Size *Does* Matter

At least when it comes to paddle length. I went out and paddled a bit over 5 miles in the OC6 with the ladies. I used my 52" Lolo and had a little bit of a funky feeling in my elbow, I think I prefer using my 52" Axel II in the OC6. The morning was truly gorgeous, the sky was a brilliant blue, the steel grey clouds were far off in the distance. It was much warmer than I expected, I actually took off a layer, first time that has happened since October. Many on the crew were peeling off layers during our first break and also wishing we'd worn sunglasses. It was a decent workout but afterwards I was not feeling as though I had worked as hard as I could have/should have so I decided to go out on the OC1.

After we got the OC6 put away I brought out the OC1 and put it together. GPS-check, water bottle-check, new paddle-check. Yes, I finally got the opportunity to use my new paddle, a 50" Helium, it has a smaller surface area than the Axel II blade. It isn't yet part of the Kialoa catalog so I can't include a link for it. OMG! It was a beautiful thing, so light, and I finally realized how big a difference the correct length paddle makes. I've been using the Lolo on the OC1/OC2 and it's felt pretty good, but the Helium feels great. Everything was flowing smoothly, I was hitting a really good rhythm ... and then my cell phone rang. Typically I wouldn't stop to answer the phone, but remember yesterdays post? The CL ad, new string of first dates, etc. It was one of the guys, we had plans to meet this afternoon and I wasn't expecting to hear from him unless there was a change, so I thought I should answer it. He wanted to push back our meeting by an hour if that was ok with me. Sure, no problem, means I can paddle a bit longer, too. OK, phone put away, get back into the rhythm, long, smooth, reach it out, rotate, new paddle feels great. I went north 30 minutes and then turned around and came back, the return only took 25 minutes, went nearly 5 miles. Wow, what a great paddle, both the physical object and the act. That had to be one of my better workouts. Size really does matter, the smaller length and smaller surface area works great for me on the OC1.

Went down to Seward Park to meet that Craigslist respondent, brought the dogs along. I figured if I was going for a walk they should be able to take advantage of it, too. We met and started walking around the loop road chatting the whole way. I found him very easy to talk to and pauses in conversation didn't seem awkward, that's always nice. I hope I'll see him again.