I have created Northern Colorado Fitness Paddling group on Facebook to coordinate our winter paddling on the South Platte River. I will post incoming events and updates there as well as in a calendar on a sidebar here. Paddlers of all skills and fitness level are welcome to join us.

I haven’t started any regular training on the South Platte River in this year yet. However, following our New Year trip, 22 miles to Fort Morgan, I had a couple of paddling photo session on the river above Kersey.

The river flow is going down, but there is still plenty of water to paddle. I believe that South Platte remains the only open water in northern Colorado.

Some of my paddling pictures can be licensed for personal and commercial or purchased as prints and on some other fancy mechandise at my SmugMug website. You are welcome to check paddling galleries or Colorado Water portfolio.

Yesterday, I exercised Spencer X-treme canoe. That boat felt tippy, especially, with single blade paddle. Did I really manage to paddle 340 miles on the Missouri river in that shell?
Hunting blind at a confluence of Lone Tree Creek with the South Platte. I heard a heavy gun fire further upstream at Mitani-Tokuyasu Wilderness State Area. Perhaps, it would be nicer to switch my paddling sessions from afternoons to mornings.

Related posts:
New Year Paddling – 22 Miles to Fort Morgan on the South Platte River
Starting Winter Paddling and Racing Season on the South Platte River
South Platte River below Denver, Colorado – GPS/photo river guide

Dan Grubbs just released the 6th Issue (January/February 2010) of Canoe and Kayak Racing Magazine. So, it has been already one year. Congratulations!

There is a lot on paddling and virtual racing using ergometers in this winter issue the including incoming US Indoor Kayak Championships in Oklahoma City.

I don’t really have a room of kayak ergometer in my house, so I would have to use it outside … I prefer to drive to the South Platte River for some cold water paddling. Fortunately, the river is still flowing while everything else in northern Colorado is frozen.

You will also find an interview with an outrigger canoe champion, Karel Tresnak, Jr, and more on the ICF women’s canoe program. Rob Bean, my local paddling partner, talks about Passion in the Paddle – how to turn your race into more meaningful experience by using it to raise funds for charity.

Previous issues:
March/April 2009, May/June 2009, July/August 2009, September/October 2009, November/December 2010

340 nonstop miles from Kansas City to St Charles, 88 hour or less, July 27th – 30th, 2009 at full moon – the 5th Missouri River 340 Race.

On-line registration was traditionally opened at midnight January 1. 100 slots available in the men solo class were filled in a day or so. 340 boats will be accepted this year. There is still plenty of room in other classes and a waiting list of male soloists. Dragon Boat/Voyageur Class can accommodate a lot of paddlers. See 2010 Roster.

I have been paddling MR340 and writing about this race for the last fours years. Below you can find a list of my posts, picture galleries and articles by guest authors.

Related posts from Missouri River 340 Races

3 Years of the Missouri River 340 Race series:
Bryan Hopkins, West Hansen, Christina Glauner, Chuck and Di McHenry, Katie Pfefferkorn
My Experience in Three Famous Ultra Marathon Paddling Races

2009 MR-340
My 2009 Missouri River Race as Recovered from a GPS Track
7 Tips for Solo Land Crew in MR340 Race by Connie
Missouri River 340 Race Records
2009 Missouri River 340 Race – Before Start
Do I Need GPS for the Missouri River 340 Race?

Yesterday, I finally started my winter paddling season on the South Platte River.

Inside the 5th Issue (November/December 2009) of Canoe and Kayak Racing Magazine:

How to get faster – faster! Interval training by Abel Hastings
How NOT to race
Lessons learned from the inaugural Laredo Riofest by Joe Mann
One small stroke stroke for woman … another giant leap for womankind by Pam Boteler
Outrigger racing finding home waters beyond warm currents of the Pacific Ocean by Stephen Mahelona
Hemmens couple set a new record for Phatwater Kayak Challenge by DeAnne Hemmens
Abel Hastings’ thoughtful take on the ICF World Marathon Championships

Previous issues: March/April 2009, May/June 2009, July/August 2009, September/October 2009

If I don’t have an opportunity to paddle I try to compensate by watching some racing videos. Open water racing is always exotic for me living in Colorado.

Rambo is an outrigger canoe racer and innovative video maker from Australia. It is worth to surf through his blog Rambo’s Locker – a lot of great video clips and technical stuff. He also runs a forum for users of Go Pro Hero cameras.

Below I selected three recent movies from his production – open water racing in Australia. You can watch them in a full screen mode, just move away a little bit from your computer monitor.

If you still need more ocean paddling on your screen visit Ocean Paddler TV.

Now, I am ready for a paddling workout. Perhaps, I should also put my Pentax Optio W30 into work and shoot some video.

Related posts:
Zsolt Szadovszki and Carter Johnson Side by Side on Surfski
Training with Huki SX-1 Surfski and a Hungarian Kajner Wing Paddle on Video
1000 m Sprint in Huki SX-1 Surfski – Video Clip from Training for Texas Water Safari

With this issue, we are hoping to introduce many of our readers to the world of open water racing. If you are like me, you are landlocked and don’t know ebb from rip.

The racing world is large and varied, which is wonderfully illustrated by the fact that open-water racing is contested on surf skis, outrigger canoes, paddle boards, sea kayaks and a host of other platforms.
….
Dan “Osprey” Grubbs

It was my 4th Missouri River 340 Race. I always paddled that race solo: 2006 – 78:32 in Spencer X-treme canoe, 2007 – 68:00 in WSBS Thunderbolt-X kayak, 2008 – 62:17 in Sea Wind canoe (self supported). This year I decided to paddle Surfrigger, my outrigger canoe.

MR340 started in 2006 with just 15 boats and four years later we had 271 boats at the Kaw Point. I counted 437 racers in the race roster in solo, tandem and team divisions. How many people participated in the race if we add all organizers, volunteers, safety boats, and land crew? 1000 or more?

Here is an approximate statistics of 2009 racers by state. Most of them were local paddlers from Missouri and Kansas, but 21 US states and Canada were represented in the race.

Texas racers followed West Hansen and had always a strong representation in the MR340. They brought Texas Water Safari racing style, unlimited boats, and then team boats. Some other influences are also visible. An outrigger canoe powered by a wing paddle is not a Safari boat. It is interesting to observe how many local paddlers become strong racers during these four years of the MR340.

Recently, Scott Mansker compiled a list of MR340 records. I am posting it below with some pictures added.

I am a slow though persistent soloist. I completed the MR340 4 times with my wife, Connie, as my land crew in three races:
2006 – 78:32 in Spencer X-treme canoe
2007 – 68:00 in WSBS Thunderbolt-X kayak
2008 – 62:17 in Sea Wind canoe (self supported)
2009 – 61:11 in Surfrigger (outrigger canoe)
Four races and four different boats. Well, I don’t really have another boat for the 2010 MR340 …