Day 3
7:15 AM. Too early but feel fine. Time to eat. Lots of hungover kids. I laugh for they are unaware of my miracle liquid. Class. Apparently they are serious about this learning bit.
Following days filled with hours of tedious seminars. Actually ready for classes to start. People bitch about the food. One even tries to get McDonalds. Moron.
Sunday, 1-24: Go to market in Crespano. Order most delectable ribs known to man. Successful day!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The beginnings
Day 1
Dallas to Chicago, guy that talks too much, Cowboys loss, no Amex, driver’s license or insurance card. Oh shit. Thankfully I can still pay for my overpriced airport meal and beer.
Onto Brussels. Watch Up! Weird movie. Wait for “dinner” to be served. A chicken branded concoction of synthetic blends. Meh. Sleep fitfully for the next 4 hours. Sunlight over the clouds. Dreary in Belgium. Stumble off plane, go through wrong security checkpoint.. Bad move #2. Keep your composure. Find right security checkpoint. Thank God for 4 ½ hr. layover. Read enthralling book. Maybe 4 hours is a little excessive. Time is starting to warp. Need coffee.
Onto plane #3. Friendly and hot stewardesses. Score! A meal is being served? And its good? Leave it to the Euros to provide a sweeter gastronomic sensation on a 1 hr flight than I experienced on my Transantlantic flight. Look out the window. Dolomites covered in snow on a bluebird day? Should have brought my skis!
Thud. Venice. Luggage all together. Pleasantly surprised. Bus ticket to train station. Cue typical American tourist…now. Train station. Bum asks for change to which I flatly refuse. My disgust with bums is now transcontinental and knows no limits. Board train. Sit across from older Italian man. No words exchanged. Space is tight. No skis was a good call. Finally, Bassano. How long has it been? Two busses for everyone seeking their first adventure. Patience is thin.
Campus. Lots of new people. Name tags would have been a good idea. Dinner is served. Pasta. Hopes not high for the rest of the semester. Bed. Last 31 hours have been a total blur.
Day 2
7:40 Beep beep beep. Alarm. Throw on clothes. Head down to breakfast. Bread, yogurt, granola. Where’s my patchouli oil? Leave sated. Orientation time. Late arrivers. Everyone laughs at their expense. Breaks up the monotony. Campus tour. Lunch. More pasta. Walk around town. Small, quaint, and typically European. Mountains in the background, blue skies. Awesome. Back to campus. Hello “Italian for Travelers.” Should be fluent in no time. Break. Time for accounting. Cue Italian students laughing at the new Americans. Crazy accounting teacher. Should be interesting. Finished for the day. Tired. Can’t nap. Dinner. Empty room. Two busloads went to the “mall.” Can you really need that much? Oh well.
Drinking sounds good. On a Tuesday? Screw it I’m in Italy. No rules right? Place is full. Order first pitcher of wine with three others. Nice and dry. They know my tastes. Good conversation flowing. Time for pitcher #2. What’s this, free dessert? I love Italian hospitality. People turn up their noses at this new fangled idea. I laugh. Speak some broken German with the Italian bar tender. I have now created a bond. I’m in! Closing time. Saunter back to campus. 2 AM? Class in six hours? Time for some Vitamin B12. Going to be a semester full of late nights and early mornings.
Dallas to Chicago, guy that talks too much, Cowboys loss, no Amex, driver’s license or insurance card. Oh shit. Thankfully I can still pay for my overpriced airport meal and beer.
Onto Brussels. Watch Up! Weird movie. Wait for “dinner” to be served. A chicken branded concoction of synthetic blends. Meh. Sleep fitfully for the next 4 hours. Sunlight over the clouds. Dreary in Belgium. Stumble off plane, go through wrong security checkpoint.. Bad move #2. Keep your composure. Find right security checkpoint. Thank God for 4 ½ hr. layover. Read enthralling book. Maybe 4 hours is a little excessive. Time is starting to warp. Need coffee.
Onto plane #3. Friendly and hot stewardesses. Score! A meal is being served? And its good? Leave it to the Euros to provide a sweeter gastronomic sensation on a 1 hr flight than I experienced on my Transantlantic flight. Look out the window. Dolomites covered in snow on a bluebird day? Should have brought my skis!
Thud. Venice. Luggage all together. Pleasantly surprised. Bus ticket to train station. Cue typical American tourist…now. Train station. Bum asks for change to which I flatly refuse. My disgust with bums is now transcontinental and knows no limits. Board train. Sit across from older Italian man. No words exchanged. Space is tight. No skis was a good call. Finally, Bassano. How long has it been? Two busses for everyone seeking their first adventure. Patience is thin.
Campus. Lots of new people. Name tags would have been a good idea. Dinner is served. Pasta. Hopes not high for the rest of the semester. Bed. Last 31 hours have been a total blur.
Day 2
7:40 Beep beep beep. Alarm. Throw on clothes. Head down to breakfast. Bread, yogurt, granola. Where’s my patchouli oil? Leave sated. Orientation time. Late arrivers. Everyone laughs at their expense. Breaks up the monotony. Campus tour. Lunch. More pasta. Walk around town. Small, quaint, and typically European. Mountains in the background, blue skies. Awesome. Back to campus. Hello “Italian for Travelers.” Should be fluent in no time. Break. Time for accounting. Cue Italian students laughing at the new Americans. Crazy accounting teacher. Should be interesting. Finished for the day. Tired. Can’t nap. Dinner. Empty room. Two busloads went to the “mall.” Can you really need that much? Oh well.
Drinking sounds good. On a Tuesday? Screw it I’m in Italy. No rules right? Place is full. Order first pitcher of wine with three others. Nice and dry. They know my tastes. Good conversation flowing. Time for pitcher #2. What’s this, free dessert? I love Italian hospitality. People turn up their noses at this new fangled idea. I laugh. Speak some broken German with the Italian bar tender. I have now created a bond. I’m in! Closing time. Saunter back to campus. 2 AM? Class in six hours? Time for some Vitamin B12. Going to be a semester full of late nights and early mornings.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Freehand Freeride Mount
Having never mounted a pair of bindings on skis before, I was a little intimidated by the formidable task ahead of me. As I found out though anyone with beer, tools, and some patience will be able to get a precise mount. The only downside to this is that if you screw up, you owe yourself a new pair of skis--not the ski shop.
Tools:
Gather all of your tools together
Step 2
Find the midsole line on your skis. On this particular ski (Dynastar Legend Pro) there is no line but rather two raised bumps. NEVER NEVER NEVER use a line on the topsheet as your guide as topsheets are an inexact science and could be off center. Instead use a point given on the sidewall. Here I used the square to draw a straight line across the ski, which can be seen at the 18" mark on the yardstick.
Step 3
Find the center of your ski by taking the speed square and drawing lines originating from each edge of ski from the boot center mark as shown. The point at which the diagonal lines intersect is your midpoint. Do this on each side of the midsole mark and you now have two points through which to draw a straight line.
Step 4
If you haven't started drinking some of that beer, you really should do yourself a favor and get to work.
Step 5
Insert your boot into the binding and set it on the ski so that the midsole mark on the boot lines up with the midsole mark on the ski. I did this by taking part of the square and lining it up with the ski midsole mark as it extended upward to the boot midsole mark.
Step 6
With the binding still on the ski, mark the fore/aft screw positions near the edge of the ski so you will be able to center your paper jig.
Step 7
Now that you have a center line on your skis, you can put your paper jig on which has courteously been provided by our friends at Wildsnow (For all those that find my directions incomprehensible, there is a slightly different version provided by Lou at Wildsnow.) Lou suggests that the rear screw holes for the toe piece and the front holes on the heel piece should be 341 mm apart, but I found that 338 mm apart was more accurate. Center your jig by using the fore/aft marks and center line.
Step 8
Once your jig is lined up and you've double and triple checked all of your measurements, you can use a center punch to mark where you should drill. Another and probably more popular option is to tape the jig on the ski and use the jig as your guide. However, I was using a drill press and did not find it necessary.
Step 9
Before you drill make sure you are certain about your measurements because you can't adjust once the hole is there...
Step 10
Hopefully your measurements were correct and everything lines up as it should. If so, the little red feet should be in contact with the ski, and the pivot should move freely without any friction. It should look like this:
Step 11
Celebrate as now you'll never have to pay a shop to mount a pair of bindings again.
*****This is only to be used as a guide, and the reader assumes all risks and responsibilities involved.
Tools:
- Speed square
- Square
- Metric ruler
- Beer
- Metal yard stick
- Drill
- 5/32" or 4.1 mm drill bit
- Pencil or thin point sharpie
- Center punch
- Hammer
- More beer
- Sturdy work bench
Gather all of your tools together
Step 2
Find the midsole line on your skis. On this particular ski (Dynastar Legend Pro) there is no line but rather two raised bumps. NEVER NEVER NEVER use a line on the topsheet as your guide as topsheets are an inexact science and could be off center. Instead use a point given on the sidewall. Here I used the square to draw a straight line across the ski, which can be seen at the 18" mark on the yardstick.
Step 3
Find the center of your ski by taking the speed square and drawing lines originating from each edge of ski from the boot center mark as shown. The point at which the diagonal lines intersect is your midpoint. Do this on each side of the midsole mark and you now have two points through which to draw a straight line.
Step 4
If you haven't started drinking some of that beer, you really should do yourself a favor and get to work.
Step 5
Insert your boot into the binding and set it on the ski so that the midsole mark on the boot lines up with the midsole mark on the ski. I did this by taking part of the square and lining it up with the ski midsole mark as it extended upward to the boot midsole mark.
Step 6
With the binding still on the ski, mark the fore/aft screw positions near the edge of the ski so you will be able to center your paper jig.
Step 7
Now that you have a center line on your skis, you can put your paper jig on which has courteously been provided by our friends at Wildsnow (For all those that find my directions incomprehensible, there is a slightly different version provided by Lou at Wildsnow.) Lou suggests that the rear screw holes for the toe piece and the front holes on the heel piece should be 341 mm apart, but I found that 338 mm apart was more accurate. Center your jig by using the fore/aft marks and center line.
Step 8
Once your jig is lined up and you've double and triple checked all of your measurements, you can use a center punch to mark where you should drill. Another and probably more popular option is to tape the jig on the ski and use the jig as your guide. However, I was using a drill press and did not find it necessary.
Step 9
Before you drill make sure you are certain about your measurements because you can't adjust once the hole is there...
Step 10
Hopefully your measurements were correct and everything lines up as it should. If so, the little red feet should be in contact with the ski, and the pivot should move freely without any friction. It should look like this:
Step 11
Celebrate as now you'll never have to pay a shop to mount a pair of bindings again.
*****This is only to be used as a guide, and the reader assumes all risks and responsibilities involved.
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