First ride - Madd 170 PTC tune

[B18C1]

I woke up this morning, looked out the window : A blue sky, not even a cloud around. The perfect day to try my new toy ! -18*celcius seemed kind of cold but it wasn't so bad after all. I was anxious about going from a 57/54 degrees setup to 69/66 (The board is so narrow!)... It took a few ride to get used to the angle and then, I saw the light : The board has so much potential, the edge hold is AMAZING.

I also realised that the board has a great flex, I only weight ~140lbs/ 5"8 and the 170 cm feels perfect. My old KR-56 was way stiffer and I had a hard time flexing it even though it was only 156cm.

We were four hardbooters at st-bruno this morning, so we all ride went to ride togheter from 10am to 3pm. We practiced mostly areal carving and I have to say the Madd was really good at it because of the flexibility.

Unfortunatly, the day did not end as expected... As I was going down a slope, I was still practicing jumping from edge to edge, and suddently, in the fourth turn, I jumped a little higher than usual. I changed edge and as I was going back down, my nose got stuck in the snow and *BANG*...

I'm sitting in the snow, my leg hurts badly, and my thumb too... So I manage to get to the side of the track not to block it... Now there's only one thing in my mind :: "Did I break something??"..! So the guys I was with came to me, asked if I was alright. I then tried moving my leg and yes, it moved but it hurts..I managed to get down the hill while someone was carrying my board and went directly to the medic.. Results : One sprained thumb. He couldnt tell about the leg (It's nothing serious) so he told me to put ice on it and if it still hurts a few days, I should see a doc. Normally, I should be able to ride next weekend (wich is great) depending on my leg's condition. For a second, I thought my season was over . Hopefully, the board is still in perfect shape.

Anyways, I'm really happy about the madd, I like the lenght since it's really stable even at high speeds and it turns on a dime because of the flexibility. The best of both worlds. I recommend it even though it's only the third alpine board I've ever tried . -Jules

[bartron]

Good to hear it wan't anything serious. At least you can still ride with a sprained thumb. I was able to ride with a fractured rib a few years ago. In fact, snowboarding was just about the ONLY thing I could do with that fractured rib. Seriously, it was.

It's the small stuff you have to worry about: putting your board away, getting on and off the chair, adjusting your equipment, etc.

Hope it heals quickly.

'later...

[snow|3oarder]

well...if you have a sprained thumb..meaning that the ligaments are injured, you should not ride without a brace. if the sprain gets more severe it may require surgery