Playing with Toys (by the Yak)

I HAVE MY TOYS!  And it is glorious!

Whitewater kayaking on the Colorado River with Tommy Gram was amazing!  I got to spend three days on the upper Colorado River, Covering the stretch from Pumphouse to State Bridge. 

These weren’t “bomb down the river as fast as you can” days, but rather “play on every feature you can” days.  The first day was a solo.  The second and third days I joined a class of L3 and L4 whitewater instructors who were recertifying.  They were all from Albuquerque, New Mexico (a former stomping ground).  I learned so much and gained a great deal of confidence.  Tommy owns “Whitewater Attainment” and is an ACA L5 Instructor Trainer Educator, which means that he trains the people who train the instructors who train the students.  He is super patient and encouraging and it was time well spent, and tremendous fun.  It’s hard to capture what the water is like in photos;  the waves look pretty minor until you are in the middle of them. 

We spent some time scooting in and out of this feature, getting kicked out and coming around to jump back to try again.  I had several opportunities to practice my combat roll (AKA an unplanned roll).  Water temps were 55 degrees, to there was considerable incentive to execute the rolls quickly and completely.  No one in the group had to swim.

I had the chance to take local friends Mark and Rona kayaking on Steamboat Lake.  Steamboat lake is an amazing setting at the foot of Hahn’s Peak.  The mountains surround the 1100 acre lake and the view is just breathtaking.  Mark and Rona used my sea kayaks, while I used my whitewater kayak.  Rona was a little hesitant at first.  She had kayaked previously, but only in a Tandem.  Suffice it to say that once she got a little confidence she found the experience quite exhilarating.  It only took her about an hour on the water before she was chasing after boat wakes to ride the bumps.  It was a great experience for the three of us.  I know they liked it because Mark then convinced another acquaintance and his son to go out a few days later to the same location.  They both picked it up quickly and we did a very energetic run across the length of the lake.  My decision to bring the sea kayaks to Colorado was well rewarded.

I also brought my recumbent bike to Steamboat.  The downside to recumbents is that they tend to drag on the up-hills.  They tend to be heavier than standard bikes (referred to as “wedgies” by the recumbent crowd), and you can’t stand in the saddle for extra leverage.  Your only option is to gear down and grind.  On the flip side, they have dramatically lower wind drag, and are excellent on the flats and absolutely scream on the down-hills.  The upright seat position allows you to see much more around you without the neck strain, hand strain, back strain, or butt strain.  For anything on flat or maintained gravel roads, I find that the advantages exceed the uphill drawbacks.  On downhills, they absolutely scream.  I hit 49.7 MPH coming around the back of Emerald Mountain (on a well-maintained asphalt road).  It felt like I was on a rocket sled, but never out of control.  Of course, recumbent bikes are severly limited on mountain trails, so I will always keep my mountain bike. 

If anyone is reading this (a big question) and they are interested in recumbent types and characteristics (an even smaller set), let me know and I will opine on that.  I’m not an expert, but I’ve ridden one since 2005, I own two currently and will be picking up a third next month.

Alas, this episode closes with two days of repacking what is coming east with us and distributing the rest between two condos and the trailer which will remain behind. 

Next up: New Orleans!