I have a Sea Kayak Carolina "sea kayak surfing"class with Dale Williams coming up at the end of this month. I am really glad to be getting out of northern Virginia for a few days. It should be warmer in Charleston and I am hoping for good weather.
I am somewhat intimidated by the class. I am planning to bring my CD Sirocco. I have enjoyed this boat in surf and find that it handles rollers and following seas well. The boat gives me confidence, it is a platform to build upon. Downside would be I haven't been able to complete a roll in it. But I have practiced wet exits and heel hook reentries in it very recently. As I said, the boat gives me confidence, so I am not worried so much about biffing in the waves as I might be in another boat, like my Solstice.
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| myself and the Sirocco |
Brian did warn me that I might need to reenter multiple times and that I will likely "get tired." This has been so present on my mind that it drove me to start running again a few days ago. I had been waiting for my busted knee to heal, but decided I couldn't afford to wait any longer. I have been running farther each day. I plan a five mile course, alternately running and walking. Today I managed to run an entire mile & 1/2. This might only be impressive to me, but then again, I'm my own worst critic as well.
I am also looking forward to getting back on my bike. It's been a year since I rode with any regularity. I had been riding two or three times a week until last spring when my neck pain became just unbearable. Taking a break from regular rides improved the situation. I guess the best I can hope for is one ride a week. Having several bikes at this point seems silly so I plan to keep only my cyclocross bike. It's been my main ride all these years and I really can't see the point in keeping the others.
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| Me heading out on the C&O Towpath with my main ride |
With the Dale Williams class, then the East Coast Paddle Festival and several other symposiums coming up this year I decided it was time to fill in any holes in my paddling kit. So I purchased my own radio this week. I wanted one that was a little smaller than the one I have used for the last two years (which is really my husband's but he doesn't need it often). I also ordered a tow belt and 18 foot line. During the two trips to Florida I noticed several other paddlers had quick release lanyards they used to tie up when taking breaks, clever, and so I ordered one of these as well.
Maybe I went a little "wild" as I also ordered, drum roll please, a dry suit for my husband. Amazon knows how to reel in a sucker. They sent me a notice that the same suit I have was available in an XXL for 30 bucks less than I paid for mine. I considered my suit a great deal so there was no way I could pass up this one. Purchasing it solved my husband's two piece dilemma, neatly. Now I have my bottoms back so that I have a two piece back up dry suit and he will have just the one suit. He will need it way less often than me so this seems a good solution.
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| new toys! |
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