Canocopia Update – River
Published March 15, 2009 | 
River, river carry me on
Living river carry me on
River, river carry me on
To the place where I come from
So deep, so wide, will you take me on your back for a ride
– gabriel
On one level you have a large venue filled with the crush and din of shoppers. An amazing human sea where a tide of bodies that ebb and flow with the time of day and speaker schedules. Races form and rush down the wide hallways. In these strong currents eddies form around beer sales and snack vendors. Small dams and large boulders of friends and acquaintances appear and disappear mid-stream forcing the river to flow around them or slowly erode them away. Subtly hidden in this torrent you have a reunion of friends and family. A celebration of familiar faces that you may only see once a year or sometimes less. Here you can touch base and once again remind yourself that we’re all in this together…
Canoecopia Update – Bill Valentine
Published March 15, 2009 | 
It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don’t matter, anyhow
An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know by now
– dylan
It’s no use to show you a picture of Bill Valentine. Bill is simply a good guy who makes yokes for portaging canoes over the trails and through the swamps. His booth is sort of hidden on a back wall far removed from the Glam-Rock rad gear and sea kayak sections of the floor. Yet walking on the way to somewhere else something caught my eye.
Canoecopia Update – Cool Factor
Published March 15, 2009 | 
He’s got his own way of getting things done
He’s always looking out for number one
Don’t try to beat him ’cause he’s already won
Man he’s too cool for school
– fountains of wayne
I stopped in to chat with the kids at the P & H kayaks Booth which was hopping as usual. There is just something going on with that group. It’s gone viral. I’ve heard all sorts of reasons for their sudden cool factor and I’m sure it’s a bit of everything. Certainly they have great boats but as I’ve said before, kayaks are kayaks these days. You pick what works for you individually, but most sea kayaks out there are great boats. What P&H has at the moment is simply a great team of diverse personalities (The Beatles of Sea Kayaking?? Kelly, Mark, Bryan & Brian) who know their stuff and are really down to earth and happy to give their time and attention to anyone who stops by, while at the same time avoiding (for the most part…) all the BS sales crap.
Like blowing off a bicycle
Published March 14, 2009 | 
I see a dark sail on the horizon
set under a black cloud that hides the sun
.- tull
You can’t paddle all the time, every day, every year. Sometimes you simply need to walk away for a bit. Go hiking, biking or find some other way to enjoy nature. Of course sooner or later most of us end up right back I the kayak. It’s right there that we get a little refresher. A bit of wind and we abruptly reminded why we rant on and on about torso rotation and we are also reminded exactly what muscles we let get out of shape when we took a break.
Ask Bryan Smith Something…
Published March 12, 2009 | 
I’m pleased to once again have a chance to chat with Bryan Smith about his up-coming visit to Canoecopia this weekend and the forthcoming release of his new DVD, “Eastern Horizons”. Canoecopia is the king of paddling tradeshows and those of us here in the midwest are lucky to have the opportunity to see all the latest gear, talk to the vendors, and see more presentations by well-known padders than you can actually make time for in just one weekend. Thanks to Bryan for always finding time to answer my silly questions. . . Continue reading
Posted in Events & Symposia, interviews, Paddling, People, Video | 
bryan smith, eastern horizons, VideoQuixing on Twitter
Published March 12, 2009 | 
Frankly I had to stare at twitter for a few days…weeks…months… before I could figure out what to do with it. Twitter in some ways is blogging for the ADHD generation. Note that generations are now about 3 years apart! But then I realized there were lots of little tidbits that I never mention simply because they are not worth writting a long blog about like, say. . . “What’s REALLY up with RIOT?” or who won the Popular Mechanics Tape test. . (Not Duct Tape!) or to post basic paddling tips or even to randomly riff on a line from the “Walrus and the Carpenter”. Anyway, I’m quixing on Twitter now. Ignore or follow however which way you wish. Latest “tweets” and blog posts are always right on the homepage of the site.
She said don’t I know you
From the cinematographer’s party,
I said who am I
To blow against the wind,
– paul simon
I read an article recently lamenting the passing of the true explorers. These days, the article suggested, the only thing left was to make the challenges bigger by adding risk. Now you can’t simply trek to the north pole for instance. You must do it on one leg, backwards with a mask over both eyes and dressed in nothing but in your underwear. I mean let’s face it, these days rich tourists with a passport and Columbia jacket can enjoy the experience of almost dying off the coast of Antarctica all from the discomfort of a sinking cruise ship. You really have to make some effort to beat that. Continue reading →