What kind of paddler are you? How hard do you paddle?

Decked Canoes, Open Canoes, as long as they're canoes!

Moderators: kenneth, sbroam, TheKrikkitWars, Mike W., Sir Adam, KNeal, PAC, adamin

How hard do you paddle? and What is your end goal?

I like to stay in my comfort zone, and am happy with improving slowly but surely. I really enjoy the scenery.
5
10%
I sometimes make moves that are a little harder, to challenge myself. I paddle to challenge myself, and am happy getting better at a decent pace.
25
52%
I spend most of the run hitting the hardest lines I can find. Want to get as good as I can be.
12
25%
I make things as hard as I can on myself, paddle as hard as I can, and am not content unless I end up being a world class paddler.
6
13%
 
Total votes: 48

User avatar
FullGnarlzOC
C Maven
Posts: 1329
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:31 am
Location: York, PA

Post by FullGnarlzOC »

hese conversations have been hilarious lately.

raft guides call it " second year guide sydrome". You can spot it a mile away
someone has to add some flavor to these forums, now that louie hardly post anymore(feel free to jump in any time louie). ya'll r boring. its the same old crap.

and half the fun of paddling is making fun of those that don't do what you do, if the opportunity presents itself. like i have a sticker on the boat that says "kayaking is not cool".... I love when i get the "what do you mean kayaking isnt cool"

or the other sticker i just put up.... "I'd rather be rafting"..........

"would you really rather be rafting?"
"hahahaha. no. get a canoe"

ya'll r too polite n proper. lost all ur color. least if i come up here stirring stuff up, I can draw some color out.

and josh - doing the samething that doesnt work is retarded. btw - so sorry that your plateauing. if you get out to the US, and we get to paddle.. u can follow me. I'll fix that real quickly, gauranteed. and I dont even have to have more skill than you to get u paddling better - the lines / moves will do it.

like...the new line at national... instead of just hitting the boof move.... You get the boat sideways...huck you're paddle 70 ft in the air, give everyone watching the double bird.... and roll up with ur back up after you get trashed. then double bird again, after u grab ur first paddle. I'm sure you haven't tried a line like that yet ;)

and anyone that takes that too seriously... is lame. real lame.
http://www.gnarlzoutdoors.com
Silverbirch Canoes - North American Distributor
Email: tom@gnarlzoutdoors.com
ncdavid
CBoats Addict
Posts: 738
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:48 pm
Location: mooresville, nc

Post by ncdavid »

Smurfwarrior wrote:I like cheese sandwiches that are grilled. Only noobs and posers like grilled cheese sandwiches, and I eat it with only one hand. Need to post video on youtube, I feel alone in my eating habits and must make others eat cheese sandwiches that are grilled so that I feel normal.
I've just invented a completely new way of eating the GRILLTCHEE. I've been showing it some local guys who are still so backward that they think Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato is a superior sammich. I hate those guys.
oc1kcwlkr
Pain Boater
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:46 am

Post by oc1kcwlkr »

gnarlz,

i was just bustin chops man. This forum has definately been more entertaining lately. I will give ya that.

As far as the 2nd year guide syndrome comment.....

In my experience around rivers and river towns, the best boaters and "guides" (i'm definately not one of them) are the ones that seem to be a little more laid back and not feel the need to tell everyone about "how they roll"

It always seems the ones that have been around for 2-3 yrs are always the ones to be a little bit more vocal. They are starting to get some skills but haven't quiet developed the respect for the river yet.

Now i can definately relate to how stoked you are about everything. I"m glad ya found the river. It pretty much changed everything for me. i.e. I sleep in a changing room and pretty much eat every meal from a gas station in order to be on and around the water.

but I would just kinda step back a little and really try to listen to what some of these guys have to say. Alot of em have been there and done that, so to speak. Alot of the tone of these conversations have become sarcastic because maybe they feel like ur not picking up what they're throwing down.

but good luck man, hope i get to boat with ya sometime. If you come down south look us up

kc
User avatar
TheKrikkitWars
CBoats.net Staff
Posts: 1440
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:27 am
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Contact:

Post by TheKrikkitWars »

FullGnarlzOC wrote:and half the fun of paddling is making fun of those that don't do what you do, if the opportunity presents itself. like i have a sticker on the boat that says "kayaking is not cool".... I love when i get the "what do you mean kayaking isnt cool"
UGH. The whole point of "the banter" is to be light hearted fun... by attacking something so intrinsic as someone's chpice of sport you only get backs up... conversely taking the mick out of someone's family, hometown, previous relationships, noted incidents of past carnage etc are all quite funny, so long as you make it obvious that it's banter (and pick up on social cues when it's not ok anymore, Boaters in general seem quite bad at that).
and josh - doing the samething that doesnt work is retarded. btw - so sorry that your plateauing. if you get out to the US, and we get to paddle.. u can follow me. I'll fix that real quickly, gauranteed. and I dont even have to have more skill than you to get u paddling better - the lines / moves will do it.
I don't quite know what you're getting at, but I know why I'm plateauing, and how to solve it, and it doesn't involve getting hopelessly out of my depth labouring in the belief that it'll all be OK... the last time I did that I got me wedged in a siphon.
Joshua Kelly - "More George Smiley than James Bond"

CBoats Moderator - Not necessarily representing the CBoats staff though...(I'll use words like "moderator", "We" and "CBoats" to make it clear when I am)
jscottl67
CBoats Addict
Posts: 446
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:16 pm
Location: Chattanooga TN

Post by jscottl67 »

Smurfwarrior wrote:I like cheese sandwiches that are grilled. Only noobs and posers like grilled cheese sandwiches, and I eat it with only one hand. Need to post video on youtube, I feel alone in my eating habits and must make others eat cheese sandwiches that are grilled so that I feel normal.
I'm with you man...and pre-buttering the bread is sooo yesterday. I throw the butter in the pan, get it rolling like some gnarly keeper hydraulic, then boof over the rim right in the heart of it. Then I whip out my high end stainless steel paddle and spin that sammich around the hole until I've wiped out all that butter has to offer...then a quick ender, and smack down hard in some more butter.

Those morons that butter the bread first are just wusses that don't like adventure...it's like running a slalom course instead of hitting the gnar.
:roll:
User avatar
phreon
CBoats Addict
Posts: 266
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Post by phreon »

I s'pose it's pointless to add to this mess, but what the hades.

I always wanted to get into canoing, but bought a decent used Dagger Blackwater Rec kayak kit because my friend started kayaking and I could afford the boat. I figured I'd never want to do rivers let alone whitewater, but got hooked the first time I got sucked through a little Class 0.5 chute backwards on a local river. I acquired several other used canoes (plus 1 kayak) over time and finally managed to land an old but cared for Dagger Rival. The journey that started 5 years ago with that kayak motivated me to take classes, hunt down Bill Mason's books, then Paul's, then videos. It was only early this year that I've been able to get on bona fide whitewater (at ALF). The rest of that time was spent putzing around and learning what I can on local water.

To that end, I don't really understand the question. What kind of paddler am I? The kind who enjoys getting on the water and enjoying myself. My goal? To get as good at it as I can. ALF this year introduced me to the Middle Tellico and Canyon+Gorge section of the BSF. Both were huge leaps, but I had a great time. Even if I never paddle water any more difficult, I know I still have a lifetime of improvement ahead of me. Watching the accomplished folks I was with run the same sections with style and grace that required 100% of my energy hammered this point home. No matter how much effort I burn on this endeavor, there will always be someone better at it, so I really don't care who is the most "hard core". Heck, as for as I know, the only video of me floating around out there features me pulling a classic "fainting goat" right into the EL. My only competitor is myself. My only goal: have fun and improve. Meeting good folks along the way is a great plus too.

SYOTR,

Doug
User avatar
FullGnarlzOC
C Maven
Posts: 1329
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:31 am
Location: York, PA

Post by FullGnarlzOC »

well said doug...

and F grlled cheese sandwiches. f BLTs. only sissys eat that stuff. try eatin stuff bear grillz style. right from the woods.
http://www.gnarlzoutdoors.com
Silverbirch Canoes - North American Distributor
Email: tom@gnarlzoutdoors.com
User avatar
TheKrikkitWars
CBoats.net Staff
Posts: 1440
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:27 am
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Contact:

Post by TheKrikkitWars »

Pah, Bear Grylls is just a boy scout...
Joshua Kelly - "More George Smiley than James Bond"

CBoats Moderator - Not necessarily representing the CBoats staff though...(I'll use words like "moderator", "We" and "CBoats" to make it clear when I am)
jscottl67
CBoats Addict
Posts: 446
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:16 pm
Location: Chattanooga TN

Post by jscottl67 »

Just grab a fish with your teeth every time you roll...just keep in mind that there are creel limits in most states. :wink:
User avatar
Craig Smerda
L'Edge Designer
Posts: 2815
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2002 3:59 am
Location: WaUSAu Wisconsin USA North America Earth, etc.

Post by Craig Smerda »

ncdavid wrote:I like grilled cheese sammiches.
Image

first... you butter the bread... next... :lol:
Esquif Canoes Paddler-Designer-Shape Shifter
User avatar
sbroam
CBoats.net Staff
Posts: 3969
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2002 2:12 am
Location: Lexington, SC
Contact:

Post by sbroam »

Image
ncdavid
CBoats Addict
Posts: 738
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:48 pm
Location: mooresville, nc

Post by ncdavid »

Craig Smerda wrote:
ncdavid wrote:I like grilled cheese sammiches.
Image

first... you butter the bread... next... :lol:
Butter? Just what you'd expect from a guy who drives a short, plastic, red boat. If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly. Bacon grease makes the best grilled cheese sammich. I stick the spoon in the congealed grease and flick in into the skillet with a quick, outward snap of the wrist. The recovery should be with your thumb in. Rookies and pansies roll the thumb forward. My way is faster and twice as powerful. Sammiches fear me.
User avatar
Craig Smerda
L'Edge Designer
Posts: 2815
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2002 3:59 am
Location: WaUSAu Wisconsin USA North America Earth, etc.

Post by Craig Smerda »

ncdavid wrote:
Craig Smerda wrote:
ncdavid wrote:I like grilled cheese sammiches.
Image

first... you butter the bread... next... :lol:
Butter? Just what you'd expect from a guy who drives a short, plastic, red boat. If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly. Bacon grease makes the best grilled cheese sammich. I stick the spoon in the congealed grease and flick in into the skillet with a quick, outward snap of the wrist. The recovery should be with your thumb in. Rookies and pansies roll the thumb forward. My way is faster and twice as powerful. Sammiches fear me.
Well now listen to Mr. Fancypants... I start by milking an angry Tasmanian Devil mother... and then I make my own butter... :roll:

Image

Idn't she cute? :lol:
Esquif Canoes Paddler-Designer-Shape Shifter
RodeoClown
BlackFly Canoes
Posts: 631
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 9:54 pm
Location: New Hampton, NH
Contact:

Post by RodeoClown »

I like to fry the bacon, then put the bacon on the bread with the cheese, and throw it back on the griddle while the grease is still hot. But I don't really care how you make your sammich. That's for you to decide.
Jeremy Laucks
Owner, Blackfly Canoes
http://www.blackflycanoes.com
ncdavid
CBoats Addict
Posts: 738
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:48 pm
Location: mooresville, nc

Post by ncdavid »

Tasmanian Devil butter? Dang, that's hardcore.


And, by the way, I'm miserable. Sick, running to the bathroom way too often. But I'm packing a roll of toilet paper in my dry bag and heading to the river so that I can paddle with Wendy tomorrow. I hear she's got one of those newfangled L'Edge boats. If the boat is as hot as they claim, I'll make some sammiches on the upturned hull.
Post Reply