"Dmitry" wrote in message news:ScXxb.348800$Fm2.352785@attbi_s04...
Here's the story: I can only be comfortably riding my board if I leave
the back leg binding really loose - such that I can move the boot
in the binding a little bit (well, not a little actually). If I don't, I'll just
be falling all over the place and my back leg muscles will become
so sore after only 10 minutest of riding I won't be able to stand up
at all.

Because of my lack of experience and especially lack of experience
with different gear, I can't even figure out what to adjust to get it
right. Tried all kinds of angles, tried adjusting the back support
angle - no go, and what's more embarrasing is that all this playing
around with my gear didn't get me closer to understanging why
is this happening...

I understand that it's hard to figure out what's really going on, but
what would you recommend me to try? I haven't touched adjusting
the width of my stance yet or moving the bindings off the center
axis, but given the fact that I can ride ok with my existing settings
with loosened back binding I just didn't think it could help.

I'm heading for the mountain tomorrow (been on Baker yesterday,
will try Crystal tomorrow), so if somebody can throw out some ideas
I'll try them out and report back.

Hmm... you didn't even tell us your current binding setup or which
back strap is loosened (toe or ankle). You probably should try moving
your bindings back towards the tail (maybe 1-3" setback), this gives
you backleg more leverage on turns and could reduce the backleg
fatigue that you are experiencing. Decreasing your stance width will
also give you more leverage. Too much forward lean can also cause leg
fatigue. So will improper technique. Get someone on the mountain to
take a look at why you are falling when you binding is tightened, I'm
guessing it will be pretty obvious.

I will say this, whatever you are doing now, I serious doubt that you
are riding very well if your back strap is extremely loose, I mean
there IS a reason for it to be there. Sure you might be able to scrape
your way down the slopes, but it's like steering a biking with one
hand holding a large slushie drink - meaning that it isn't as good as
you could be if you equipment is properly setup and used.

I remember when I first started out riding I played with my bindings
setup pretty much every day. Very early on I found out that you need
to force yourself to stick with a particular binding setup at least a
day to used to (when you are a beginner, I've discoverd many years
later that I can change my setup drastically without it effecting my
riding significantly). You could systematic try out different
combinations and note what changes occur with each setup (that's the
key thing, if you change binding setup without bothering to even try
to figure out what each setup feels like... you are going to be doomed
into "repeating" your "mistakes").