Posts tagged ‘paddle’
return to routine
Summer is sweet.
With their summer research projects wrapping up, the boys briefly returned home for a couple of weeks before heading back to university life. It’s been pleasant days of biking and playing around – morning runs for coffee, paddling on the river, family bike rides, catching up with old friends, dinnertime humor around the table. Summer is sweet.
But eventually, as the sunsets come a little earlier each evening, it begins to feel like time to return to familiar routines. Back to school, back to friends and regular schedules … all as it should be. And as much as I love them and will miss them as they leave, I think we are all ready to turn the next page, to return to the story.
I have enjoyed the break of being away from things – putting down the camera more often, leaving the computer to sleep, and spending more time in one-to-one conversation rather than cyberspeak. I’ve loved the warm, lazy days with my family … and yet as the weather begins to cool, and the books and bags are packed for the semester ahead, I happily anticipate rides yet to come, and the return to routine.
Meanwhile … scenes from summer days.
bike the boat
Yesterday I worked; today I played.
Even though it is the first official day of spring, it felt more like summer. Eighty-plus degrees and sunny. The heat makes me want to ride to the river, and I figured I may as well try to do a little paddling. I have a nice set-up to tow my boat with my Xtracycle, and it’s a happy combination to be able to ride and paddle on a beautiful day.
My put-in is just up the road from our house, about 4 miles. Getting there was a breeze, literally. Gently rolling with an overall downhill grade, and I had a nice tailwind. It was definitely the easy part. Arrived and locked the bike along the guardrail by the bridge, and was reminded again of the mess that has been made of this river by Olin and their mercury dumping – which thankfully will be ending soon, with their commitment to converting the plant to mercury-free processing.
Meanwhile, I still cannot comprehend how people are still willing to fish – and keep their catch – despite the clearly posted warnings of high levels of carcinogens in the fish. Completely baffles me. I’ve discussed it with several fishermen before, but I have learned to just keep my mouth shut. There is no changing their minds; they perceive the risk as negligible. (And I secretly shudder and shake my head).
I paddled away most of the afternoon, exploring and trying to navigate the very shallow water. In places, I was paddling in only inches. The Hiwassee River levels are regulated and controlled by TVA, and at this time of year they don’t typically release water upstream for recreational use in this inlet. Hence, the lake that is filled and sparkling blue in late spring through summer, is filled with stumps and shoals and islands over the winter and into early spring. The locals call this inlet Stump Lake. A fitting name.
Dozens of Great Blue Herons were my company; I love to just sit and watch them fishing in the shallows. Turtles were out sunning on stumps and logs, but would quietly slip into the water as I raised my camera lens. One of the fishermen said he had seen a Bald Eagle near the bridge. Sadly I missed it. It was peaceful, quiet, and a beautiful afternoon to be on the water … and “pedaling” my arms rather than my legs for a change.
Having had enough sun and with fatigue setting in on my shoulders, I headed for home in the late afternoon – this time against a headwind, with a more uphill grade, requiring a bit more muscle to tow the boat. I will confess my wimpy-ness by saying it felt good to get home. Dinner was salad and veggie pizza. Not fish. Definitely not fish.
@330daysofbiking Day 71: river & ride
the end of the day
The ride came at the end … again. Another solo road ride, post-late-afternoon-thunderstorms. The roads were damp, steam rising from the heated pavement. Fields are lush and green. The air was just starting to cool, no winds. Lovely.
wheels
Spent the day on the river with the boys and friends, paddling the upper Hiwassee. It was the perfect hot day to spend on the cool river – the water is amazingly chill, coming down from the mountains. It was great to be on the river on a Monday; we had it basically to ourselves, very few others out on the water. A few fly fishermen, one or two other paddlers, our group. Nice.
Plenty of silliness … getting stuck on rocks, navigating the rapids backwards more than once, paddle-splash wars, sailor hats, the landing at “goose-poop island”. LOL. Plenty of sun till the very end, when the late-afternoon storms started to pop up. Mexican food for dinner, and then some music by the boys. Good times.
A few pictures from the day … ahh, summer.
something out of Gilligan's Island??
Leslie ... complete confidence
Matt & Grant ... amazingly NOT backwards
the beautiful upper Hiwassee River
#330daysofbiking Days 69 & 70: pedal, paddle, pedal…
beautiful endless stretch of road ... riding with Dillon
Summer days. Sometimes they are so fun-filled and action-packed it feels like we are moving 90-mph in our 35-mph lives … And so I missed posting yesterday, and will have to make this post a double-feature. LOL.
Dillon
Had a great ride with Dillon on Saturday. It was hot; mid-90’s, very humid. I took it easy out there, drinking plenty, taking my sweet time – as always. At this point, all of the boys can really out-ride/out-pace/out-climb me … but they are still nice enough to ride with me, waiting for me to slog my way up the hills. We always have fun – they never fail to make me laugh over something. The day’s fun was getting squirted with his water bottle while I was trying to get a photo … which just happened to feel quite wonderful in the heat.
you cannot tell, but I was being squirted by a water bottle while trying to shoot this...
Today, Mark and I started the day with a quick trip to the river. Finally had the new boat out for a paddle – and it was fantastic! I think this is going to be the perfect boat for me; stable, light, and great deck/storage for easy access to everything from my water bottle to my camera. I think I am also going to be able to haul it easily by bike very soon – getting a small scupper-hole cart/set of wheels, and plan to tow behind the Xtracycle.
very happy with the new boat - can you tell?! 🙂
met another couple out paddling - with their cute pup, Chavelle, on board (please tell me that I don't have to start bringing the goats along?!)
Came home, and Mark headed off to the airport for another week of out-of-town business. After dinner, I headed out for a solo evening ride. It was a peaceful and beautiful ending to a weekend of small adventures, fun.
When I thought about what I wanted to write tonight as I was riding, it kind of occurred to me – what do all of these things mean? The pedaling, the paddling, the pictures … very likely, a whole lot of nothing to anyone else – but so much to me.
I had a conversation with a friend recently – talking about how “to live”. About all of the time we spend maintaining our lives (jobs, school, family, home, daily “stuff”), versus how much time we are actually living … Is there really a difference, or is it just the same thing? I’m not entirely sure, and even though there cannot really be one without the other, I believe there is a difference. I like to think that my boys, my family, won’t look back and remember how many times I washed their dirty socks, or how well I dressed or mowed the lawn … but that they will remember the times we rode together, or skied together, or paddled together, or laughed together, or had our goofy adventures together. To me, these are the times we are living; aware of each other, enjoying each other, being with each other.
It is a good thing – to live. It is even better to be living.
So pedal (or paddle) on……….
tonight's ride ... the road home
glory
shebicycles 