Getting to Know You??? Question #3...
- Thread starter BiknBen
- Start date
crash_in_nj
New Member
I grew up 5 minutes down the road from there. I liked the slab better than the pound. I gave up on climbing shortly after HS, though.
Skiing!!! There is nothing better than a super cold day with 'snow' you can play quarters on for ripping some high speed turns. Plus, when it's cold enough, you don't have to fight the crowds
Glancing Aft
Active Member
Other than drinking beer, skiing. I grew up with a very small ski area 15 min from my house (Sterlling Forest) and was fortunate enough to have a ski program in my school that started taking me up to the mountain in the late 80's. From the start I was hooked on it. It brought new joys to an otherwise depressing time of year. The ability to laugh at yourself while freezing and having a good time has stuck with me over the years. A few seasons into it I joined the local race team and was finding myself on the snow easily 100 days a season. Around this time many of my peers in my generation started switching over to snowboarding, but my passion was too strong and I stuck with it through the years. In the early 90s I found a love for mogul skiing but I was becoming ever more interested in what the snowboarding kids where doing in the park. I wasn't allowed in the park so I started poaching it, I got in fist fights, I broke skis on rails (the construction of freestyle skis has come so far), and much to my parents dismay I started skipping race practice to hit jumps. Then in the mid 90s (gulp) I started Skiboarding (snowblading, fruit booting) embarrassing, but at the time it seemed like a good direction to take things. Thankfully that only lasted till I think 2001 when I picked up my first twintip skis.
And now the passion still remains. I take several trips a year out west, I hit the local park at night during the week, and while as I get older and I feel it more in my body I still love it. I also love to see how skiing has endeared and continued to grow, for a while it was looking like a dead sport but now it has a bright future.
And now the passion still remains. I take several trips a year out west, I hit the local park at night during the week, and while as I get older and I feel it more in my body I still love it. I also love to see how skiing has endeared and continued to grow, for a while it was looking like a dead sport but now it has a bright future.
I have the tendancy to do everything in obsessive amounts. I guess it's just my nature.
Reading and Writing - I spend a lot of time on the train so I read a lot. There was a time a few years ago where I was reading almost 2 books a week. When you have 3 hours of commute time that happens. Lately I've been blogging more often because I have the BB with me, but it's not the ideal setup. I've been writing various things online for many moons.
Food and Drink - I enjoy good food and drink, and try to make everything I eat/drink be something of quality. I roast my own coffee and bring tea back with me when we go to Taiwan, or have my in-laws bring it back when we run out. I'm pretty picky with beer too though of late I'm not drinking much. I cook breakfast for myself every day. For instance, today was a slice of whole wheat bread, toasted, with 1/4 of an avocado, 2 fat slices of tomato, slice of provolone, and an egg. Pack my lunch every day and we cook dinner every night.
Music - not on par with ChrisG nor JDog, but I get into a pretty wide variety of music.
Rutgers - thuis is actually an ex-passion, but I think the idea of this is to get to know each other better. Before biking the #1 hobby was Rutgers football/basketball. The reality is that the hobby was actually tailgating for Rutgers football, because when I was going the team was 0-11, 1-10, etc. You really didn't care much about the games then so it was all about the food and beer. I still watch but haven't been to a game in maybe 3 years.
Family - last but not least, of course. This is more a way of life than a passion. Never thought I could love someone like I love my daughter. Even though the little monster tests our patience every day at this stage (turned 2 in the spring), it's still an awesome experience. Really a lot of fun.
Reading and Writing - I spend a lot of time on the train so I read a lot. There was a time a few years ago where I was reading almost 2 books a week. When you have 3 hours of commute time that happens. Lately I've been blogging more often because I have the BB with me, but it's not the ideal setup. I've been writing various things online for many moons.
Food and Drink - I enjoy good food and drink, and try to make everything I eat/drink be something of quality. I roast my own coffee and bring tea back with me when we go to Taiwan, or have my in-laws bring it back when we run out. I'm pretty picky with beer too though of late I'm not drinking much. I cook breakfast for myself every day. For instance, today was a slice of whole wheat bread, toasted, with 1/4 of an avocado, 2 fat slices of tomato, slice of provolone, and an egg. Pack my lunch every day and we cook dinner every night.
Music - not on par with ChrisG nor JDog, but I get into a pretty wide variety of music.
Rutgers - thuis is actually an ex-passion, but I think the idea of this is to get to know each other better. Before biking the #1 hobby was Rutgers football/basketball. The reality is that the hobby was actually tailgating for Rutgers football, because when I was going the team was 0-11, 1-10, etc. You really didn't care much about the games then so it was all about the food and beer. I still watch but haven't been to a game in maybe 3 years.
Family - last but not least, of course. This is more a way of life than a passion. Never thought I could love someone like I love my daughter. Even though the little monster tests our patience every day at this stage (turned 2 in the spring), it's still an awesome experience. Really a lot of fun.
NJ-XC-Justin
KY-DH-Freddy
Daddying.
Music, film, running, boxing, drinking, drugging -- all in the past now.
Music, film, running, boxing, drinking, drugging -- all in the past now.
Engignar
New Member
Undoubtedly one of the most exciting finishes in all of sports. That is what it is all about, and what is missing all too often in recent years.
This is the reason I love mountain biking so much, especially the technical aspect of it. I find it one of the only times that I use 100% of my concentration, knowing that a momentary lapse could lead to serious injury. It has an adrenaline rush and "zen" to it all its own.
My other passions are snowboarding and anything automotive related. In college I was on the Rutgers Formula SAE team where we designed, fabricated, and raced a formula style open wheel race car powered by a tuned Yamaha R6 motor (custom plenum and runners, inlet restrictor, custom engine management etc). I love the creative process of designing from scratch and building something from nothing. The added bonus was racing the car every weekend in the spring time and tearing up sets of slicks that I didn't have to pay for. Like Foges said, on the track when that visor goes down nothing else can be on your mind besides the next apex and hitting your marks.
honestly, the only other thing that i do anymore is spend time with my wife and kids. until the girls get a little older and i can plug them into the things i used to do (fly fishing, snowboarding) it's going to be riding a bike and reading for me. i'm pretty happy with that though.
Fogerson
Former Resident Nerd
I hear ya'...I'm the same way. For quite a few years, I did nothing except work, family, take care of the house, etc. As much as I adore my kiddies, I did find myself getting a bit, uh, chronically agitated. It only takes one thing though that makes that go away.
For now, it is bikes.
I used to say my passions were cars, guitars, motorcycles, airplanes, bicycles, and women. Then I got married and dropped the last one
Then I had kids and a mortgage and dropped the rest. Now I make it a point to have one of 'em going...
kerrybelle
New Member
Archery and reading for me.
I pretty much have the same obsession with Food and Drink as Norm does. I cook a real breakfast, lunch and dinner for my family everyday. Picky about beer, wine and vodka too. For lunch I just made homemade fallafel, with sprouts and homemade guacamole.
Flowers, flowers everywhere. Second to biking, flower gardening is my biggest passion. I have 100s of different species of flowers throughout my property. I actually keep a journal of what is in which garden and when it blooms to ensure I have 'color' everywhere throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Skiing is another. I have only been skiing for about 5 years. My husband grew up skiing and it is his biggest obsession, so I really had no choice but to learn. Now I love it! We go every weekend from Dec thru the end of Feb. Right now we just go to the Poconos since we are teaching are little guys how to. We have one more kid to teach then we'll be off to bigger and better mountains.
Snowboarding, bouldering and yummy beer
What's bouldering?
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Climbing without ropes. Usually only climbing low boulders but there are people that "highball" up to 30+ feet. Instead of the rope for protection you have thick pads that cushion the fall. It's a more intense way of climbing since most routes are not that long and somewhat difficult for the amount of time you are on the rock.
sixseven
New Member
I play drums. I enjoy building new kits, the last one I built up was all Roto-toms. I play in the rock/punk/metal vein.
Reading...huge Cormac McCarthy fan and when I cant find something that interests me I can easily pick up one of his books and read it again and again. I have probably read BLOOD MERIDIAN 5 times. He writes music for my eyes.
I also like any science/technology nonfiction esp books about waste, material processing and manufacturing, industrial archeology, ships and fringe society. Also anything to do with Howard Hughes and the Unibomber.
I used to be passionate about renovating homes but that passion faded...alas there are always repair to spark the heart.
I admit to doing flower arranging...I have done several weddings for friends and try to keep some flowers in the house at all times. Last year I tried growing an heirloom vegetable garden but with travel I found that I didn't have the time it needed.
Reading...huge Cormac McCarthy fan and when I cant find something that interests me I can easily pick up one of his books and read it again and again. I have probably read BLOOD MERIDIAN 5 times. He writes music for my eyes.
I also like any science/technology nonfiction esp books about waste, material processing and manufacturing, industrial archeology, ships and fringe society. Also anything to do with Howard Hughes and the Unibomber.
I used to be passionate about renovating homes but that passion faded...alas there are always repair to spark the heart.
I admit to doing flower arranging...I have done several weddings for friends and try to keep some flowers in the house at all times. Last year I tried growing an heirloom vegetable garden but with travel I found that I didn't have the time it needed.
MTB Aussie
Member
Snowboarding. I am one of those who dropped skiing after my first ride on a board. I sucked at skiing anyway, and now I am a little better than that on a board. The best part, I have achieved what some of you quoted as a goal by having both my kids with me while boarding (on their own boards of course). The most exciting last year was teaching my son to carve turns by having him follow me, then asking him to lead me and I would follow him. I can't wait for this season to continue where we left off.
Car racing. No particular discipline, I may have ranked F1 at the top but lately NASCAR gets a bunch of play in my house (and I will be at Dover in two weeks and Talladega two weeks after that). I've gone through the drag racing phase, the touring car and sports cars and I still love rally (my next car = WRX STI). If it has wheels and you can race it I will watch it if time permits.
Video Games. I always loved playing strategy games like "the art of war" on the original IBM PC II in the late 80's at college, moving on to FPS and racing games later as the graphics improved. I am a big fan of the doom/quake/half life style games and played online for years on the original Half Life PC game and mods. I still have an old Nintendo, an SNES, Gamecube and finally cut over to the Xbox 360 where (once again) I can spend time with my son. A little side benefit to gaming - with both hands on the controller you cant eat junk food like chips and candy while playing, unlike watching TV where I eat until the bag is empty!
Car racing. No particular discipline, I may have ranked F1 at the top but lately NASCAR gets a bunch of play in my house (and I will be at Dover in two weeks and Talladega two weeks after that). I've gone through the drag racing phase, the touring car and sports cars and I still love rally (my next car = WRX STI). If it has wheels and you can race it I will watch it if time permits.
Video Games. I always loved playing strategy games like "the art of war" on the original IBM PC II in the late 80's at college, moving on to FPS and racing games later as the graphics improved. I am a big fan of the doom/quake/half life style games and played online for years on the original Half Life PC game and mods. I still have an old Nintendo, an SNES, Gamecube and finally cut over to the Xbox 360 where (once again) I can spend time with my son. A little side benefit to gaming - with both hands on the controller you cant eat junk food like chips and candy while playing, unlike watching TV where I eat until the bag is empty!
