I'll Take "No Edge," Please

Snowboarding is great, in and of itself. So why do business leaders feel the need to lace their presentations with "edginess?"

Shortly after my post on making snowboarding safe for boring people, I received an e-mail from someone who pointed me to a snowboard-related commercial website. All in all it was a worthwhile view.

But there was something about it that bothered me. The copy on the site was informative, well-written, and even useful. But from time to time it veered into sexual innuendo, juvenile humor, and more simply, crude language. Actually, this happened only a few times, which means that when it did appear, it was even more out of place.

I guess that this kind of language that makes a publication "edgy."

If you say so. But does that make it attractive? Not in my book. It's something I put up with rather than find attractive.

There's a difference between going up to the line and crossing it. There are, for example, a number of popular songs that talk about having sex in the back of a car. And automakers have used seductive models in their advertisements, just like many other companies. But it would be a stretch then for Chevrolet to run a print advertisement with the tagline "Because it helps you get laid," or something like that.

Thoughts on Three Ski Swaps

Yesterday I went to my third and final ski swap of the pre-season. As was the case with the other two meets, I looked but did not buy.

Every sport has its gearheads. I used to think that golf was the most extreme case; there's a new gimmick for drivers or irons or (especially) putters every year. And that's just the clubs. A visit to a local "outdoors" store made me reconsider, however: maybe it's fishing, with the variety of rods, reels and (especially) lures.

I'm not much of a gearhead when it comes to snowboarding, and I can take only so much tech talk. Still, I look forward to the swaps as an easy low-pressure way to see what's new--or perhaps more accurately, what was new a couple years ago.

The first two swaps I went to this month were at local ski hills. Oddly enough, the new gear that was being sold came not from local shops, but from two shops at a distance--as in adjacent states!

Here is another oddity: you may think that snowboarding is taking over everywhere. Yet at each of the swaps I attended, there was much more ski gear for sale than snowboarding equipment.

Yesterday's festivities took place at the fairgrounds, not at a ski hill. Perhaps that's one reason why I had to pay an admission fee. Bummer. On the other hand, I got two lift tickets for the trouble, each one of which is worth more than the cost of admission.

I talked with a ski area representative about the show. He recommended to the organizers that they include the word "board" in the title of the event. They did. It didn't help. There was even less snowboarding equipment at this event than at the two on-hill events. It was interesting to see a whole table of rental boots, however; they all had a metal rod, used for step-in bindings, that was perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boot.

There were several exhibitors, with tables, distributing brochures, candies, and tickets for drawings. Sign your name, address, and get put on a mailing list--and perhaps win something.

I was going to stop at one table, but the woman attending the table was yakking on her cell phone. "Yah, it's kinda boring here." So much for customer service!

I bought my board from this swap a couple of years ago. If I get a different board (something smaller and more manuverable), it won't be coming from a swap. At least not this year.

Making Snowboarding Safe for Boring Adults

If grandpa wants a new snowboard for Christmas, will the young-uns still want to ride?

People used to take up snowboarding because it is cool. Perhaps some people still do. If you read snowboarding magazines and web sites, you will find that "steeze" (style) is important. So is image and presentation: witness the emphasis in boards on creating the right graphic art. (Graphic art ... I mean that in both senses of the word.)

Teenagers and young adults are still the largest single segment of snowboarding, and there is nothing that some of them fear more than their ideas, likes, habits, and so forth, being picked up by the older generations--going mainstream, selling out, what have you.

The web site Digital Media Wire says that apple's iPod faces a new challenge in the marketplace: so many adults are buying the MP3 players that the product is losing its cachet among the young. (I admit to finding an iPod useful to dealing with the monotony of work outs at the gym.)

"The biggest year over year increase in iPod ownership: People between 30-49, who comprised 12% of iPod owners in 2005, and 33% in 2006."

Is that a good thing for Apple? Not entirely, says the site. The rise of the older market may mean a decline in the younger one. "Teenage perception that [the iPod is] Yesterday's News because of Grandpa's fancy new Nano could mark the beginning of a product shift."

The article then mentions GraysOnTrays.com, and the phenomenon of adult ridership. It notes that the old folks haven't driven the younger crowd away:

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There are certainly products that go beyond trendsetting rules. Snowboarding, for example, continues to be one of the largest growth sports in the U.S. Between 2000-2005, the number of snowboarders increased 50%, and between 1997-2002 the number of snowboarders aged 35 and up rose 400%, according to graysontrays.com. In fact, during the largest period of growth, 1996-2004, the median age of snowboarders remained about the same at 21, which means the increase in old folks on snowboards has not affected the teenage perception that it's a cool sport.
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See? We can all play together, tweens, teens, twentysomethings, and grays on trays. Whatever your initial motivation for getting on the slopes, you'll find that snowboarding is a great activity. Hip kids? Sure. Boring adults? Come join the party!

Why 2K? An Excursion into Running

You don't have to be in great physical shape to go riding. But it helps.

I spent most of last week indoors, 24/7. I was at a hotel for a conference, and from 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday until 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, I never left the building.

Over the last year I have gotten into an exercise routine that includes leg curls, crunches, and some upper-body workouts. In the last month I added some boxing. It's just me and a punching bag, but it's enough to be an aerobic workout.

This all started in October of last year, out of two objectives. One was the "it's good for you" concern--exercise because it's a good thing to do. But the other objective was to have more endurance while riding. I'm happy to say that both objectives have been achieved.

So it was with some concern that I gave up on getting much exercise in during the conference. When Saturday morning came around, I was ready for the 5k run/walk, even though I had not run in 30 years.

Twelve of the conference attendees met in the hotel lobby at the appointed (early) hour. I had no plan for whether I would take on the whole route, or double-back and return part-way through. I expected to walk, not run.

We gathered at the starting line, and took off. To my surprise, I started jogging near the head of the pack. And I stayed there for perhaps half a mile. Then I retreated into a walk some, jog some routine.

All was going well until the halfway point. That's when some rubbing on my left foot really kicked in. It hurt. A lot. There was a sharp pain on my instep.

After that, I walked, with the occasional jog to get across the street. I thought of taking off my shoes and running in bare feet, or perhaps stocking feet. But the air temperature was about 50, and I figured that the pavement would be pretty cold, too. Plus, I was concerned about stubbing my toe--or doing something worse--on the occasionally uneven sidewalks.

I figured that I would be the last person back to the hotel, and that the organizer would be there waiting for me, making sure that nobody had died along the way.

Instead, I could hear the entire crowd of runners as I ran out the last two or three blocks. When I arrived near the party, they let out a bigger cheer. Someone took some photos of us all, and I sheepishly blamed my slow time on "equipment failure." I don't know that anyone believed me.

So what sorts of ailments did I suffer? A blister on my instep. It hasn't popped, and if I am lucky, it won't. Though a few people warned me of crushed knees, they feel fine. Oh, I have some soreness in the muscles on the tops of my feet, and my thighs ache the way they used to after I went on 20-mile walks. But overall, I feel fine.

For that, I can credit--or if you will, blame--snowboarding.