Adam ponders his next move....
Sunday 27 January 2008
A wet weekend
Monday 21 January 2008Saturday - Despite heavy rain I feel the urge for a paddle so off i go to Carsington water. Now, ever thought that the worlds against you (conspiracy theory)? First i get lost on the way there, 1 hour run takes nearly double, the lake is massive but you are only permitted to paddle in one small corner and United lost against Wednesday ( I couldn't face it on telly).
The the final cue de gar, had to walk down a small bank to the lake. I slipped holding the canoe, i hit the floor, the canoe bounced in the air , and then hit me around the head, and guess what, i had people watching.
So onto the water and what has been worrying me for months is the lack of distance practice , i spend a lot of time allegedly improving my skills but not much on strength, so today we address that.
After 20 minutes i thought 35 miles a day will kill me or my arms will fall off(which evers the worst), however, i discovered that i wanted to paddle like i was in a race and by slowing down my rate i could keep going. The trick i feel is like when i ride a bike, not to free-wheel, so to keep paddling at a slower rate. I managed a good hour and half before darkness reclaimed the day.
I still have issues with my back rest, it was killing my back, however the thigh braces i fitted do the task , stops me moving around the boat.
So onto Sunday
Went to the club waters on the Don and after a inspection the club official declares "It's a wash out, the club can take no responsibility, if you wish to paddle its on your own shoulder".
So I and some people who know what they are doing venture up the bank to assess our route down.
We are given some rescue training , which will come in very handy.
We inspect the water and its like a roaring dragon, and its the first time I have thought about the power of water from the point of view that in 5 minutes i got down stream.
Then fellow paddlers (that are normally instructors ) remind me of the risk of the trees in the water which basically strain it but also can trap and kill you.
But plenty of water available to miss it.
So off i launch through two waves, then there it is, the big tree i need to miss right in front of me, frantic paddling left, get the nose(bow) round it but the back catches it, and over and in I go.
It felt like a life time but i managed to get out and off i went on my wild water ride without the boat. It's a bit like going down the steepest slide at a water park but without an end and its cold, the waves push your head in the water.
I follow what i have been told and a rescue canoe guides me safely down the channels before the rescue lines fly in i catch hold, then I am pulled to safety.
Water running out my sleeves and every other opening, the only thing missing was the fish in my mouth.
So after that did i go home?. No i went back for more and this time i beat the water(more like a goal-less draw) and did the full trip without coming out.
So did i leave it there? Err no! I went for another go. This time I got past the tree fine, but trying to break out of the fast flow i went in. I thought let's try a roll, and it worked, up i came.
However after a few seconds of me grinning from ear to ear i went over again, this time i got out and got rescued again.
Some one said I was still smiling when i went over again, yes i was well impressed with my first white water roll.
Back to Business
Thursday 17 January 2008
Happy New Year!!
Firstly I must apologise for not posting on here in far too many months, there are no excuses! And also whilst Dave has been going paddling mad in the swimming baths and River Don I've not been out in a boat in a while. There is no-where local to me thats doing canoe hire now which has made it difficult to get out, however my saviour turned up in the brake van of a HST! (Thats a High Speed Train for non railway readers). Imagine the looks I got from smartly dressed commuters as I walked down a packed train platform with a canoe over my shoulder! The temptation to start shouting "The flood is coming, I'm ready but are you?" was almost too tempting. My hugest of huge thanks to Mr Brian West who has lent me his canoe for practice, it'll make a massive amount of difference to me and the amount of time I can spend paddling in the run up to the main event in July. Next time I see you Brian the beers will be on me. The borrowed canoe can be seen in the above picture (would you believe that it's actually a fairly short boat!) and I'm as pleased as punch to be it's guardian for a while.
Dave has also managed to pull in £600+ of sponsership money which is fantastic and well on the way to the £1000 target. I'll be doing the rounds at my end very shortly and so expect to see me begging for whatever of your hard earned cash that you can spare, it really is for a great cause, BLISS really do make a huge difference to the families they are involved with.
As Dave has mentioned in his posts the route has changed ever so slightly again with the bulk of the route now being the Grand Union Canal and River Nene as opposed to the North Sea, it's a shame that! Years ago canal boats were pulled by horses that walked alongside on the tow path and therefore if anyone has a spare horse lying around that they wish to donate for a week in July please get in touch.
In other news, I have made a start on giving up the fags which I know will come in handy when I'm paddling 30 miles a day (or not depending on how mad looking at nothing but river and fields for a week sends me!). It's been 11 days now and so far so good. 11 days doesn't sound like much I know but all things have to start somewhere, we're planning on travelling 300 miles in canoes in 11 days so when you think of it like that............
Thats all for now, promise not to leave it so long next time!
Tuesday 1 January 2008
Happy New Year.
Started the year off with a new years day paddle on Damflask reservoir (near Sheffield) the club had arranged a trip there.
The weather was calm it was like a mill pond and air temp was warm too.
Took the opportunity to complete my two star award , which has to be done part Kayak and part done in a open top canoe.
Then did a bit( and I mean a bit ) of distance paddling, after quarter of a mile i was Christmas cracked. Blimey 30 mile a day seams a lot of water when we do the trip.
The route we intend to paddle has firmed up ( if water can firm up) and it looks like cast off on the Thames at either Kew or where the boat race starts, up the grand unions 1 million locks to carry the boat round as you cant go in them. Onto the River Nene and bit of the Wash back in at Boston , onto Lincoln, onto tidal Trent, before the South Yorkshire Joint water way to the quay at Sheffield.
Its only about 31 miles a day paddling, sounds a lot walking let alone paddling.
Author
- View my complete profile
Posts
Archives
Links
Admin
