The Day the Luck Ran Out

Somehow, I managed to convince my most excellent wife to let me escape two weekends in a row!! How lucky am I to have a great wife and the chance to paddle on a great day?

I was surprised that I got a paddle day considering that her dance recital soaked up one of the days - her class did a kick-ass dance to a classic boy band song that put the kids to shame:)

The plan was to paddle out of Ft. Wetherill and play on the coast heading down to Beavertail. Conditions were excellent: clear skies, gentle breeze, some swell, but not too much, and low tide to expose more features.

We headed south towards Mackerel Cove and took every opportunity to play in the rocks.

There were slots to navigate and just enough swell to make things interesting. It was perfect conditions for pushing the Aries and I just to edge of the zone. I had to pay attention and paddle with intention, but didn't have to worry too much about getting smashed or smashing someone else.

Once we crossed Mackerel Cove and were more exposed to the open ocean the swell got bigger and pushier, but still well within play limits. There were a few spots were the adrenaline got pumped up to 11, but nothing serious.

It was a fun morning.

We popped into Hull Cove for lunch and enjoyed the sun and good conversation.

The swells had picked up some power while we ate. They weren’t rolling up the against the rocks; they were crashing against the rocks.

The swell upgrade didn’t deter some of us from getting in close. If anything the bigger swells made paddling in close more fun until it stopped being fun.

I was following Tim G along the shore and there started to be more white water than green water. The swells were starting to get pushier and it was time to move out.

Tim turned out over a good size wave. As soon as he was clear I edged over and started a sweep turn out to sea.

As I initiated the turn a deep trough formed next to the rock and a gigantic swell picked up my bow. Then it picked up the rest of the kayak, carried over one rock, and slammed it into the rock shore. The bow was pinned in a crevice so any attempt to swing out before the next swell slammed into me was not going to work. I hoped that maybe it would be a nice gentle swell that would lift the bow up enough to free it. No luck. I was upside down in the rocks.

Fortunately, the water was deep and I remembered to stay close to the deck. I pulled the deck and popped out while making sure to keep the kayak between me and the bigger wall of rocks and to keep my hands ready to protect my head.

The cavalry was already in place by the time my head popped out of the water. They had me push the kayak out of the rocks and towed it clear of the break. Once the kayak was clear, I swam out to a waiting kayak that pulled me the rest of the way out of the danger zone. Because of the rocks and swell and such, the rescue took some time, but it was done as quick as possible. The rescue team did an excellent job staying calm and radiating that calm to me.

Once I was back in the kayak, it was time to assess the damage. 

Other than being a little rattled, I was fine. Luckily, I managed to avoid any contact with the rocks. I was properly dressed for the water and was back in the kayak within a few minutes.

The pumpkin was a different story. There were a few patches where the gel coat was missing and a few visible cracks.  It was hard to tell if it was taking on water, but it seemed to be floating normally. The cockpit was staying dry which was good.

In assessing the incident and what could have been done better, one thing was clear: I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once the wave came in, there was not much I could do to escape. It picked up the bow and pushed it into the shore with more force than I could counteract. Once the poop hit the fan, things went about as smoothly as one could expect. Once on the wave I presented the hull to the shore to take most of the impact. I did my best to keep balanced so when I was dropped, I might have a shot at getting out. Once I knew I was going over, I tucked tight to avoid hitting my head and made sure to come up so that I was not between the kayak and the rocks. The rescuers set up quickly and did all the right things to get me and the pumpkin safe.

Someone suggested that we high tail it back to the put in just in case I had some shadow injury or the damage to the pumpkin was worse than it looked. I rejected that idea because I was fine and the pumpkin was floating just fine. If the situation changed, we could adjust as needed. There was no reason to ruin everyone else’s fun.

I continued to play in the rocks along the way back to the put in, but was more cautious. The swells also got smaller as we moved further up the bay. Despite the incident I was still feeling in the groove and the pumpkin was doing fine.

The last set of rocks humbled me. I set up to run a slot through them and just mistimed things. The swell came in behind me fast and hot. Before I knew what was what I was turned sideways in a hole that was too narrow for even the pumpkin to turn. I got jammed up in the rocks and had to come out of the kayak again…

It was another quick rescue, but once I got back in the pumpkin I could tell she had water in the bow.

We were just about back to the put so it was not a big deal. I just stayed away from any more rocks.

Back at the beach people were doing rolling practice and I could not resist participating. I needed a win after the incidents. My roll did not disappoint.

Once back on the beach, it was time to do a full kayak damage assessment. The front hatch was full of water and you could see daylight in more than one place. There was also a big spot on the side of the cockpit that was missing gel coat and was letting the daylight through. The spot on the cockpit wasn’t as worrying as the bow because the cockpit didn’t seem to be taking on water.

One of the paddlers who lives near to Dr. Carl offered to take my kayak to see about if the pumpkin could be repaired. (Dr. Carl assures me that it can be repaired despite looking like it got shot off the roof of a car at 60mph.)

Despite the incidents, this was one of my favorite paddles of the year. The weather was great and the rock play was exhilarating. I also felt like I was in the zone for most of the day. Even the incidents were more fun than scary. I felt like both were just bad timing and I did the best I could with hand I was dealt.

The only thing stood between the paddle and perfection was the knowledge that I’d be missing the pumpkin for some time.

It truly is better to be upside down in my kayak than almost anywhere else.

Batting 750

 When you have a pre-teen, you need breaks. A nice paddle out of the Westport river on a pleasant day is a perfect way to wind down and get some perspective.

Hopefully it is also a good way to burn some adrenaline surfing and dodging rocks.

Oh and this time I made sure I had my helmet…

We paddled out of the river and made sure we crossed the mouth in a tight pod.

The current formed a small race at the mouth, so we all took a warm up run. Then we rounded the nubble and headed south in search of rock formations.

Our first stop was a set of rocks with a nice big slot to run through. Everyone took a few good rides through the slot both with and against the current. On one run I was trying to be cute and instead of taking the straight shot was going to go through against the current and bang a sharp turn through a little side slot. I moved into position slowly and while I was scoping things out a not very big swell washed through with just enough force and at just the right angle to push me backwards and off balance. Next thing I know I’m upside down in the cold water feeling like a fool. Fortunately, it was an easy roll back up.

I did make the cute run a few times after that. You gotta love an Aries in the rocks.

We then moved onto a different rock formation for some more playing. The swells were just enough to make things fun without being dangerous.

Before lunch we headed to the point to surf the break. It was setting up fairly nicely along the outside edge so one could stay clear of the rocks and catch some rides.

The bigger wave were breaking further out and more to the inside. Taking a ride on one of them meant paying attention and peeling off before the rocks.

I caught a few small rides along the edge before deciding to head out into the bigger stuff.

One of the things I struggle with is timing waves. I often either get out in front of them and miss the break or I don’t get up enough speed and the pass under me. Some times they also just trap my stern and breach me - or as the cool kids say “I get windowshaded”.

I waited for a bit and caught what I thought would be a good wave. I paddled hard to get on it and started to have a good ride. I was focusing on using forward strokes to steer without dropping speed. At some point I must have gotten to far in front of the wave as it was breaking. My stern got pinned and spun around. I tried to correct with forward strokes and then a really hard prying rudder with no luck. I managed to get a good brace as I side surfed; until the wave sputtered out… I mistimed easing off the brace and wound up hanging upside down in the water. Not a problem… Set up, sweep out, hip snap, paddle out of the zone, and go look for more waves…

We all got some sweet rides. I caught a few nice waves. I spent some time missing nice waves due to bad timing or lack of giddy up. Just as we were getting ready to break for lunch, I caught a nice wave, rode it in a ways and once again got windowshaded. This time, however, I was pretty close to the rocks and didn’t have much water under me. I tired to roll and got smacked down.

I pulled the plug and did my best to make sure the kayak was between me and the rocks and that I had hold on my paddle and the kayak. Tim and Brenda swooped in, pulled me and the kayak out of the, and plopped me back in the kayak.

Not content to break for lunch on a failure, I caught one more small ride on one of the edge waves before heading to the beach.

At lunch I talk to Tim G about how to up my surf game. He pointed out that one of the tricks was to keep the wave from grabbing your stern. Once the wave has the stern, the wave is in control. This is particularly true with a kayak like and Aries that has a planning bow for surfing. The bow just glides around as the wave pushes the stern sideways. So, one thing to do is to keep forward in the cockpit to help keep the stern up. The other trick is to keep the peak of the wave just behind the cockpit and not any further back.

I focused on trying using this knowledge on the point after lunch. I spent some time on the edge trying to catch smaller waves and getting small rides. It was a bit frustrating because they were hard to time, but it was a good learning zone.

Then I headed out to the bigger surf and caught a few big rides. There were a few times where my stern started to get turned and I was able to correct with a good rudder - less often with a good sweep or draw. It was tricky using a rudder without leaning back. The trick really is timing. Maybe you are too far in front of the wave and leaning back burns enough speed to put you back in position. Sometimes burning speed sends the wave under you and you fall off the back. Sometimes a forward stroke will keep you on the wave. Other times, it will pull you forward just enough to keep the stern trapped or pull you right off the front of the wave.

It was great until it wasn’t. I caught a wave and after a short ride I was breached and upside down. Set up, sweep out, hip snap, and see a big wave waiting to push me right into the rocks…. Paddle very fast to clear the zone, and go looking for one more wave… (no I do not know when it is time to quit)

After a few more runs, we made our way back home. The paddle up the river was a nice cool down to end an exciting day.

Spring Warm Up

 After about a month without kayaking and I start to go a little more looney than my baseline, so after three months without kayaking I was living in toon town. Working at home where my main source of social interaction is a dog and a few other neighborhood dog owners that are occasionally out at the same time as the dog walks me, was not helping.

The smart bike trainer makes riding in the basement more interesting, but it does not make it like riding on trails or even the road….

When Tim G. posted an easy warm up paddle out of Bay Campus on a day that was potentially free of family commitments, I put in for a day pass. K’s school musical was the Friday night and Saturday before the paddle (the show was excellent), so H was a little worried that K would be super cranky due to physical and emotional exhaustion. She also had things she wanted to do… But being an angel, she granted me the day pass because paddling would degrumpify me for at least a few weeks.

The day did not start off auspiciously. I got a late start and needed to gas the truck. The gas station was jammed. They were getting a delivery and the tanker had half the pumps blocked off. That put me even further behind schedule. My ETA was still before the launch time, but I am not exactly known for being a speedy unpacker - particularly when I haven’t done it in months…

We were only 20 minutes late getting on the water….

The conditions were perfect for getting the cobwebs out. It was sunny with almost no wind. The sea had just a little bounce to it and it was high tide. The plan was to head towards Narragansett. In addition to getting a little push from the current, we were treated with increasing swells which would make playing in the rocks more fun.

I had made the decision to leave my helmet in the truck so that I couldn’t go play in the rocks and simply enjoy some nice open ocean paddling…. 

On the way south, the action was tame. I didn’t feel too bad getting a little close to the rocks and maybe trying to slip through intriguing slot now and again.

After lunch the water was a little lower and the swells a little bigger. I told myself that I would not do anything crazy. I definitely not follow Tim or Gary into anything. I was sticking to things without points or big waves rushing through them. I definitely was not going to anywhere near breaking waves….

I mostly stuck to my plan… I at least did my best to avoid anything that looked potentially dangerous. I may have surfed through a couple of tight spots or needed to wait for a swell to put enough water in a hole to make it passable. However, nothing too hard and noting with really big swells.

I was having a lot of fun and who paddles an Aries without getting into the rocks?

About a third of the way back to Bay Campus, before crossing the Bonnet Shores inlet, there was a nice group of rocks for play. They offered several different slots to run all with slightly different feels and some required making pretty quick turns to squeak through.

As we were preparing to move on, I decide to try one last run. It involved getting through one slot then making a quick left turn into deeper water to avoid the rock ledge on shore and then spinning around and running the gap past the rock I started behind. I waited and watched how the water was behaving. Nothing alarming, some small swells that would make the left turn a little hard, but I was planning on going through between swells.

I was perfectly lined up as the last paddler ran the gap between the shore and the slot I was waiting to run. She rode a nice little swell through and I made my move. The timing should have been perfect, by the time I needed to make my turn the next swell would be on its way out….

I got through the first slot, edged over and initiated a sharp left turn just as a big swell broke and pushed my bow straight into the ledge. Before I could do anything I was upside down with my bow pinned on a rocky shore.

I would love to be able to say that I actually thought through my options and devised a good plan to get me out of trouble. Instead I acted on pure instinct - I held onto my paddle, picked the side that seemed to be the side the swells were coming from and tried a roll. Surprisingly, the roll worked. I was right side up and had enough water to get out of the rocks. I took advantage of the water and got my butt out of dodge.

The photographers and videographers were sad that they didn’t get any shots of what happened… Stupid is best left undocumented as far as I am concerned. Also, pictorial proof would have made it look cool when really it was dumb luck.

After the incident, I should have been smart enough to realize that I had just used up a considerable amount of my luck for the day and just kept away from the rocks….

Not long after the incident, I decided to follow another kayaker through an area that was pretty deep but had a bit of a ledge on the shoreward side. The incoming swells were trivial; nothing that would push me into or over the ledge... When I got into the middle of the area a huge swell came through and bounced me right over the ledge and into the rocky shore. I could feel the gelcoat chipping off and knew that if I didn't get off the swell and turned back out to open water I was toast.  Luck was still on my side and I managed to spin the Aries around and back out to open water.

I knew it was time to stay away from the rocks for the rest of the day. Luck was on my side once more because we were just about at the end of the Bonnet Shores cliffs and rocks are scarce between there and Bay Campus.

Before we could get clear of the cliffs I heard some one yelling that a paddler was in the water. A few of rushed over to help, but Cat was right there and did the rescue. She did a nice job getting the paddler back in his boat. Getting the kayak pumped out was a different story...

It seems unfair that I took a lot of stupid risks and ended up looking like a rock star and a paddler who did all the right things ended up in the drink.

I think next paddle I'll be safer and at least wear my helmet....

First Ride of 2022

 With the warmish weather upon us, it was time to dust off the mt. bike and hit the trails for an early season introduction ride. Something easy to dust off the cobwebs-get my sea legs back.

I wasn't worried about stamina or distance; I've been crushing it on the trainer all winter. I was concerned about not doing anything too technical; trainers cannot simulate rocks or trees...

The ride to the trails is a short, flat stretch of road from my house. As I headed down the road I noticed a slight breeze and then realized my legs felt like they were working way harder than they should on flat terrain... Apparently trainers do not account for wind or the actual weight of a bike or the rolling resistance of chunky 29" trail tires.

Anyway I was still warming up. Once I got into the groove things would feel good.

When I made the turn onto the trail, I nearly locked up the brakes and sent myself tumbling into a tree. The trail is a narrow gently sloping turn that leads into the woods that I have ridden hundreds of times, but initial reaction was panic about smashing into one of the trees. It took a good bit of mental effort to will my hands to stay off the breaks and my feet to keep pedaling.

This was the ride for at least the next mile or so. See feature that you've ridden hundreds of times, panic, force panic down so reflexes can do their job, and repeat. Most of the time the force panic down part was successful and I got through. A few times I did end up walking a feature and then berating myself for being a scaredy cat and vowing that I'd crush it the next time while knowing that there was always a chance that the panic would win again.

Fortunately, the panic becomes background noise after awhile. The cadence of the peddles, the quiet of the woods, the successfully getting over features makes the panic smaller and smaller. It is like putting on noise cancelling headphones, I can still hear the panic but it is so muffled it doesn't intrude.

Once the panic faded and the muscles warmed up it was a great ride. I stuck to mainly flat, single track trails. There were a few technical sections with a lot of roots, sharp turns, rocks, and logs covering the trail. Things came back pretty quickly when it came to shifting and body position to keep moving forward and upright.

On the last section of trails I felt the backend get that swishy feeling that means you need to put air in the tire. Sure enough, it was flat.

My first thought was just to pump enough air into the tire to get home - I was technically at lunch - as quick as possible. I whipped out my handy micro pump and went to town. Except I couldn't get any air into the stupid tire. I was convinced it was either me being a rock head or the pump because I couldn't seem to get a good seal on the valve. It was either too loose the air would seep out or it was jammed and the air wouldn't go in. After about ten minutes, I was ready to give up and accept the fact that I was going to have to carry the stupid bike a mile plus back through the woods...

Then my brain stopped being trapped in "you're an idiot and life sucks" mode and I wondered if I had a spare tube. Maybe the problem was that I had popped the tire or ruined the valve on the one on the bike. I did have a spare tube because I usually don't suck too much.

Now all I had to do was remember how to get the back tire off the bike without destroying the derailer. Is it put the chain on the biggest ring or the smallest ring? 50-50 chance so I pick the big ring - WRONG. I tried, then cussed myself out for being stupid, but was not stupid enough to really force anything. Once I got the tire reseated, I shifted the chain into the smallest ring and things went much better.

Five minutes later I was back on the trail and, despite the little hick up, still feeling like I'm in the groove.

There was one nasty clump of rocks I walked, but it was a rational decision. It was just after I got back on the bike and didn't really have enough speed to glide over or enough time to shift into a gear where I could plough through.

It wasn't until after I decided that my lunch cover was already blown and that I could extend my ride a bit that I realized the flat had turned off the noise canceling headphones that kept the panic quiet.

There is a nice rock wall that crosses the trail and is usually very fun to barrel over. It is just after some really tight windy single track but with plenty of room between the last turn and the wall to get up a good head of steam. It is also just enough room for the panic to grow louder. I ignored it until I was just at the wall and then my hands went for the brakes... I'm not sure what happened, but my body took over in a nick of time. My hands opened up and my legs drove the pedals in a huge surge of power.

Once I was in the clearing after the wall I just stopped and gasped air. I was happy to not be a heap on the ground, but pissed at myself for nearly putting me in a heap on the ground. It took a few minutes to catch my breath and stop yelling at myself. I had made it over and was OK. Now I just needed to finish off the next two miles of the ride without that happening again....

I was able to find my groove again and quiet the panic. The rest of the ride was a nice way to finish off the day.

I am hopeful that now that I've gotten the first ride out of the way, it will be easier and easier to quiet the panic and get a break from it.

Tacx Flow Smart Trainer

My old indoor trainer, a Cycleworks Magneto, was getting long in the tooth and the local bike shop was having a good sale on new trainers. I also was getting a little bored with the linear resistance thing, so was jonesing for a “smart” trainer.

What I wasn’t looking to do was drop $1000 on a bike trainer that I would only use for a couple of months a year or one that required a ton of work to set up. That ruled out most of the smart trainers. They all seem to be wheel off set ups that require buying a trainer and a rear cassette. That does allow for more accurate power adjustment, simulating road feel, and quieter use. It also looked like it allows for greater “true” power ranges.

I was excited to see that the bike shop offered one wheel on smart trainer option and that it was not crazy expensive. The Tacx Flow was only $350 and allows me to pop the bike into it with a simple click. One the bike is on the trainer, you should do a quick calibration to make sure the resistance and power readings are accurate.

Time to get bike on trainer and calibrated is under five minutes. It makes it is easy for those days when I want to ride but the rain gets in the way.

The Flow easily connects to several apps like Tacx’s own app and Strava. Getting the Tacx app connected to the trainer was a snap. It comes with a free month trail period, so it was a good way to get started. The app has a wide variety of rides. Some have nice videos and others are just GPS tracks, but they cover the gamut of rides. There are nice easy rides through the countryside or along the shore and there are long brutal climbs. The did experience a few hiccups where the videos would buffer, but the bike is far away from the hotspot and I have a tween who lives on TikTok. The other odd thing about the app was that if it connected to my bike’s cadence sensor, it would not record cadence data. I’m not sure how the trainer figures out cadence better than a sensor stuck on my pedal. I decided to pony up for the $100 yearly subscription without trying any other apps. I don’t know any Strava heads and liked the movies.

The trainer can also be driven by my fenix watch which can be loaded up with GPS courses from Garmin Connect. In some ways this a better way to use the trainer as the data integrates better with my other Garmin data and I can train on rides that I actually take instead of dreaming of far off lands.

In either case, the trainer gives me a better workout than the linear resistance of a non-smart trainer. It is more fun to have to deal with simulated climbs or to run a workout where the resistance changes to simulate sprints.

I also like the fact that I get power readings from the trainer. Power is not a metric I would pay $1000 dollars to add to my bike, but for $350 it is a nice to have. I might miss it once I am back on the roads and trails.

Is the Flow a great smart trainer? No. It is not a great trainer. It doesn’t simulate road feel and can really only simulate up to a 5 percent grade with any accuracy. It also requires regular calibration to make sure the bike’s tire and the trainer are properly connected.

It is however a great trainer for my needs. It didn’t break the bank. It is easy to set up and use all year long. When properly calibrated it can programmatically fake more than a 5 percent grade and really most of the places I ride don’t have very steep hills.

For a recreational rider in his 50’s with moderate needs. It is more than enough.

I would rather spend the extra money on upgrading my mountain bike to full suspension or enjoying fancy ciders after a long ride.