Stand up paddling is getting popular in Colorado. Colorado River Race 2011 in Glenwood Canyon was dominated by SUPs. It looks like SUPs may soon provide more flatwater racing opportunities than kayak or canoes. Last weekend (March 25, 2012) Rob Bean tried his new paddling board on Beaver Pond in Arapaho Natural Area near Fort …
Stand Up and Paddle – Trying Boardworks Raven in Colorado Read More »
Yesterday, I paddled the Colorado River Race in the Glenwood Canyon – 10 miles on the Colorado River from Dotsero to Hanging Lake Area. The race is organized by Jerry Nyre from Canoe Colorado. At the same time it was also Regional Open Canoe Downriver Championships and Wildwater Race setup by Nate Lord.
I missed a couple of previous races. Last year at that time I was paddling in postponed Missouri River 340 race. This year the MR340 was canceled due to flooding. So, I took my Sea Wind canoe to the Colorado River instead.
The weather was beautiful and water level pretty high at 2400 cfs. The race was dominated by stand-up paddlers (SUP). There were about dozen of them. Certainly SUP is getting popular in Colorado. There were also two tandem canoes, two solo canoes (including my Sea Wind), a wild water racing kayak (Jeremy Rodgers), Huki surfski and one recreational kayak. I could miss somebody.
I took some pictures with Pentax Optio W30 at the start and a few at the finish. It was the staggered start. SUPs went first.
I finished the race in 1:21h more than 1 minute behind Nate. It was a great workout for me. I managed to keep a pretty even heart rate (142-146) over the entire race. See the race results below pictures.
Do I need to switch to SUP if I want to do some paddle racing in Colorado?