I’ve been off snow for three days now.  It’s not a voluntary decision that I’ve made.  My plan was to ride every single day after I got done with exams.  Everything was going according to plan until I became too cool for school on Monday and ate it while trying to multi task on the 40′ box.  For those of you who haven’t tried variations on the 40 while drinking a large fountain pop from Lupins… don’t. Needless to say, it didn’t end well and as a result, I’ve been sitting at home, keeping weight off my left butt cheek and icing the rest of me up.  Kind of makes me wish I was 19 again.

Sitting at home got me thinking.  Riding the park means you’re gonna get hurt.  Mostly just minor bang ups and bruises, but sometimes you’re out for an extended period of time.  So what do you do with all that time off shred? I’ve compiled a list of things to do that’ll help you kill time till you can ride again.

Watch some videos:

When you’re riding, you’re not really thinking of watching the newest shred video.  The thing is, videos are a great source of information and inspiration.  I remember when I was starting out in the park, around the same time Forum put out True Life.  I watched it over and over again, studying how JP Walker approached his jibs.  I had it on VHS, and I rewound and replayed in slow motion so many times, that the video doesn’t work very well any more.  Here are a few boarding movies from this year that are getting me stoked.

1. Forum or Against ‘Em – Forum Snowboards

For those of you that don’t know, Forum has totally revamped their team.  If you thought losing JP deflated their jib balloon, think again.  What do you think? Are you Forum or Against ‘Em?  A 2-disc collector set is out now, with lots of goodies, such as a sticker book, a die cut sticker, a beanie and a book of pictures for visual learners like me!

2. No Correct Way – Kids on Shred Productions

I absolutely loved this movie.  Rome has an amazing team of riders.  Heads up on Laurent-Nicolas Paquin’s section.  Super sick.

3. I Ride Park City – Park City

With riders like Stevie Bell, Heikki Sorsa, Aaron Bittner, Eero Ettala, Torah Bright and Erin Comstock, I Ride Park City delivers exactly what it’s supposed to.  Amazing park riding.  Also, watch the intro if you wanna see Shaun White be unsure of his stick shift driving skills.  He looks down at his gear box as he shifts gears but tries to not make it look obvious.  You’re not fooling me Shaun.

4. That’s It, That’s All – Red Bull

Travis Rice has come out with his own movie, and he’s rocking the Lib Tech TRS with Banana Tech and Magne Traction.  Wanna see how the pros handle the new technology?  This is the movie to watch.  Be warned, it’s not all riding all the time.  If I had to classify it, it would be a snowboard art film.  There are a lot of nature shots and a bunch of “Wow! It’s sooo pretty!” moments. The riding?  SO dope! Travis kills it, regardless of terrain.

5. Teenage Love Graffiti – Isenseven

Some of you may not know about this European film company.  They have some of the best riders across Europe in their line up and a rad mascot.  Their previous films include Uber Movie and Prediculous, which included footage shot on Grouse Mountain.  Neat-o!!

If you’re looking for teasers for these movies and more from the 2008/2009 season, look no further.

Tune your setup.

If your injury is the result of not tuning your kit properly, you should get out the file and waxing kit and start detuning those edges and getting rid of the sticky spots on your board.  If you’ve never tuned your kit before, don’t go filing those edges just yet. 

That used to be a lake, now it's an ice rink!

Let the guys at Document Snowboard Magazine show you the ropes in setting up for freestyle and waxing that stick.

Those are the two I can think of that will keep you thinking about snow.  As for me, well, I’ve been prowling the internet looking for new music, watching and rewatching seasons of Family Guy and the Office, walking my dog and wrapping Christmas presents of all shapes and sizes.  I think that all products should be packaged in a square or rectangular box that is COMPLETELY closed off.  No circles or boxes with one corner missed so you can “Try Me!!!11!one!!”  Anyways.  I’ve also gotten a chance to clean my room and do my laundry.  Regardless of how hard you rock on a board, remember that laundry is key.

And that's after half the work was done

I hope to be back on my board by Sunday, making it 5 days off.  I’ll see some of you around, hopefully!

Stay safe,

Sam