Feel free to message me if you you have questions. There is more to it than two sticks and a string. A good book is Shooting the Stickbow by Anthony Camera. It doesn’t give much coverage on Instinctive style of shooting or subconscious aiming, but there are archers who can shoot aspirin tossed into the air. He does cover in detail what makes for good shooting and equipment. Once your form becomes consistent enough you will want to fine tune the arrows flight out of the bow, He covers all that, and there are videos I am sure that would be helpful in getting started.
A good book about what it takes to never miss a shot is “Free Throw” by Tom Amberry. It’s a great read about the mental aspects and focus once you have developed skill. I think it is one of those books that are just worth reading even if you have no interest in basketball or shooting. He shot over 2000 free throws in row without missing.
Castoff is pretty much right, but Bear brand are becoming fairly pricey even for the lower end recurves. Vintage Bear bows are collectors items lately. If you are just getting started the upper range of the entry level bows Three Rivers sells would be fine to get started. I think most of these are made by the same company in China. A lot of people think that the only option for non-compound bows are recurve bows. Modern long-bows are quite nice. Bear makes a model called the Montana (Last time I was in Cabela’s I think they were $400). I shot one owned by a friend, I think it was 45 or 50 lbs and it was very nice and I was shooting thown targets with it after just a few warm up shots. If its in your price range I would take a look. Ebay used to be a great place to pick up used and fairly vintage recurves. You could buy Bear, Shakespear and other brands for not a lot of money. I think those days are gone. About five years ago I picked up a 1973 Blackhawk short recurved bow for about $100 from a somewhat slimey Ebay vendor. It’s my favorite recurve that I have not made. Blackhawk was a company in the Northeast that was popular up until compound bows took over. There are several niche companies that made great bows and you might be able to find them for not a lot, but archery became quite popular during the pandemic and you have to have some experience to know what to look for, so getting started with a entry level bow from Three Rivers might be a good place to start.
TomL, I lived in Grand Rapids for 8 years and often biked the paved Kent trail in GR that runs from near the John Ball Zoo to Byron Center – only about 11 miles but I would do it out and back and it was a lovely ride, through farmland, suburbs, woods and even a tunnel under I-96 and a small bridge over the Grand River. Also the Hart Montague Trail north of Muskegon (which now has spurs running south). I’d use my road bike (actually a Slingshot model made in Grand Rapids) on the paved trails and my mountain bike on the trails that ran along the roads. It was far easier to bike there than here in Western Pennsylvania, which has some of the steepest streets in the country and roads made of Belgian Block and brick.
I have too many hobbies and increasingly realize I am running out of lifetime to explore them as much as I would like.
I have a compulsion to “rescue and restore” things and have so many projects pending I would have to be immortal to finish them. Restoring furniture and sewing using two early 20th century treadle Singers (just re-upholstered a padded bench this afternoon and stitched up a batch of curtains the week before); home renovation (now have a second house up the street since booting out lousy tenants and am updating it this summer including wood flooring, expanding the deck and completely remodeling the kitchen with salvaged cabinets); drawing and painting (which were put on hold when the open studio sessions I was going to weekly evaporated with the Covid lockdowns and then the studio owner sold out); day hiking and backpacking, which are getting more difficult as my joints are less forgiving and many of my trail buddies are gimping out on me; improvisational cooking and baking; teaching myself to play electric bass; occasional cycling (though both my road bike and mountain bike are cobwebbed right now and need new tires). Also inherited my late Mom’s stained glass patterns, many glass panels and all the cutting and soldering tools and materials and keep telling myself I will sign up for an intro class in that “soon”.
Probably a few interests I forgot and have neglected – never got out once on the XC skis last winter for the first winter in nearly 50 years. And am just starting to plan some international travel after having to cancel the plans for that were made for 2020 and 2021. Celia and I had booked an active trip to New Zealand just before covid hit and after 4 postponed dates through those two years we finally gave up and cancelled. Hoping to get up to Ontario by Fall to get some coaching with the new-to-me solo canoe from my paddling mentor, Dennis, in Kingston and paddling some more of the Rideau Canal and the Thousand islands. But I digress…
Throw in knitting, volunteering, gardening, obsessive reading (mainly non fiction), writing (prose and poetry) and a growing bucket list of travel plans with the boon-docking camper truck I acquired 2 years ago and there is a massive backlog of potential activities I need to expedite more efficiently before I am too decrepit to attempt them.
Finally getting my cataracts out (and new fancy lenses inserted) next week should make a lot of those adventures easier going forward.
Mostly biking, particularly bikepacking, which has been severely hampered by Covid the last couple of years. This was Teakettle Junction in Death Valley a couple of years ago.
Thank you for the specific recommendations willowleaf!
Seems like a good test of a hobby. No problem driving north of Muskegon, lovely drive, but I have to cross at least 3 rivers that I don’t get on nearly enough and they will be calling out to me. When I go up to Grand Rapids it would be hard to not paddle the secret spot that I was shown by a friend. I was thinking that I might be able to get addicted to the Kal-haven trail at South Haven since it’s only a 25 minute drive but even then I know I’m going to want to just get on the Black River (which passes under the Kal-haven trail) and head out on a scenic water trail.
But it would be good to mix in some outdoor biking (I do some stationary biking at the YMCA). I’ve had some issues with hand numbness in the past when riding on the road.
You need a set up like this guy who combines a folding bike with a Pakboat Saco solo folding kayak (24 pounds) to tour around the Andalusian coast of Spain. I’ve lost the link but there was a similar Youtube video for many years by a young woman who paddled small inland streams in France with the same gear combination.
I paddle from ice out in March or April until November or December, weather permitting. When upstate NY and VT freeze solid, I have coached high school hockey, made cedar strip canoes and paddles, am currently the president of a community singing group and a league pool player that occasionally makes it to the National Championships in Las Vegas. I’m retired, like to keep busy, but enjoy paddling the most.
Sailing, boat maintenance (goes hand in hand with sailing, plus I live aboard full time). Recently was able to set up a 10 gallon planted fishtank in my office - I had really missed having fish since moving onto the boat. I have had larger freshwater and saltwater tanks before but at work we are limited to 10g, and I went freshwater to keep the maintenance down a bit. Also have lots of houseplants (also at the office) and I do counted cross stitch off and on - a great way to relax and spend a quiet afternoon or evening.
