You got me thinking, String… before I get too old and decrepit maybe I should knock off a kayak ‘bucket list’ item…
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yeah, have definitely seen them come and go.
I recently developed a heart condition as a direct result of racing kayaks.
I really loved racing and found it difficult to let it go; I wasn’t ready.
However, I have discovered a new love for canoeing. I love the way different strokes can create a beautiful nuance of movement with the boat.
Like you, I also spent years in martial arts as well as a kickboxer, which has also faded, after a pretty serious concussion.
I also shoot as well. I favor archery, more specifically barebow recurve.
It’s incredibly difficult to master and I think that is what appeals to me. I’m a sucker for intensive process.
Good luck moving forward.
You’ll find your way. You may need to make a few course corrections, but people like you and I always find a new horizon to aim towards.
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Motion is the lotion…
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Of course it does! LOL!
Just got back from my second rehab session. They’re boiling the frog, increasing each time. I’m enjoying it…
I haven’t asked, but I think I’m one of the younger ones there.
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I know from experience that your lose interest in your hobbies after serious illness or surgery. After my triple bypass I lost interest in my primary hobbies fishing and kayaking. Realizing this was a post operation issue I slowly pushed a little harder to get out and take part in these things. My goal is not to act my age.
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My reaction was similar but the opposite. I was more overwhelmed that rotator cuff damage ended my kayaking days. Then while researching for parts and advice to repair a used kayak for my nephew, I came across the forum and joined (against my better judgement). My first few trips were abysmal until I learned to compensate for the permanent damage and physical limitations. We only use a small portion of our muscle groups, so focus on the groups that still work. I can’t perform like an Olympic athlete. When you’re parts are broken, you have to think through it yourself and figure out how to make what you have work for you.
That put me on a course of exploration to learn how to get back to previous levels. By the end of the third season, I’ve finally accepted that age, not the injury, is limiting my progress. What I’ve gain during the past three seasons (time flies) is consistency in paddling technique, better tracking and greater efficiency. I miss the power of my youth when I was at my peak (age 60). My only regret is that I didn’t have my current knowledge back then. That’s the way life goes. No reason to stop now and let it to go to waste. Never give up, until you just get tired of doing it, then do something else. There’s no limit to what we can do . . . Some people just do it better! All we need to do is accept that.
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Recent health issues have made me more determined than ever to continue a life outdoors. I got depressed after a heart attack because some trips started to seem out of reach. I quit backpacking for instance. I will do fewer really remote river trips with no roads nearby. But that still leaves a lifetime of places to go.
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I know why you’re wondering. I’m 75 and retired, and paddled probably 25-50 miles every week, weather permitting. And in the popular spots, I’d get irritated by 10ft kayaks bungeed together with occupants throwing cigarette butts and beer bottles in the water and making a lot of noise and destroying the beauty, peace and quiet. I would paddle into November and December, because with nobody else on the water, just light snow falling and geese flying overhead and calling, the beauty was back.
I spent the last 4 years on peritoneal dialysis, and my 3 canoes and kayak have been gathering dust. I just got a kidney transplant in October, and when it gets warm enough in March or April, the dust will be washed off my Wenonah Voyager, and I’ll be back on the water and enjoying every minute. Hopefully I can ignore the “paddlers” that don’t respect the water enough to treat it well.
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I don’t sweat it when I lose interest in a hobby, I just do what I’m looking forward to doing at the time, and I have faith that other things will be there if I decide to do them again.
I find that several of my hobbies have become “seasonal”. When I walk past the bikes/kayaks/fishing lures/woodworking tools/Pinewood Derby cars in the “off season”, I don’t feel anything, usually nothing at all. It doesn’t follow weather seasons like it seems it should (except paddling and fishing lures, which get cut off by thick ice). But at some point, a hobby starts to catch my eye again, and I start to engage it and then I’m back into it. It’s ebb and flow, eddies and obsession. Life is most fun when you focus on what’s interesting at the time.
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Winter is when I have the time to research, read, return to woodworking projects and maintenance on bikes and kayaks. The fair weather usually improves before I catch up.
No pun intended, but depession is depressing, and it quickly takes a downward spiral. For some reason, the mood most often passes, unless you hit rock bottom. It can take a bad turn if the solution to recovering involves substances, food, alcohol, gambling or buying a new toy or gear. Unless there’s a medical reason, it might be as simple as diverting your mind on a task, such as researching topics, gear, or another hobby. Improve your knowledge about navigation on water or on land. Study paddle construction, technique, design. Clean up gear, organize. Watch kayak trips on YouTube and live vicariously through others, especially if you have no desire to go that extreme.
I see depression take hold of so many people I know. It manifests by becoming irritated with self or resentment towards others. If you aren’t your usual self, you should recognize the signs. Its up to you, whether you continue the spiral or pull out of it. Life is too long to spend time stewing over shortcomings. One easy solution is to do something to help somebody else. Seeing another person happy is catchy.
Have a good day on Christmas and through the coming year. Somebody reminded that this is actually the start of the new paddling season. Hurry up and prepare, or you won’t be ready when spring arrives. Only three months unless you live in Wyoming.
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Well ----------Thank you Oh Bearer of Good Tidings.
(I caught that wisecrack John.
Too bad it’s true.)
You seem to be the only guy I know who embraces that lifestyle. Merry Christmas. Snow will brme gone by 21 June.
Merry Christmas! We’ll be paddling in March. I hope.
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Sometimes we have some open water in April.
Some years.
Always some in May. Sometimes even enough to get out of the water.
(getting in the water is easy, but getting back over the ice that juts out about 30 feet can be a real trick if you don’t want to swim in ice water)
Even if the water is open it can be a problem at times and in some places to just get to the water because the snow may not be melted off enough to get through.
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I stopped flying when my instructor flew in to a mountain, completely lost my stomach for it. I still fly with my husband and feel better knowing I can land it if something happens to him.
Sometimes you just have to move on if you can’t get past something that happens.
jyak,
Thanks for the thoughts about depression. I have found that certain heart drugs can create a tendency for some depression. Specifically Digitalis was the worst. I even had a few suicidal thoughts. I believe that were are responsible mostly for our own mental health. There is a stigma in our society about getting help for it.
The fastest way out of depression for me was cardio rehab. Hard exercise 3 days a week. Working with people with similar ailments telling their stories. Empathetic trained people running the rehab. Talking it over with a professional. Changed everything. I celebrated by doing a rigorous river trip on the Klamath River in a drift boat. I got tired but could do everything pretty much like the old days. Life seems pretty normal one year after a heart attack.
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Unfortunately, there is often a link between some medications and unhappy consequences. For others it can be a consequence of genetics, an inbalance in physiology, learned, or from not feeling a sense of worth. Everyone has worth. I’ll never buy the fatalistic notion that there are too many people on earth. Surely someone else feels lonelier and would appreciate your attention! Enjoy life and share it with gusto.
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I am enjoying cardiac rehab for the same reasons. It’s good to get my heart rate up and get the muscles warmed up and a little tired.
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