JUST GO. PHOTO: BEN DUCHENSEY
STOP MAKING UP REASONS NOT TO GO PADDLING
Eventually it’ll happen to you. It’s okay, it happens to all of us. You walk by your kayak or canoe sitting in the garage and realize it’s been a few days too many since you were on the water. Life gets in the way, no matter how much paddling enriches our lives. A quick weather check ensures you can reasonably expect the
weather to hold for tomorrow, perfect for an after work paddle or afternoon break. Maybe fake sudden onset of the black plague at lunch and make a half-day out of it. You vow to yourself, cross your heart, that you’re going to paddle tomorrow. By quitting time the next day, you ask what happened? Meetings,
phone calls, emails, texts, tweets and memes have swallowed up your allotted paddling time faster than you drank your coffee early this morning. You think, “It’s okay, tomorrow I’ll just—.” Stop right there. It’s not okay. Anyone can come up with reasons not to go paddling, no matter
how core you think you are. “I need a new paddle, a carbon fiber one;” “I have to mow the lawn;” “I need to beat that level in Call of Duty;” “It’s icky out;” are all thoughts that might enter your brain. But none of those thoughts should trump your paddling time. If you’re going to put something off, and the choice comes down to paddling or chores, which one makes more sense to save for another
12 PADDLING MAGAZINE
OUR OWN INVENTIONS
day? The lawn can wait; you can work at home later; and your kids won’t die if you take them paddling instead of letting them watch YouTube. No matter how much they try to convince you. Finding time to paddle seems like the hardest part of enjoying the
simple pleasure of getting a paddle wet, but it should be the easiest. Wake up an hour earlier to get on the water before work. Leave your boat on your roof racks at all times. Find a spot to go paddling near where you work so you can wait for traffic to die down for a while. You may enjoy long distance paddles and multi-days river trips
more, but what if you can only go on one or two trips like that each year? It’s those frequent, shorter trips, the ones you can’t afford to keep putting off, that make you a better paddler and a happier person. Try and explain to your boss that you need to leave early one day
each week to go paddling; say it helps cognitive function and makes you more productive. Make a routine with your kids to go paddling instead of chores one night; something you all can get behind. In- stead of inventing a reason to keep walking by your kayak or canoe every day, make paddling more your reason for being. And, if you keep your kayak on your roof, instead of in your garage, you’ll have no excuse.—Ben Duchesney
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62