Monday, January 25, 2010

Icy Waters


Yes, we did in fact go out and paddle today!  We made the trip down to Allegan and paddled on the lake.
I'll have to say that the lake was a lot bigger than I thought and it was a great paddling location.  I can't wait to try it out in some warmer conditions.

There is a nice launching spot East of M-40, across from the public shooting range.  Once we got on the water there was quite a wind for the first stretch of our journey, but we stuck to the shore and has some pretty nice water.  The scenery was great too, we witnessed a bald eagle in flight, pretty cool.

Jim was nice enough to bring out some demo boards and let us try them all out.
So, we were donned in our warm gear, ranging from no wetsuit, a 3:2, a 6:5, and a drysuit.
Jim always seems to be the brave one.  Although no one fell in, there's some sort of mental security
from wearing a wetsuit when there's ice on the water your paddling on.

Monday, January 11, 2010

We Made It!

After an early wake up Saturday morning, a race, and a post race ceremony, we
were able to get back on the road.  We returned to Holland, Mi, about 9:30am to
find more snow than N.C., but temps almost as cool.
The race was a great experience.  There were a handful of pro racers and lots of
exited stand up paddlers.  The friendliness of the whole event was pretty great.
Coastal Urge put on an awesome event. 
Check out some links.  I was even quoted in a local paper the day of the race...... crazy.

http://distressedmullet.com/

http://www.luminanews.com/article.asp?aid=5653&iid=200&sud=30

Hoping to post some pics on flickr soon.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Arrived at 7:30am

After a 16 hour drive, straight through, a run in with the very nice N.C. police we made it.  (My fault)

We were able to check into our hotel, get breakfast and take a well needed nap.
Checked out the ocean and went out on a paddle in the Atlantic intracoastal waterway on parts of
the course that we'll compete on Saturday, where cold temps of 35-40 degrees made it feel more like home, but the sunshine was welcomed with smiling faces.


Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Departure, T minus 12hrs

All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go,
There's a forcast of snow outside my door...

Can't believe it's gonna be so brisk in N.C. for the race, but thats
not gonna stop the Michiganders from racing their hearts out.

Hoping for a smooth road trip.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Cold Stroke Classic

Two work days until the road trip to N.C. for the
Cold Stroke Classic begins.
Excited and nervous all at the same time. It will be
a great experience and nice break from the cold and snow
here in west Mi.
Hoping for good weather and great paddling.

www.coldstrokeclassic.com/