The Carbon Complex Branches Out

I have an unusually low resistance to materials science jargon. Glossary-worthy words like "dampening" and "deflection" or "ductility" make me swoon. In effect, I tend to be an early adopter of fancy new gadgety parts on my bike.

Unfortunately, this winter I've gotten pretty into skiing - enough so that I'm now considering buying a high-tech set of skis with poplar-carbon cores, magnesium nanotube sidewalls and super unbreakium mounting platforms. Just today I bought a pair of discounted Lange WC 100 ski boots on geartrade.com. The story behind the boots, which supposedly retailed for $600 and usually sell online for about $300, says that backcountry.com couldn't sell them on their normal site because the box was all torn up. I got them for a mere $146! They better be worth it.

It was an impulse buy. In addition to my jargon hard-on, I'm also a sucker for discount percentages. I will almost buy anything that has a  "75% off" sticker on it. Don't laugh! It's a disease.

So now I have to buy skis, mounts, poles, a helmet, locks, tools and all the accouterments that work with my fancy new boots. The burning desire to invest in awesome new techie parts is hard to defy. This is almost as difficult as buying a new bike! It's also pretty hard on my wallet.

There's not much time left in the skiing season here. There may be a few more good winter storms, but temperatures will only stay freezing for another forty days. The big question on the table is: can I get enough stuff together to ski on my own equipment this winter? Time will tell.