Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Here's some pictures of canoe racers that were digitally manipulated: http://groups.msn.com/MinnesotaCanoeRacers/digitallymanipulatedphotos.msnw                    MCA HUT magazine cover picture below.       11:04:24 PM    comment []

March 14, 2004     Sarah Kueffer called and asked me to paddle!  Well-known international canoe racer, Bob Bradford, was in town and the racing locals who knew him wanted to get him on the river in spite of the weather.  Since it was supposed to be in the 20’s with high winds, and I had paddled 3 hours the day before, I had originally decided not to go out with these desperate-to-paddle fools.  I may not have been Sarah’s first choice, but the fact that I was even on her calling list was an honor I could not refuse.  Even though my wife was sick and bedridden, I agreed to go.  I knew she would understand.  It was my first wife that didn’t understand.   Having learned from the elder statesmen paddlers,  I wore wool socks and soft rubber Tingley overshoes that have a single big rubber button on the side, with some thick felt liners.  On my legs, I wore long underwear with polar fleece pants and a pair of windbreak pants.  On top, I wore a polyester turtleneck, a polar fleece vest, and a polar fleece jacket with a rain jacket over that.  On my head, I wore a wool baseball cap with fold down flaps over my ears.  I haven’t found a good solution for gloves yet, but I had a light pair of nylon gloves underneath a pair of polar fleece gloves.  Neither pair were waterproof and the windchill was in the teens.  Shortly after we started paddling, I had to take off the two outer jackets and stuff them under my seat because I was sweating.  I put the polar fleece jacket back on when we came back upstream against the cold wind.  One of the signs of an avid canoeist is having lots of polar fleece garments stored in your vehicle.   It was 10am when I backed my van alongside a line of cars and vans with Kevlar canoes on them at River Flats park on the east bank of the University of Minnesota.  The wind tugged hard at the 40 pound canoes as they were unstrapped from their car top carriers.  We filled six canoes with warmly dressed paddlers.  Al Dubois & Tom Gardner, Dave Dahl & Ed Arenz, Bob Bradford & his son Mike Bradford, Lee Jarpey & Keith Canny, Kevin Shriver & Kenn Ketter, and me & Sarah Kueffer.  Bow paddlers are listed first in each pair.    We surfed downstream with the wind on small rollers.  Friendly bantering and sprints to each of the bridges made the downstream trip go very fast.  I messed up our bouy turn on the 4 foot tall green metal bouy above the Ford Dam.  Our bow hit the stern of Dave & Ed’s canoe and Lee & Keith’s bow hit our stern.  Bob & Mike had taken a much wider approach and slipped inside all 3 canoes right next to the bouy.  Ed later reminded me of the times I had scolded him for messing up a bouy turn like that by asking me if I’d ever heard of a crossbow rudder.  I then reminded him of our October BWCAW trip slogan; “F**K you ED!”      My soaked gloves helped the windchill numb my fingers and I kept losing my grip on the huts.  I messed up and forgot to bring a spare pair of gloves in my drybag so I took off the wet gloves in the hopes of at least stopping the evaporation once my hands dried out.  It worked.  My fingers were glowing red, but were not as numb as they had been while wearing the wet gloves.   Later, the hot coffee from Keith’s thermos brought feeling back to all my fingers as we sat in his van and discussed his excessive piles of polar fleece garments.    This usually takes 2 hours on Rookie nights in the summer, but that’s with less skilled paddlers in every canoe.  Today it took only an hour and a half to paddle 5 miles down to Ford Dam and 5 miles back into the teeth of the wind and waves to get back to our cars.  Coming upstream, we had split into 2 groups of 3 canoes each with one group on either side of the river.  Hugging the shoreline kept us out of the worst of the current and we rode each others wakes.  If nothing else, it provided a psychological pull to help us fight the wind and waves.    I concentrated on using my abdominal muscles to pull the paddle downward after the plant because my skinny arms wouldn’t have enough power.  Sarah never complained as Lee & Keith pulled away from us, but I knew she could have out paddled them with a stronger and smarter partner.  Al & Tom quietly paddled alongside us and Sarah said “I really missed paddling with you guys!”  They didn’t respond so I said, “Yeah, all that laughter and joking coming from their canoe.”  At least then, they started smarting off back.   Having friends alongside always helps make the hard paddling go a little easier. 9:55:40 PM    comment []

March 13, 2004 One of the good things about being one of the few people willing to paddle this early in the colder weather is that the better paddlers have to call you up to paddle when they can’t find anyone of their own caliber.  In this case, Brett Arenz brother was out of town and Brett called me on Friday to see if I had a partner for Saturday because everyone else was already paired up.  Luckily for me, I had not set anything up with anyone so I got a chance to paddle with Brett.  We paddled at Hidden Falls below the Ford Dam with Lee Jarpey &Keith Canny, Kevin Shriver & Io Harberts, Todd Johnson & Katie Ellis, Roseanne Barr & Sarah Kueffer and Dave Dahl & Ed Arenz.  Brett took the front of the Minnesota II and we put in first to stay warm. It had been sleeting and raining when I woke up this morning, but it was just cold and cloudy now. We all started at slightly different times because of the cold and Brett and I circled back to tighten up the pack.   Canoe racers have an unspoken agreement to sprint to every bridge. When I pointed out that his uncle Ed Arenz and Dave Dahl had started their first bridge sprint early to ensure their victory, Brett kicked in an extra gear and his shoulder rotated even further forward on the bottom arm.  Every ounce of energy was being applied to the paddle blade without splashing a drop.  I did my best to do the same. We caught up to Dave & Ed right away; leaving the other canoes a few canoe lengths behind.  Brett first raced canoes when he was 6 with his mother as partner against his brother and father.  Since he’s about 26 now, it’s no wonder he can paddle so well.  I’ve been paddling for 30 years, but only racing for the last 14.  You don’t value the efficiency until you try to keep a canoe at hull speed.   After letting the other boats catch up to ride 6 across down the Mississippi in the cold wind.  We were on the inside closest to the channel and made a great turn in the shallows going into the channel to pull ahead of the pack again.  Quarter-inch thick ice slabs 3 feet wide by twenty feet long were blocking the channel and we crunched them in half.  We were able to navigate around a thicker slab before the next turn.  We did another satisfying turn chasing Roseanne and Sarah out of the channel upstream into the muddy Minnesota River.  The pack reformed again to 6 across.  A golden-eye duck with distinctive white and black feathers splashed in the water playing ahead of us.  A bald eagle was building a nest in a tree on the east bank directly under the airport runway with jets taking off above it every few minutes.  A red-tail hawk flew across the river overhead.   As we approached the Cedar Avenue Bridge an hour later, a large Golden Eagle spiraled and dove into the water coming up empty handed.  We noticed that Dave and Ed had started their sprint early again. Using Brett’s power, we pulled away from the pack and sprinted to catch them.  We came up alongside their canoe, but they were still slightly ahead of us as we came under the bridge.  I put my rain jacket back on to stay warm as the rest of the canoes came straggling up.    We took a short break for food and water before the trip back.  In my case it was blue PowerAde and Snicker candy bars.  Brett had some pancakes in a zip lock bag.  Others quickly gobbled their favorite energy bars.  The whole break was only a few minutes because there was lightning and it was starting to sleet. As we paddled downstream alongside one another, swirls of floating sleet were making the muddy water look like soup.  Someone mentioned the possibility of being struck by lightning and 64 year old Keith Canny said he wanted to slide into the line sideways at the pearly gates and exclaim “What a ride!”  At a mere 48, I feel the same and we both understand why we are each grinning a lot during these canoe racing practice runs.  We are both very happy to be alive and very grateful to have others with us to share the fun.  Priceless are these memories.   Three hours of paddling brought us back to the landing at Hidden Falls and we scrambled up the hill stiff legged over the ice and mud.  Canoes back on top the group dispersed back to their normal lives.  Keith, Lee, Kate, Dave, Todd, Ed, and I stopped for lunch at Baker’s Square on Ford Parkway and talked about lightning storms, canoe races, ski races, and our last October’s Boundary Waters trip where the trip saying had been “F**k You Ed!”  Some of them were paddling again tomorrow even though the weather was supposed to be colder and wetter than today.  I decided to pass at the time, but I was later convinced otherwise by a phone call from another good paddler looking for a partner.  I’m sure this will pay off during the races this summer, but even if it doesn’t it will be worth it. 2:56:23 PM    comment []

March 6, 2004 Sarah Kueffer and I paddled at Hidden Falls with Lee Jarpey & Yuyudahn Hoppe, Devin & Brett Arenz, Ed Arenz & Al Dubois, Kevin Shriver & Io Harberts, Kenn Ketter & Tom Noles, and Jason & Stephanie Larsen.  It was in the 20’s when we started at 10am. After a few minutes of warming up headed upstream toward the Ford dam, Sarah simply said “Nice!” after I accidentally planted the paddle farther forward on the left side.  That’s when I realized my reach on the right side was a bit shorter than it had been on that stroke on the left side.  I let my right shoulder swing further forward next time Sarah called “Hut” to get me to switch the paddle blade to that side.  Our canoe slid forward with less effort, but I was not used to the longer movement of my shoulder.  I had to concentrate to keep doing the same long reach and keep my back straight.  I knew it was worth the effort and it would pay dividends later if I can make that long reach with the bottom hand into a habit.  And don’t lean forward until the paddle enters the water.  All the reach has to come from rotation in the torso.   Six canoes abreast coming up to a concrete bridge high over the river with melting snow dripping off, our canoe was the one that would have to go under the windblown shower of water from one of the bridge gutters.  I said “Oh no!  They’re peeing off the bridge again!” and Sarah screamed as we came under the waterfall.  Laughter in all the canoes followed.  That was followed by several more jokes with more scattered peals of laughter from the paddlers.  The sun had come out. We stopped a few times to grab a quick drink and share some small Snicker bars for energy.  We turned back downstream after 7 miles of paddling up the cold brown water of the Minnesota River.  The sun had come out, birds were soaring overhead.  Still skittish from the hunting season, a pair of geese honked and swatted the water taking off before we got too close. The white bands on their tail feathers smiled at us as they flew off.     We dropped back behind the pack of canoes on our inside as we approached the shallow entrance to the channel on purpose to try and cut back to the inside. Being on the inside next to shore keeps you out of the stronger current and provides a small advantage.  All the other canoes were sprinting around the shallow corner as well. We popped up our canoe and made a good turn on the inside of Kevin and Io’s canoe and caught up to them.  The other sprinting canoes had pulled away from us.  Kevin and Io were trying to get some excess water out of their canoe and we waited up for them.  We didn’t want to work hard enough to catch up to the others this early in the season and they weren’t slowing up.  Like barn sour horses, they were galloping back to their cars and their dry clothes.  Coming back out of the channel into the faster and clearer current of the Mississippi River, we tried to duplicate our previous good turn.  Our own wake drove us over the shallow gravel, but I had cut us within inches of the shore and we nearly grounded out on the shallow gravel bottom and had to pole ourselves with the paddles.  That can break a $150 paddle if it’s not done carefully.    The wind was blowing against us along with the faster current coming from below the Ford Dam.  The paddle back was a bit longer than I wanted, but I kept concentrating on my reach and the distance melted away like the winter snows soon would.  We had paddled 14 miles out and back for a total of three hours of paddling time.  Back when Kevin and I started racing 12 years ago, we used to double the upstream time when we were counting hours because it was like running uphill, but now we just count straight time because there’s never any easy paddling with this pack of greyhounds.  2:56:11 PM    comment []

Here's some pictures of practice runs: http://groups.msn.com/MinnesotaCanoeRacers/practiceruns.msnw  2:49:41 PM    comment []

www.snakerivercanoerace.org C.R. Hound's 2004 Summer Canoe Race Schedule May 1st               Snake River 9:30AM                 Partner:  Lee J.         May 8th              Rum River Anoka 11AM           Partner:  Sarah K. May 15th            Rum River Isanti 11AM             Partner:   __________________ June 5th              St. Cloud                                   Partner:  ___________________ June 6th              Jensen Handicap July 3rd & 4th     Grand Rapids Round Robin July 10th             Duluth 10:00AM                        Partner:   __________________ July 31st             Muscoda Wisconsin                   Partner:   __________________ August 22nd        Mississippi Classic                      Partner:  __________________ September 11th   Great River                                Partner:  __________________ September 18th   Bemidji                                      Partner:  _________________   *************************************************** Also Thursday nights June through August on Lake Calhoun in Hoigaards Canoe Derby races start 6:45 PM contact Jim Lind, 952.929.1351, jiml@hoigaards.com, www.hoigaards.com. The Minnesota Canoe Association's current Racing Director, Chuck Ryan, has posted the entire canoe race & practice schedule    http://www.canoe-kayak.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=215   2:45:47 PM    comment []