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Windham 2011

fluider

fluider

Monkey
Jun 25, 2008
440
9
Bratislava, Slovakia
sethimus said:
smaller european countries often don't synchronize foreign tv shows, so they learn a lot of english from just watching tv with subtitles.
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Unfortunately you are not true in case of many smaller countries. A problem is a big wagon of stinky dumphead national populism that spread in post soviet countries where politicians wanted to give people a feeling of national souveregnity. The result is that BIG majority of young people (I mean from all country, not only from main cities) simply can't fluently speak English while literally any almost-ritered citizen of western E country can speak English no problemo. So instead of canceling one stupid law we are spending loads of money on teaching of basics of foreign languages with a shameful result ...
 
fluider

fluider

Monkey
Jun 25, 2008
440
9
Bratislava, Slovakia
As for Matti, I was surprised how nicely an old lady by the desk in coffe bar in the city of Rovaniemi, Finland near polar circle was speaking when I was there 5 years ago. Many youngsters in central europe don't have such a good pronounciation and fluency as she had. Finland could be my 2nd country :thumb:
 
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Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
Sooo, Windham had one of the best 4X tracks that everybody loved...got rid of it.
A course that was said to be one of the milder WC tracks but was still descent...made it ever more mild.

This on top of the whole sh1t storm that occured last year over the test event and liscensing, makes you wonder who the hell is calling the shots over there.
 
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Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
I realize that, but I'm of the oppinion if you can't afford to hold a quality event, don't do one at all. It is a WC afterall..

edit** I was aware of the 4X thing and understand that money is king, but now hearing that they smoothed out the DH track?!! It just seems to show a lack of understanding of the sport...again look back to the "test event"..
 
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jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
89,547
27,755
media blackout
Pegboy said:
I realize that, but I'm of the oppinion if you can't afford to hold a quality event, don't do one at all. It is a WC afterall..
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it's not that they can't afford it, its that they had a hard time justifying how much scratch it cost to build a track that had to be torn down in the fall and rebuilt in the spring
 
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Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
Totally aware of that...I probably should have thrown a smiley in to make it more obvious. You could argue though that building a premier event will increase visitors and cash flow year after year..especially if there are improvements. As a spectator, they are decreasing the event by 50% by losing 4X(old topic) and now hearing, straight from the racers mouths, that the big spectating area from last year will be less exciting...you know where I am going with this.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
89,547
27,755
media blackout
Pegboy said:
Totally aware of that...I probably should have thrown a smiley in to make it more obvious. You could argue though that building a premier event will increase visitors and cash flow year after year..especially if there are improvements. As a spectator, they are decreasing the event by 50% by losing 4X(old topic) and now hearing, straight from the racers mouths, that the big spectating area from last year will be less exciting...you know where I am going with this.
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that might hold true if windham actually operated a bike park. (which its rather unfortunate they dont)
 
SuspectDevice

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,219
447
Roanoke, VA
The racers are just going to go faster.
How is that a bad thing exactly?
I had family fly in today from SC and CO to go watch the fastest riders in the world go fast.
Are they going to care that the track is going to run faster this year than last?
The average spectator is already blown away by a Cat1 dh race after all.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
22,034
7,958
Colorado
jonKranked said:
that might hold true if windham actually operated a bike park. (which its rather unfortunate they dont)
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This. If they had a bike park which they regularly operated it would make sense. Imagine how much more volume they would get if they could say that they have a WC level course? But they don't, so it's a moot point.
 
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epic

Turbo Monkey
Sep 15, 2008
1,041
21
SuspectDevice said:
The racers are just going to go faster.
How is that a bad thing exactly?
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Agree 100%. Honestly,I'd rather watch them going balls out than trying to survive. There does have to be some consideration for safety too. If Gee was nearly killing himself on the Gee out, then I'm glad they shaved the lip or mellowed the landing or whatever. I saw in one of those interviews where someone (Beaumont?) was saying there are a lot of flat/un-bermed turns in the woods. Doesn't sound too "bike-park" to me.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
89,547
27,755
media blackout
SuspectDevice said:
The racers are just going to go faster.
How is that a bad thing exactly?
I had family fly in today from SC and CO to go watch the fastest riders in the world go fast.
Are they going to care that the track is going to run faster this year than last?
The average spectator is already blown away by a Cat1 dh race after all.
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hey mick when you heading to the catskills?!
 
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epic

Turbo Monkey
Sep 15, 2008
1,041
21
The Joker said:
This. If they had a bike park which they regularly operated it would make sense. Imagine how much more volume they would get if they could say that they have a WC level course? But they don't, so it's a moot point.
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FWIW _ The guys at Bromont did not feel that the WC paid off for them at all. If they did, they'd probably still be bidding for one.
 
'size

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
gwin fastest for timed training.
i know it means nothing but i love seeing this kid's name at the top.



also practice video:
 
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alpine slug

Monkey
Jun 10, 2011
190
0
the bike-park-ization of DH tracks is pure and utter bull-$-hit

go race 4X or BMX if that's what you want, nimrods

bike parks and their Lowest Common Denominator attitude are also utter bull-$-hit.

can you imagine skiers saying "that pitch is too steep, and too irregular, please flatten it out for me"? yeah, let's get out the dynamite and the earth movers and make it all a 20deg pitch, 20 feet wide, perfectly flat and smooth. perfect blue-square low-intermediate terrain! if you have lots of skill and are bored by that, tough toenails! this is needed so that the most skill-less person can feel like a hero! that's what matters!

oh, and don't forget to paint the rocks and trees with fluoro orange paint!
 
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drkenan

drkenan

anti-dentite
Oct 1, 2006
3,441
1
west asheville
That track doesn't look too "bike-parked down" to me. Anyone know who's throwing down effortless style around the 1:17 mark in that video a few posts up?
 
p-spec

p-spec

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2004
1,278
1
quebec
p.s why is brycey interview say quebec and canada beside him and videotron wich is a quebec compagny.....
 
G

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
alpine slug said:
oh, and don't forget to paint the rocks and trees with fluoro orange paint!
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All the armchair racers whining about orange paint have clearly never ridden a track at the pace where the paint is rather helpful for spotting lines, especially when charging into the woods from the open slopes and being blind for a second or two, or when a faint color of orange is all there is to differentiate knife edge rocks from dark mud when it rains and the mud makes every hole, root, rock, rut look identical.

Y'all want high speeds but you're too busy pounding your chest to understand how all that sissy rock painting actually promotes it. Then again, you're also too new (or stupid?) to remember rocks have been painted orange at MSA, Mt. Snow, Grouse, Nevegal (go look that one up), Vail, etc since before DHers decided to take their barends off.

 
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stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
22,034
7,958
Colorado
General Lee said:
All the armchair racers whining about orange paint have clearly never ridden a track at the pace where the paint is rather helpful for spotting lines, especially when charging into the woods from the open slopes and being blind for a second or two, or when a faint color of orange is all there is to differentiate knife edge rocks from dark mud when it rains and the mus makes every hole, root, rock, rut look identical.

Y'all want high speeds but you're too busy pounding your chest to understand how all that sissy rock painting actually promotes it. Then again, you're also too new (or stupid?) to remember rocks have been painted orange at MSA, Mt. Snow, Grouse, Nevegal (go look that one up), Vail, etc since before DHers decided to take their barends off.

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With Lee on this one. Even at the Natl level the paint is a life saver if you are popping into the trees (especially technical) after full light. You are totally blind for 1-2 seconds while your eyes adjust and the paint allows you to feed into your line.

As for watching ski racing, I've never seen a ski race go full speed from an open, light drenched run into the trees. It would be suicide, but you are comparing them? That makes no sense.

And Nevegal... I think I need to go find my VHS of Transcontinental. In the rain, my God, how did they ride that in the rain?!
 
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Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
alpine slug said:
the bike-park-ization of DH tracks is pure and utter bull-$-hit

go race 4X or BMX if that's what you want, nimrods

bike parks and their Lowest Common Denominator attitude are also utter bull-$-hit.

can you imagine skiers saying "that pitch is too steep, and too irregular, please flatten it out for me"? yeah, let's get out the dynamite and the earth movers and make it all a 20deg pitch, 20 feet wide, perfectly flat and smooth. perfect blue-square low-intermediate terrain! if you have lots of skill and are bored by that, tough toenails! this is needed so that the most skill-less person can feel like a hero! that's what matters!

oh, and don't forget to paint the rocks and trees with fluoro orange paint!
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While I wonder who is making some of the decisions at Windham, you really have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Skiing: Yes they dummy down DH courses, most notably at the Olympics and World Championships. Mainly at the Olympics because if you can ski and you come from a country that does not have a strong alpine presence, you may BE the team. I've literally witnessed a 3+ minute slalom run where a competitor's final crash was into the padding on the finish arch before backing up and crossing the line! I believe she was from Jamaca and had been skiing for a little over a year....it was actually pretty cool to see.

They also use blue paint on the course for similar reasons that they use it in MTB... it helps provide some depth perception at teeth rattling speeds.

Normally I feel that the course is the course and everyone rides the same one, so it really doesn't matter. the only reason that I brought it up is because now I am actually hearing some of the top riders commenting on it and and I don't think I've ever heard that before with the exception of an occasional bitter rider.

While I decided not to make the trip, partly because they cut the show in half, I will be watching on Freecaster and I'm sure it will still be exciting.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,593
5,398
Pegboy said:
I am actually hearing some of the top riders commenting on it and and I don't think I've ever heard that before with the exception of an occasional bitter rider.
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The guys are feeling extra hard after MSA last week and want a course that's going to match their manliness. No skinny pant wearing smoothed out bike park course round here!

:thumb:
 
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