From the first Radical Play Machine to the next, introducing the Dagger Jitsu!

I am truly honored to be able to write my impressions of the soon to be available Dagger Jitsu, our newest freestyle project!  It's been a little while I know but that wait will be well worth it.  This boat has…

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Although it really doesn't feel like it most days here in the southeast we've officially reached Winter.  Winter brings a lot of good things but it can often be a hard time to motivate to go kayaking.  After all snow, sleet, winter mix, or rain when its 35 degrees don't really scream "let's go get wet".  However if I can get past that some of the best days I've had on the river have been in the Winter.  For me it really brings a different feel, it's often super quite and less crowded.  Often…

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Green Race!  My most anticipated race is right around the corner, first racer at high noon this Saturday.  The runs are in, the attainments done, the smack is being laid down, bets made, the list of what surrounds this race goes on and on. This year is a special one for me as its my first one back on my road to recovering from a herniated disc.  It's been super fun to be a part of everything again and I can't wait to fire out of that start gate.  But that's Saturday and this is…

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Hey all hope everyone's summer has been good.  It's been a fun one here in the southeast a little on the hot side I suppose but that's just a great excuse to get in the water!  I'm going to take a moment to talk about catching eddies, actually what I really want to talk about is making it easy.  No more almost making it but sliding out the back or struggling to cross the eddy line.  Eddies can turn from your nemesis into your friend by following one easy concept:  Let the eddy do the work!…

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Got to spend some time at Great Falls on the Potomac this past week and man what a fun time!  I hadn't paddled there since college and I'd forgotten how much variety there is on that river.  Everything from beginner sections to Class V lines on the Falls plus scenic sections ideal for Stand Up Paddle Boards or Rec Kayaks.  The thing that struck me the most was how awesome it is to have a river resource like that so close to such a large city.  It's pretty wild to think that when you're…

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Gauge near the old buildings by the AB Tech Enka Campus

 

 

Sometimes you just need to take a moment to do those things that are close to home that you always talk about but you never get around to.  There's a creek near my house called Hominy Creek that everytime I drove by and the water…

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I'm about half way through my trip south of the border so it seemed like a good time for a bit of an update.  Mexico has been in the news a lot lately both in the paddling world and in general.  I figured maybe I would give a stab at presenting a bit of a different point of view.  My wife and I have been coming to Mexico to kayak in the winter for seven years in a row now.  It seems like every year we come it gets just a little bit cooler and this is without us kayaking a lot of the runs you…

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I've been meaning to write this for a while but sometimes you just don't get around to things for a bit. It's actually sort of fitting as I'll be turning 30 soon (this puts me well out of the being a kid range at least in the strictly age category) which means I'll have been kayaking for 23 years and paddling in general for 28. Several of my friends have young children of there own have asked me how my parents got me interested and got me to stick with kayaking. I think that on some fronts I… Continue

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Over the last couple of weeks I've been listening to the news a lot. Man, there's a lot happening out there in the world and I realized how easy it is to just get overwhelmed and tune out. Its easy to think oh well those are huge problems and I can't really have any impact on them. This is especially true for the environment: from the BP spill this summer to the global warming talk. I've given this some thought and while these are huge issues that we'll all face moving forward I think that its… Continue

The Gambler by Kenny Rogers, I particularly like the version that features Wyclif (I think) and its some good words of advice. I've noticed over the years that a lot of folks who paddle tend to push the limits without keeping their future in mind. I know that its true with me anyways, often times I'm only thinking of the next rapid or the next run so I'll just push things out of my mind. While this has served me well and for the most part keeps my life in perspective there are times when it… Continue

I noticed a hint of color in a tree the other day and realized that Fall is already upon us. Fall means a lot of great things here in the southeast from cooler days to waiting in hope for some hurricane rain to get on that favorite run. It also means that its race time! That's right, for those crazy (and not so crazy) folks that like to paddle downstream in a hurry the fall brings the promise of the Animal Upper Gauley Race, the Russell Fork Race and the Green Race.… Continue

Day one of the ramp is finished and there are 10 high flyers movin on to Saturdays showdown. True to form the ramp delivered some big tricks as well as some spectacular crashes. Hats off to all the competitors for hanging in there as this ramp is big and fast. Among those ready to fly again are myself, Tao Berman, and Richmond locals Rob Tompkins, Van, Greg, and Patrick (sorry boys don't have the last names and others. Check out the some of the pictures from the qualifying round. Boatercross is… Continue

Another successful Jerry's Baddle past us! For those of you that don't know Jerry's Baddle is an event, in memory of Jerry Beckwith, combining a full run of the Green River Narrows and a 26 mile road bike ride (with a lot of elevation gain). The best part about the event is that it benefits ALS and the Green River access fund, two very worthy causes. To find out more about the race/cause and to join for next year visit… Continue

Our flight to Mexico City took off just before a major snowstorm hit Western North Carolina and buried the area under 15 inches of snow. Talk about good timing! Jalcomulco, Veracruz is one of my favorite places. The town of about 3000 residents is located in the Antigua River Valley surrounded by beautiful hillsides of Mango orchards. The riverís indigenous name is Huitzilpan which means river of the swallows. And there are lots of swallows that fly overhead and around you as you…

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