CarveItUp

Some pedals are also clipless on one side and platform on the other - so the platform doesn't come out. It's getting more and more common on bikes. Beth your friendly PhD student/bike store employee

Sorry, can't help you. I have the 7 channel AM system for the plane but I'd like to hold onto that in case I actually finish it some time. The only other systems I have are a cheapy 2 channel stick and the 2 channel pistol grip controller for my cars.

I used to race electric cars in high school (early 90s). Had an RC10, RC10L, RC12LW, RC10T, and HPI RS4 Sport 2. Still have the truck and 10L, as well as the HPI but they are gathering dust in the basement. I did a few races about 4 or 5 years ago but haven't touched them much since. I've thought about bringing the HPI out again but battery technology has moved on a lot so it would be a bit of an investment. Also have most of the parts for a plane lying around but they were inherited and I haven't got around to finishing the assembly (or crashing it) yet. carveitup

I agree with Neil - I think the M processors are faster than their ratings might suggest. Perhaps they are rated differently. I went from a 2GHz P4 laptop to a 2GHz pentium M and it is WAY faster (I run heavy CAD/CAE type applications (CATIA V5, SolidWorks, FEA, etc). All that said, I think one of the best (and possibly most overlooked) upgrades to a laptop is the hard drive speed. I have a Dell Precision M60 and when I got it, there was a choice between a 4800RPM (I think) and 7200RPM hard drive. Obviously the faster drive is more expensive but it makes loading heavy apps and accessing swap files much faster. Most desktops come with 7200RPM drives. Derek

On the subject of hills with little vertical... I suggest Glen Eden, just west of Toronto, Ontario. I learned to ski there when I was a tyke, then when Derek took me mountain biking for the very first time, the very first thing we did was bike up the hill I'd learned to ski on. It looks a lot smaller now that I'm a lot taller. We've gone up a few times with the boards and the game is one time up you do as many turns as possible (course record is 18) and the next time as few as possible. I've done as few as 2. They're local, they have night skiing and you can go through the fence at the bottom, land on a freight train and be out west in 5 days. trail map is at http://www.gleneden.on.ca/trailmap.shtml I have to agree with the assessment of Tremblant. We went a few years back and were charged an additional $5 since it was reading week... Lift tickets were $72 and I got only 5 runs in for the day the bleeding lines were so long. The hills were nothing to write home about either. beth

Last month at a family get together at Holimont, we got this picture of Greg carving backwards on his Coiler PR-185. He did the whole run fakie. Pretty impressive. carveitup

We were at Holimont in Ellicottville a few weekends ago and we had the luck to ride up with the person who runs the adaptive ski program there. He said they are constantly looking for volunteers to teach and help - to teach understandbly requires more training, but to volunteer requires much less. He mentioned working with autistic, Downs, spina bifida and paraplegics. Some are on "regular" equipment, while they also use sitskis and sitsnowboards. He said the smiles on the person's faces make it all worthwhile. He said most areas have a program, so look into it. You get a free lift ticket out of it at Holimont!

For me, yes in certain conditions (not uber-icy). We've got a red 164 in the basement and it's a favourite of mine. I'm not the most aggresssive rider, so someone more aggressive could certainly use it more than me. beth lightweight!

What a good day! We had a great time. It was nice to meet everyone and have all eyes on us all over the resort. Hopefully everyone (including Bruce) is feeling OK today. Many thanks to our intrepid organizers. Beth (& Derek, Mike and Colin)

Dave, I'd be all over trying a Pilot 167 (especially) and/or the F2 162. I'm a pretty light weight rider so it sounds like the pilot may be a good fit for me. Derek carveitup.net

I've got all of my fingers and toes crossed that it cools off a bit. This could be an interesting session.... Collingwood is showing rain and/or freezing rain and/or snow for 3 of the next 4 days, but hovering around zero for temperature. beth

Joking aside, I think the McNally Carving Session is scheduled for reading week at Holimont this year. The video on carveitup.net at Sunshine is from our trip there 3 years ago. There are 3 McNallys in Toronto who ride but they didn't respond in time. There are also 3 west coasters who ride and others sprinkled across the country. I think we have 11 or 12 people riding plates total. beth carveitup.net

Chris, I finally found my brother (funny his office is about 100m from mine, but one or the other of us was away for the past week and he was having e-mail problems). He'd like to come if there is a spot. His name is Colin McNally. thanks! beth carveitup.net

Beth McNally and Derek Peeling Beth is still trying to get in touch with her brother Colin to see if he'll come. Haven't gotten a response yet. Thanks again - looking forward to it! Derek

I spoke to my father this evening and he'd like to come along as well, so add Mike McNally to the list also. thanks! Beth are we at the 20 people yet? Is there trouble if we go over 20 people? My brother still hasn't responded to my queries so he might be in also.

We (Beth and Derek) are in. Can't wait to see you all there! Derek PS - Chris, thanks for organizing this again this year!

I can speak for the Beth and Derek portion of the Carveitup crew and say that we're OK for any of these dates. The Simon, Tara and Declan portion will have to report in as Declan has to master walking before riding, but he might let S&T out for the day! Derek was thinking about a gear swap - post what you have in your basement that you haven't gotten around to posting on e-bay or bomber and see if anyone else coming wants/needs it. Work out a deal, shipping's looked after and our basements get a little cleaner. Beth www.carveitup.net

There are quite a few of us that ride Blue in Collingwood on a regular basis. There's often a thread wondering what day everyone is going up before the weekend. b.

There's an option missing... What about us girls who board with boys? D and I started out paying our own way, then it became I pay one week, he pays the next. Now that I'm a student again and he's flush he tends to pay more often. With the hitchin' plannning underway it's all become simple again - we use his card for the points. beth

Allee, I bought bibs that fit around the waist with velcro to adjust the length of the shoulder straps, but they were capris and gave me a wedgie... so I went to Ikea and got some of the velcro cable wraps for typing up computer/AV cords and extended the straps to remove the wedgification and make sure the snow stays out of my boots. Think about extending the straps somehow. Or just buy men's gear. beth

Yes! That was it. Looked kind of fun, but I did notice the rider was wearing a lot of pads... Anybody tried one? Derek

I'm currently in Seoul on a business trip. I was stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to change and a guy pulled up on an interesting machine. The thing had two wheels that were about 12" in dia with rather beefy pneumatic tires on them. In the middle of each wheel (where the hub would normally be) were straps to hold your feet - so the wheels would essentially go around your feet as if your feet were axles. The machine was articulated in the middle and had a gas powered motor (like a chainsaw motor) driving the rear wheel. Throttle was controlled by the hand held trigger control joined to the machine by a flexible cable. The light changed, the guy put his foot in and rode away. It looked like it handled quite like a snowboard. Cool. Anybody seen one of these before? I couldn't see a name. Derek

While walking to my gate the other day at the Buffalo airport, saw a sign - I think for US Airways - advertising winter getaways. It had an artistic picture of a snowboarder and the title: CARVÉ DIEM! Derek www.carveitup.net

Once while flying home from whistler, Jetsgo (the canadian airline that just went bankrupt and screwed a lot of people) made me sign a waiver of liability because my boards were "improperly packed" - in a well padded, almost new burton wheelie bag. Based on this, the hard case is probably your best bet if you can put up the money. Not only will it protect the board, but it also might help protect your rights to a claim against the airline. Derek www.carveitup.net

I've got a Prior WCR 175 with 18cm waist. Not sure exactly of side cut. I bought it used a couple of season's ago and have only ridden it maybe 5 times since. It is too stiff for me. It is built for somebody about 165 - 200 lbs. I am 140 and I like a softer flex. Top sheet is white with red and black hawaiian floral print down one side. There are a couple of nicks in the top sheet and a little of the clear coat came off when I removed a sticker. Chris Prior assured me this will in no way affect the board and you could simply recoat it if you want. Edges and base are in very good condition. Lots of camber. Pics at http://www.carveitup.net/prior.html Looking to trade for a softer board in the 164-169 range. Burton Alp or Ultra Prime or other boards with slightly soft flex would be fine. I could also part with it for $250CDN plus shipping. Please email me at carveitup@mail.com Derek Burlington, Ontario www.carveitup.net