fitness paddling: exercise, train, race by kayak & canoe

9 miles of upstream paddling on the South Platte River with 2 dam portages - it was an informal race or intense workout. I launched with Eric Nyre in darkness at 6:24 at Kersey. We paddled upstream to reach Evans Riverside Park in time for a start of the 6th Annual South Platte River Joint Spring Paddle Trip.

We only needed headlamps to launch our kayaks, then it was enough light on the river. Beautiful sunrise, scenic views of Rocky Mountains Front Range still in snow (you usually don't see it when paddling down the river), interesting clouds ... I resisted a temptation to shoot pictures (well, except hot air ballons over the river) since it was supposed to be a race.

I finished 9.26 miles of the upstream paddling in 3:37 in my Thunderbolt-X, Eric in Rapier-20 came in 3:54. Two years ago, I did the same course alone with Sisson Nucleus kayak in 4:30. I believe it is possible to reduce the time further to three hours. I started to slow down after the first dam portage (4.5 miles).

We had to wait for an hour for a start of the club paddling trip. So, it is possible to start our upstream race even half hour later. Hopefully, it will become an annual tradition. It was my longest paddling in the Thunderbolt kayak so far.

The pictures show Eric in his Rapier 20 at Evans ready to start the downriver part of the trip and a comparison of bow shape of Thunderbolt and Rapier. Eric outfitted his kayak with the bumfortable seat.

Related posts:

• 61 Boats in the Sixth Annual South Platte River Joint Spring Paddle Trip
• Outfitting Thunderbolt Racing Kayak - Sliding or Guerney Gears Bumfortable Seat?
• Suction Cup Mount for Garmin Edge GPS on Thunderbolt Deck
• Valley Kayaks Rapier 20 and WSBS X-par Missile: Can I Fit My Butt into a Narrow Racing Kayak?
• WSBS Thunderbolt-X Racing Kayak Arrived to Colorado
• Paddling WSBS Thunderbolt-X Racing Kayak - 1 Minute Video Clip