similar, as is CBO’s estimate of their costs.

What do you think of this legislation? Should Congress set one national standard, or should those decisions be made by local managers? Is the fact that the ski area association proposed the legislation good or bad?

One measure of how much your skills have advanced as a snowboarder is how tightly you can draw your lines down the mountain. Must you always take wide, sweeping turns that consume the width of a bowl, or can you make tightly controlled turns down more narrow trails? How about darting between the trees?

One way to sharpen your skills in making tighter turns on the snow is to make them on a mountain bike. At least that’s my conclusion after stepping up my game on the bike today, when I ventured onto a trail with rocks and logs deliberately placed on the downhill slopes.

There are lots of techniques you can consider when riding on such a trail (do a Google search on the terms “rock garden mountain bike” or something like that). Here are three points that seem relevant not only for biking but for snowboarding (or skiing) in technical terrain: Pick your line and stick with it; trust your equipment; and consider wearing protective gear.

The larger point, though, is that confidence builds confidence. If you can overcome fear in one area (riding through rocks while riding downhill on a bike) you might be able to overcome fear in another area (riding your snowboard through the trees, on ice, or whatever). In riding my bike, I’ve drawn on my memories as a snowboarder (“you’re scared of this? Remember what you did at X.”). This season, I’m looking forward to drawing on mountain-bike memories as I seek challenges on the slope.

Though I haven’t moved beyond novice in my short “career” in mountain biking, I often come back from a ride “getting” the sport more, and why it appeals to snowboarders and skiers.

Today’s observation: Moving through the woods is a blast. I made three laps on a short loop that is entirely in the woods. It was my second day on the loop, and I became more aggressive, which is to say I didn’t dismount, I rode over some tree roots rather than avoided them, and I took a slightly tighter line through some of the turns. But what stood out to me the most was how enjoyable it was to be moving through the woods–at the  blazing speed of 5.5 mph!

The experience reminded me first of all of some fun days from my childhood, when I lived on a one-acre lot filled with pine trees and near a forest. Riding my bike also reminded me of snowboarding.

Sure, bowls are fun, especially on a powder day. But so are slopes that go through trees, whether that means a “boulevard” that is as wide as a two-car road, or a glade.

If you’ve learned how to ski or snowboard, you may remember the experience of dealing with the fear of falling and getting injured. As I have entered the world of mountain biking, I have to say that the fear of falling has returned.

Today I went out on a 2.5-mile loop described by the local mountain biking group as “beginner/intermediate.” At several points I thought, “Who are you kidding?” I don’t recall sweating while engaging in so little effort in quite a while.

I dismounted four different times to walk down fairly steep and long descents, three of which had a fair amount of loose sand or gravel. Two had sizable ruts down the middle. Crash there? No way. I’m riding conservatively. No road rash for me.

Yes indeed, I got bit by the fear of falling. On the one hand, I feared letting my bike run. On the other, I feared braking too hard and thus doing an “endo,” which means flying over the handlebars.

In sports, a certain amount of fear is good. Too much fear can be debilitating, and turn you into a couch potato. Too little fear can cause you to take risks that are so far beyond your ability that injury is all but inevitable. A “just right” amount of fear heightens your concentration and makes progress in the sport that much sweeter.

Trail markers in the winter provide clues as to the amount of risk you’re taking. I still remember my first time skiing down a black diamond in Colorado. Going from green to blue to black all marked my development as a skier. I repeated the process when I took up snowboarding.  One reason I took up snowboarding is that I wanted to experience that progression again.

The slopes won’t open here for another 3 months, at least, which means that I’ll have some more time to work on a new set of skills-and-confidence progression.

Novice snowboarders have an easier time sliding on wide slopes and taking big, rather than tight, turns. As you get more advanced in your riding, you can take a more narrow path down the mountain.

As I’ve started to look into mountain biking, I’ve been amazed at how narrow single-track riding is, but I never put a number on it. One cycle shop (perhaps using industry guidelines)  did: “We recommend the following trail guidelines: 36-inch-wide trail for beginners, 24- to 30-inches wide for the more experienced; and for experts, 12-inches wide.”

12 inches wide? Wow. I realize that’s “for experts,” but that’s a tight ride. Even 36 inches–more narrow than even a subcompact car–is pretty tight.

Of course, riding a bike is not the same as riding a bicycle, so the comparison between winter slopes and bike trails isn’t exact. But I wonder if riding 12-inch, 24- or even 36-inch mountain bike trails affects a snowboarder’s riding on the snow.

Bike-riding snowboarders, what do you say?

On the main part of the website, the page why ride sums up some of the reasons that I’ve read people have given for starting snowboarding. When I asked people why they started to ride on the site bulletin board, it became one of the most popular topics. It’s also something we discussed on the Facebook fan page.

Recently I’ve been checking out online forums for mountain biking, and, perhaps no surprise, have found that there’s some similarity in the reasons that people give for both sports. There’s not a total overlap, but a significant one.

To summarize what I’ve read about mountain biking:

There’s something about those two or three “perfect” rides a year that keep you going.

I love pushing my boundaries and taking on a challenge and overcoming it. I never thought I can do this, but I can, and that feels fantastic.

I know that I can always improve, and I enjoy trying to do that.

It gives me an adrenaline rush, especially when I come close to, but escape, a bad crash.

I enjoy riding with friends and hanging out with them afterwards.

I like buying gear and fiddling with it.

I like leaving my cares behind by doing something that requires me to be in the moment. You can’t think of anything else. It keeps my mind active. [Some people speak of Zen and "being one with the trail."]

It’s a good physical workout and it doesn’t kill my knees.

It’s good for my mental health, and reduces my stress. It makes me feel like a kid again.

I love being outside and part of nature.

Once you buy your equipment, it doesn’t cost much [unlike, say, golf, which requires greens fees.]

All this makes me think that I might actually want to take another college class–say, something in the sociology or sport or theory of recreation. There are lots of different sports, but perhaps a half dozen themes that run through most of them. It might be worthwhile to think through them all in some sort of organized, disciplined way.