Given Up The Drink
Published December 31, 2010 | 
And I like pints of Guinness / As Billy used to say
It rained so fucking much here / That well drink away the day
– The Bollox
In May of 2011 Harry Whelan, Chris Millington and Jeff Allen will be aiming to beat the record for the fastest 1,000 mile circumnavigation of Ireland which now sits at 33 days. According to their website, the reason for taking aim at the record is to get around and back before giving in to the temptation of the Guinness after having “sort of” given up the drink recently. (Um, yeah.. no comment..) Not everyone knows what kayaks they’ll be paddling yet, but it sounds like most will be opting for Rockpool’s new Taran. For more information you can visit the Team Expedition Paddler website at www.ExpeditionPaddler.com
** Image: Giants Causeway. Ireland. Photo by Petr Brož.
Active or Die!
Published December 29, 2010 | 
I’ve said it many times before…. It’s hard to stay fit in Wisconsin over the winter months. It’s “ski or die” for the most part. Over the last few years I’ve spent long winter hours on treadmills and stationary bikes. I’m trying to get into skiing but it’s just not my bag. I’ll do it, but I know I’ll never love it the way I love kayaking. So every year it seems I meet spring wearing the inevitable “winter 10″, that 10 extra pounds of winter fat that comes from a much more sedentary winter lifestyle. Of course if you do that a few years in a row and you never really seem to get ahead. Each year I feel fat by spring and fit by fall just in time to slip into fat season again. It’s a cycle as old as time. I still have to find a solution that I can live with. Xbox? I’m kidding.. right!? Continue reading
Tidings of comfort, joy and…
Published December 15, 2010 | 
Don’t want to be a fat man,
have not the patience to ignore all that.
Hate to admit to myself half of my problems
came from being fat.
Won’t waste my time feeling sorry for him,
I seen the other side to being thin.
Roll us both down a mountain
and I’m sure the fat man would win.
- tull
It’s just that season isn’t it!? Tidings of comfort, joy and cold feet. Really, cold feet! It was minus 10F here last night and it certainly does not feel much better this morning. At least I have a dog to put my feet on to keep them off the cold cruel floor. Now let me see… Where was I?
Oh, yeah, blogging. So on the kayaking side of things there’s a lot going on. For instance, I’m working with a guy now who plans to paddle across America next year to raise awareness for childhood obesity here in the states. (I’ll share that with you as we get more info online.) I’m totally for this cause, and at the same time I can’t help but be a little “cause adverse” at the moment. Maybe it’s the holidays? I think sometimes that doing A or B for a cause can become cleche’ to the point of actually harming the cause we’re trying to support. I mean, every athlete is raising money or raising awareness for something, right? I sometimes can’t help but wonder if it does any good, or simply dulls our senses. Well, you know me by now.. always wandering and wondering in two opposite directions at once! As I said, I’m totally into sparking someone one, anyone to do something about childhood obesity. I just don’t think the NFL’s Play 60 is going to cut it. We are in trouble here and in other countries around the world. We’re getting fat. Too fat. Sickly fat. Yet at the same time we are tippy-toeing around the issue as not to offend anyone. That won’t work either. Now to be fair, I don’t need to hear any 5’11″ 89 LB waif trying to tell me (or anyone else) to eat less. Highly focused, over caffeinated athletes are not always the best folks to deal with the issues of those less “inspired” than them. You need to think before you simply shout out some over-worn mantra about getting off the couch. The fact is most individuals, whatever their issue, be it psychological, physiological or pharmacological, want to be healthy and in good shape. We need to help them get there. That means knowing why that unique individual is struggling. Not making blanket statements. At the same time, we need to fight what society has done to our food supply. Let’s be real here. The reason many poorer folks in the states are fat, is simply because crap food is cheap and healthy food is expensive. We not only need to teach healthy dietary habits and exercise, but somehow we must make healty food available and more to the point, affordable to everyone regardless of economic status. If we don’t start there, everything else we do will be destined to failure before we even begin.
Wait, I was going to talk about a couple new kayak expeditions coming up, and some way cool ski bindings and now I’m totally off chasing another wispy thought. Well, that’s why this site is called Kayak “Quixotica” and, well, there it is then.
Little Black Number
Published December 3, 2010 | 
For a guy, the equivalent of the “little black number” is the tight black T… Well, if you’ve got the bod for it! I’m big into black Ts too.. (Not the tight kind). Right now my favorite is one that was sent to me by my friends at Body, Boat, Blade International. The best part is what you don’t see. One the back it says, “Throwing Stones At Sacred Cows”. Now that’s my kind of coaching! Thanks guys! If you’d like one of these fancy black numbers you’ll have to stop by their shop on in Washington State.. or call ph: 1.360.376.5388 or email: info@bodyboatblade.com. They are not available online.. (Cha, ya, I know! What’s up with that!? LOL!)
I, on the other hand am totally into the online thing. Over in my Skillet Creek world I’ve opened a little Cafe Press shop and have been selling some cool Hiking & Skiing trail marker clothing & other bits and bobs. I’m surprised how well that’s gone. You can check those out here. Speaking of little black numbers, I’ve got a strange black T made to repel the literate bears in your woods with the phases, “No, Bear.” and “Go Away Bear!” on the front. So why not take a T or mug along on your next trip to Kodiak island? Just in case… No promises.. 
So there’s my Christmas shopping shill for the year. It not only allows me to pay for an occasional four dollar cup of coffee from the local “fair-trade artwork and gift basket” filled coffee shop, but it also gives me another day to work on my post all about BC bindings. It’s not easy out there in the cold, cruel world of skiing.
What?…. Snow Storm? Tonight? What the F—————- ******* (We now take you back to your regularly scheduled program.. Are you sitting comfortably?)
Posted in advertising, Random Thoughts, Traditional Paddling, Web Stuff | 
body boat blade, No Bear, skillet creekA Time To Ski
Published December 2, 2010 | 
During winter in Wisconsin there is little opportunity to paddle. Yes, the great lakes are open all year although the shoreline get’s a bit tricky. I have friends who will drag themselves out across the ice for a nice winter paddle and just hope the ice stays in place until they get back. Been there, done that. There’s also a fun New Year’s Day paddle on Lake Columbia just 20 miles from here. I expect I will do that. Of course there’s the pool as well. I needed the pool this year to do my final edition to my low impact rolling series. Keep an eye out for that after the Christmas Holiday.
Yesterday, it looked as if winter had finally arrived. The image above comes from a Catholic Retreat here in the local hills. I spent a bit of my morning there yesterday contemplating life, the universe and the coming of winter. I again thought about how I would keep moving and how I would fend off the dark moods of winter. The short hours of daylight are not good for my soul. I’ll continue to hike as long as I can, and paddle when the mood strikes, and the lay of the ice cooperates. Last year I put time into learning cross country skiing. It did feel good to get out. Still, I find I’m not one who find happiness in traveling in other people ruts. I need to find my own way. I realized, just as winter was coming to an end, that I wanted to go “Back Country”. I want to ski, not snowshoe. Snowshoeing looks enjoyable enough, but at one point in my life I skied downhill almost daily. While hiking through the wilderness is part of my goal, I also like the idea of racing down those little (and sometimes not so little) slopes along the way.
The problem here in central Wisconsin is that it seems no one really digs back-country. I’m not sure why. We’ve got insane miles of open public land in my area. The upside of the lack of popularity, is that when I get this all figured out I’ll have a world to myself. The rough bit is finding the expertise to guide me along the way. As a paddling instructor I know that magazines have their place, but I also know that a world full of “experts” does not do much for beginners. I remember starting this website many years back for those exact reasons. Expert advice, was simply way over my head! SO… while not giving paddling amiss, you’ll probably here much more from me in the coming weeks about Backcountry skiing as I figure out how it all works. Hopefully, for those of you who have never tried it either, there will be something useful. If you’re an ice locked paddler like I am who didn’t’ really switch on to XC, maybe you’d like to join me in this new experience who knows where it will end up. As it was in my early paddling days, I’ve asked some folks for help buying my first gear. Thing is, I know I’ll spend 99.9% of the time learning to use it on my own. That’s when the fun will start.
So.. like anyone looking at something new.. here’s my first exposure.. A video at Backpacker Mag
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