The Great Iowa river race

Paddlers' Place
#1

So now I have done it. I have entered the great Iowa river race. I hope this does not get out of hand. I just want to drift down stream and look at birds. That was my only reason to buy a kayak.
But that is not my nature.

I have raced cars, motorcycles, bicycles , hydroplanes ,Slot cars, soap box derby cars. Street luge,Radio Control pylon airplanes, feet and now I’m going to race a kayak.
What have I done??

#2

Nuttin unusual. Have fun!

#3

Good luck. Have fun - and I see another boat or two in your future.

#4

@Rookie said:
Good luck. Have fun - and I see another boat or two in your future.

I don’t think so. I just don’t have room.
I don’t even know how to race a kayak. I guess paddle hard.

#5

@Racer X said:

I don’t think so. I just don’t have room.
I don’t even know how to race a kayak. I guess paddle hard.

Well, it’s probably more like paddle smart & learn how to paddle well before paddling hard. If you search around here you can find some links & discussion on the forward stroke.

#6

Getting ready for the big weekend. I have been practicing paddling at high speed. Seems like rapid strokes works best. Deep digging in strokes accelerates but once up to speed I seem to do better with a fast cadence. Keeping a streight line and not causing to bow to shift side to side seems to be better than trying to dig in and make hard paddle strokes.
I will have to keep up speed for at least an hour. So smooth light strokes will be a good thing. Of corse I have no clue how it will go. But it will be fun .

#7

Wing paddles lend themselves to fast strokes.

#8

Good luck and don’t forget to hydrate often. Checked the weather forecast: 91F on Saturday.

#9

Thanks. Anyone else going?

#10

So the Great Iowa river race is over. The weather started out with heavy thunderstorms and hail. They got the race off with just a short delay.
Very nice conditions after the rain stopped.
I paddled about as hard as I could. Changing from high to low stroke . And trying my best to keep good form. This is only my fifth or sixth time in a kayak ,so I could definitely use some work on my form. Also my boat is 28 inches wide. The paddle strikes the side like a drum with every stroke. But the kestrel 140x is a super boat so it helped a lot. Perfect for recreational kayaking. And that is what I bought it for. Maybe not so good for racing. Over all I had a great time. I finished second place in Open men’s caragory so that was nice also.

#11

Good job

#12

Congratulations.