You Dont Have to Hurt Yourself to Snowboard – Recreation
You Dont Have to Hurt Yourself to Snowboard
Lauren Traub Teton
Snowboarding Gear to Keep you Safe and Comfortable as you Learn and Ride
Are you thinking of trying snowboarding, but reluctant because youve heard that youll be bruised after the painful edge-catching falls of the first three days Or have you tried snowboarding but thrown in the towel because it hurts too much when you fall
Snowboarding without Injuries--
Snowboarding without injuries is actually a possibility. If you wear protective snowboard gear you will greatly reduce the odds of hurting yourself when you snowboard. You will not have to worry as much about possible pain and injury on the slopes, and you can relax and enjoy the ride. If you are lucky enough to always ride on soft deep powder, protection is not such a big issue. But hard snow happens, especially in Eastern America.
Most Websites and Magazines Do Not Discuss Snowboard Safety--
and protection for the snowboarder. In some circles, it seems there is something stoic and admirable about enduring pain. If you disagree, and want to spend quality time on the slopes instead of nursing bumps and bruises on the sidelines or sustaining slow-healing injuries that can become chronic and arthritic, read on.
Main Points of Impact with Snow and Ice--
When you ride, the main points of impact where your body will meet the snow or ice are predictable: knees, hands and wrists, buttside or tailbone, and head are the target zones. Protect these body parts and you will hurt less and have a lot more fun.
Knee Protection for Snowboarders--
Knee protection is one of the most important pieces of snowboard protective gear. Your knees are bony and vulnerable. And they are complex joints that are painful and expensive to fix.
Wear in-line Skate Knee Pads beneath your snow pants. Make sure they are soft and well-padded on the inside and hard plastic to absorb shock and protect on the outside. Good pads will also keep your knees warm and flexible, and you can relax so much more knowing that a fall forward is not going to be painful and damaging. Beginners fall on their knees often. Believe it or not, good knee pads also help to protect your wrists. Read on.
Hand/Wrist Protection for Snowboarders--
Falling forward with your weight on your hands is a good way to break a wrist. Fists should be balled up, with your thumb outside, as if you were ready to punch someone. Try to relax and fall evenly on your protected knees, and forearms. You should wear good protective knee pads so you can distribute the weight on both your knees and hands. Then you wont have to try to catch yourself with your hands.
Some experts argue that wearing skate wrist guards can increase the severity of a fracture by sending the "shock" up the arm to a larger bone. A new snowboard specific safety glove and wrist guard is now on the US Market. It was designed by a French Emergency Room physician who has worked on thousands of snowboard fractures, and it is supposed to reduce snowboard wrist injuries by up to 60%.
Butt/Tailbone Protection for Snowboarders--
People sometimes say "But I have plenty of natural padding on my butt." Forget it. You need padding that is not connected to your central nervous system.
If youre a beginner and if you dont have anything else, you can slide some bubble wrap down the back of your pants. Use plenty! Youll hear the bubbles pop when you fall and youll be glad you wore them. And you will have saved a lot of jarring to your spine as well as wear and tear on your buttocks and tailbone.
Once youre convinced of the need to save your posterior, invest in some real padding designed for snowboarders. A hard plastic shell outside with soft padding on the inside is great. It will hardly be noticeable beneath your snow pants and it really helps.
Helmets for Snowboarders--
You might think mistakenly that helmets are only for people who ride in the trees, or do big tricks. But the first time you catch an edge and go CLUNK! and the back of your head hits the hard hard ground, youll reconsider. A helmet also adds the comfort of warmth and dryness, as well as cushioning for your brain. With a helmet on, you can ride in the rain comfortably, and have the slopes almost to yourself.
You should buy a helmet in person at a shop. Correct fit is mandatory and tricky. Get expert help at the snowboard shop to be sure the helmet fits. And have your helmet checked for safety and fit next season if you fell on it a lot or grew dreds or shaved your head since you purchased it.
Hydration for Snowboarders--
Snowboarding creates heat. That means you are perspiring, even when its cold. Stay hydrated with water, and you will be able to ride longer and better. To replace the water lost perspiring and breathing the dry winter air, use a hydration system. It is a backpack with a water bladder, and a tube to deliver the water to your mouth. Simple and efficient. Just grab the tube, bite the valve on the end, and sip. You can easily do it while sitting on the lift. You can wear it outside your coat, or even under it on freezing days.
You can do tricks and ride the pipe while wearing a small hydration backpack, no problem. You can also throw an extra clothing layer, energy bar, tool set, or whatever in the hydration backpack. The backpacks come in many different sizes and configurations.
Safety for Your Board--
Its just as important to protect your trusty ride when you get off it. Hardcore riders never let their boards out of their sight. If you do, check yours at the lodge, or lock it with a small cable lock that you carry in your backpack. Also register it online at http://www.SnowboardRegistry.com/ so if it does disappear, you at least have a chance of getting it back. And be a good citizen of the snowboard universe. Before you buy a used board, check its serial number at http://www.SnowboardRegistry.com/ to make sure it wasnt reported stolen.
Ride Happily Many a Day--
Unlike with skating and surfing, you DONT have to endure pain to learn and ride your snowboard. Respect yourself. Dress for safety and comfort on the slopes, and youll come back to ride happily many a day.
About The Author
Read more about snowboard safety gear at http://www.snowboardsecrets.com/secrets.htm.
Lauren Traub Teton is an avid snowboarder and the Editor of SnowboardSecrets.com and the Snowboard Events Calendar at http://www.WhatsonSnow.com.
Get "16 Secrets for Successful Snowboarding" when you sign up for the Snowboard Szine at http://www.snowboardsecrets.com.
Copyright © 2004 Lauren Traub Teton. All Rights Reserved
How to Prepare Yourself for Owning a Dual Purpose Second Home – Real Estate
How to Prepare Yourself for Owning a Dual Purpose Second Home
W. Troy Swezey
If you are thinking about buying a second home, you are not alone. A 1995 survey by the American Resort Development Association found that 60 percent of households surveyed feel they have a likely chance of purchasing a recreational property in the next ten years, a figure that rose 30% from the survey in 1990. The average age for the majority of vacation home buyers ranges from 40-50 years old. Qualifying as the baby boomer generation, this group of second home buyers consists of 80.5 million people out of the U.S. population of more than 260 million. Demand for vacation homes is rising as a result of consumers
How to Market Yourself Successfully as a Writer – Writing
How to Market Yourself Successfully as a Writer
Abdallah Khamis Abdallah
To ensure a steady flow of work and income, a writer should promote himself constantly. Not everyone knows you are a writer and the competition for work is very high. Not only do you compete with publications regular staffers and commissioned writers but with more learned and skilled freelancers.
Marketing should be on top of your priorities after production of your writing. You need to adopt various strategies to get your name out there and display your prowess.
Here are a few useful ways to promote yourself and achieve success:
WEBSITE PROMOTION
In this information age that we are in, it is necessary for every business person to have a web site to display his/her wares as well as communicate with potential customers. You should consider yourself in business and adopt appropriate business practice in order to succeed.
You need a web-site where you explain what writing services you offer, your writing credentials and samples of your published work is essential not only to provide information to would-be clients but to show them your writing competence. Of course there are other add-ons such as auto-responders, ezines, etc to supplement your site. Your website should be optimized for better search engine ranking and its URL displayed in your business documents so that people are informed of its presence.
ARTICLES SUBMISSIONS
This is a good strategy for publicizing yourself and its effects may last for quite a long time. This strategy works best online.
In this strategy you select subjects and topics in your area of specialization and post the complete articles to article submission websites for free publication. Each article will contain the writer’s byline at the beginning and a brief bio at the end. The bio will include your name, email address, website URL and what you do or who you are.
If your article is good it may be accepted for publication on the website and read by hundreds, if not thousands of people on line. Among these people are editors and ezine publishers who will republish the complete article in their publications.
The interest that your article generates and the information you provide in your bio will market you as a good writer and people will click on your website URL. The multiplier effect of this will be increased enquiries on what you offer, orders for your services or more visitors to your website. You will also have earned credits for publication of your article, which you can send to prospective publishers.
Some of the websites that accept and publish articles submitted are: -
http://www.articlecity.com
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.powerhomebiz.com
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com
http://www.writerswrite.com
http://ww.web-source.net
http://zinos.com
http://www.authorconnection.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/free-content
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/articles_archives
ADVERTISING
“Advertising pays” is as true today as it was decades back. As we said earlier, nobody knows you are there or you offer writing services. Your website is online. You can advertise your services in the many free classified ads sites and safe lists. You can also put paid ads on high traffic sites, writer’s sites, job boards, ezine ad networks, etc.
SIGNATURE FILE
A one or two line reference of what you do together with your website URL can be added in a special section of your e-mail address so that all e-mail messages you send out will contain the “signature file” is another good way to promote yourself especially if you are sending out many e-mail messages to newsgroups and online communities. After reading your message, people would want to know who you are and what you do. When they click your website or auto-responder address they will be led to what you do or offer. Set up a signature file in your e-mail, participate in discussions by sending e-mail messages and watch enquiries grow. However, be careful not to advertise directly when you post to newsgroups as that may offend others and that is not the main purpose of newsgroups.
SENDING OUT QUERIES
Sometimes, even after using other means to promote yourself you have to use this one also. It may be considered the most common way of finding work for freelance writers. Querying is an art in itself and there are many do’s and don’ts. Some publications accept e-mail queries while others don’t. Some do and others do not accept work from freelancers. You need to read market guides such as the Writers Market or submission guidelines from publishers’ websites as well as practice writing query letters.
The more queries you send the better as they increase you chances of acceptance.
OTHER
Word of mouth promotion/networking are also other ways to promote yourself within your locality. Attend seminars on writing or your area of specialization and inform others that you are a writer and you can assist them in their promoting their businesses in one way or another. Put your name, your occupation and contacts as a writer on business cards, calendars, and diaries and distribute freely locally. Ask your friends to recommend you to others. The possibilities are many and are only limited by your ability to explore them.
Writers need to market themselves in order to keep the business coming in and ensure a steady flow of income throughout the throughout the year.
About The Author
Abdallah Khamis Abdallah is a freelance copywriter and ghostwriter. To learn more about how you and your business can benefit from viral and credibility marketing solutions visit his website at: http://www.qualitywritingsolutions.com.
quantumpro@lycos.com