July 28, 2012

Paddleboard.

Want one?

It's not that often that I do something new, but I did something new yesterday: stand-up paddleboarding. I managed to stand up, didn't fall in, and paddled around Lake Wingra as the sun set. It was cool. Cool enough to invest in all the equipment? I don't know. We rented: here.

No photos. We don't have a waterproof camera. Yet. Okay, I bought this one. And a wristband flotation device.

27 comments:

rhhardin said...

Only bicycling has staying power as a hobby.

Palladian said...

I hate the Active Lifestyle Althouse.

Curious George said...

I would suggest kayaking as an alternative.

PaulV said...

I thought you had joined a legal fraternity.

pm317 said...

Awesome! I am getting into trying new things as I approach (very slowly) my 50s. Hope I can keep it up like you do.

KCFleming said...

My second adolescence will be limited to new forms of alcohol.

KCFleming said...

I'll probably fall down more often than from a paddleboard.

edutcher said...

Always good to try before you buy. We eventually bought our own snorkeling gear - in no small part because The Blonde didn't like the idea of using snorkels snorked by other people, no matter how well they were cleaned.

If this catches on, does this mean we will see swimsuited Althouse or wetsuited Althouse?

Curious George said...

I would suggest kayaking as an alternative.

Only if your circulation and/or knees can take it.

Palladian said...

When I read the word "paddle board", I had a totally different sort of device in mind, the sort of device that I shall like to get when I reach my second adolescence, hopefully to be used on a fine young man just out of his first.

Michael said...

Congratulations! Every act of defiance against our natural fears is liberating. And our biggest fear is of failure.

Good on you, professor.

David said...

Jet Ski.

bwebster said...

Saw "paddleboard" and was taken back to my school days in jr high (1965-67) when the male gym coach could (and did) use a paddleboard on boys who violated various rules. He had inch-wide holes drilled through the board as well. ..bruce..

Curious George said...

"edutcher said...
Curious George said...

I would suggest kayaking as an alternative.

Only if your circulation and/or knees can take it."

Knees? My kayak you sit in, legs stretched out in front of you.

Michael Haz said...

I read "Paddleboard" and thought this was another Fifty Shades of Grey topic.

Stand-up paddleboarding looks like fun in calm water. I'm more inclined to enjoy the relative stability of a sit-on-top kayak.

Wince said...

Paddleboarding is torture, and should be illegal.

Ann Althouse said...

"Every act of defiance against our natural fears is liberating. And our biggest fear is of failure."

My standard is completely low. I'm happy to be able to do it at all. I just wanted to be able to stand up without tipping over and get back down in the end, which I did.

Paddling around the lake in a standing position was very nice. I'm not at all about trying to get a physical workout (which is I'm sure what Palladian pictures and hates).

We went out around 7 pm when there was no glaring light (which is my big problem with being out on the water). The sun was setting and the views were aesthetically pleasing.

The activity was midway between easy and difficult -- just enough to put you in that "flow" state that is about what I want out of activity.

It was virtually impossible to get hurt. If I'd fallen in, I had a life jacket, and the water is calm and spring-fed clean.

You keep your balance by looking forward at the "horizon"... really just the shoreline, which is mostly the arboretum on Wingra. Very aesthetically pleasing.

JAL said...

Saw people doing this in Naples back in April.

Thought it was weird, but then it made sense since Naples has *no* *waves* at all.

Have since seen someone doing it in the background of some photo -- or was it a celeb doing it ... can't remember.

Re the kayaking suggestion, Curious G? It would seem there will be no crossover. You aren't talking about apples and oranges, you are talking the difference between trikes and motocross. Or x country skiing versus slalom.

Old people can paddleboard in sedate water, so therefore I predict an increase in the future. (Don't take offense, Prof. But for a sedentary someone marrying a mountain biker ... it works.)

ndspinelli said...

San Diego surfers scoff @ "Paddycakers". There's a popular bumper sticker, "Friends don't let friends paddleboard."

But, don't let that influence you.

Michael Haz said...

It was 43F at 5:30 this morning at my cabin near Eagle River.

The early arrival of autumnal overnight temperatures is a reminder that the summer water sports season has perhaps one good month remaining before air and water temperatures become too chilly.

edutcher said...

Curious George said...

Knees? My kayak you sit in, legs stretched out in front of you.

Tough at all on the back or coccyx? I can see that making one stiff after a while.

Asking.

Anonymous said...

Now take it to the ocean. wait for a hurricane (or similaly large swell) and catch (the hardest part) a two story wave moving at 20mph. Rinse & repeat 30 or 40 times in session. Good luck babes.

Ann Althouse said...

"San Diego surfers scoff @ "Paddycakers". There's a popular bumper sticker, "Friends don't let friends paddle board.""

Seems like that's about ocean surf.

Won't get too far on Lake Wingra without some kind of paddle.

ndspinelli said...

Paddleboarders surf. They clog up the limited area where the waves break, and are not as nimble to get out of the way of a surfer getting up on a wave. There's a protocol wherin you yield quickly to someone who gets up first. You'll see paddleboarders akin to your genre on the bay. The surfers believe either surf, or paddleboard out of the way of prime breakers. I tend to side w/ the surfer dudes but simply from a safety standpoint.

wildswan said...

Speaking of paddles:
You sit on the good old screen porch, looking at the good old view and the good old mosquitoes drone in for that good old bite BUT
you have the brand new Super Voltage Bug Zapper shaped like a small tennis racket which you twirl through the air - and no more Mr Mosquito. No nasty oils, useless citronella candles ... You long for that droning whine so it's your turn for the zapper.
I did not make this myself but some bright soul in a dark era did.

Freeman Hunt said...

What is it like? Does it skim across the water? Is it slow?

Ann Althouse said...

On a lake, paddle boarders are like kayakers, moving in a similar way, but standing up. The issues with surfers described above are irrelevant where we are, and paddleboarding is the more challenging of the similar activities. But neither is very challenging. You could try to go faster, but you're not going to be in anyone's way. There's no conflict of that kind on the lake.

MadisonMan said...

The best time to paddleboard on Wingra is sun-up. It's calm, there are only one or 2 fishermen on the lake. Really zen.

The nicest thing about paddleboarding is how far up your head is above water, and therefore how far down into the water you can see. In Spring, there are fish to be seen everywhere in Wingra.