I do like it when a plan comes together.
Friday night was the kayak club weekly river session, this week held at Knightwick. Paddlers got together a little earlier than usual to gather kit and sort cars, then all headed over to the weir. There was a great turn out so it was 'boat soup' on the river. Although this meant there was a bit of a wait between turns playing on the wave (or in my case just going on to the second wave and turning off it again) it was a great atmosphere. Everyone chipping in with some coaching and helpful hints and advice. A couple of swimmers through the evening but no drama, and I even saved my first bit of kit....
Sat in an eddy having a chat we saw a boat paddle and swimmer drifting past.... The boat got washed towards the eddy and the swimmer was making his way to the bank, I saw the paddle floating away and no one following it yet, so I went for it. I caught up with the paddle, picked it up, and while trying to sort it out drifted back in to some over hanging trees. Having been warned about getting caught up in trees I got myself away from them. I started to realise I was a fair way down stream. I tried to put the paddles together as I've seen others do but as mine were straight and the rescued ones were cranked that didn't work. And I dropped them again. Hmmm... Worked out I could put them diagonally, tucking them under the strap on my deck, and still paddle if a little awkwardly. Made it back to the eddy where swimmer and boat were reunited and felt quite good about being part of the rescue. 😊
I didn't really battle a my demons. With all the boats around I just didn't feel like I had the time or space to push my limits, however, I felt really confident with ferry gliding and turning lower down. It's really starting to feel smooth and that I'm getting a good feel for the water and what I need to do with my paddle (even if I can't always execute the maneuver).
Saturday morning and I'm already a tad stiff, but once I get moving I'm feeling better and I managed to get Buddy out on a ride with friends at the yard. It was a new route for us including a short distance on the main road. Buddy was well behaved of course and even though we got rained on we all enjoyed the ride.
I got back home then as Keith was coming over to fix the alternator back on the car. Although it is my car and I wanted to be around to help I was a little redundant as between Dad and Keith all was well in hand. So I made drinks and a little lunch. Within a couple of hours all was sorted and I was very relieved to hear my car growl in to life once more! 😂
We then went off to meet a couple of friends who are also coming out to the Alps and went climbing at the leisure centre for a couple of hours. We all decided to meet up again later in the evening and go for a bite to eat. So a quick run round to feed and sort cats, dogs and horses and get changed before joining up at Harleys in Kinver. A good choice (thanks Gregg) really great food.
Then Sunday was the full day clinic. I arrived at the yard a little early, incase I needed to set anything up and was greeted by a few of the riders, still in pajamas and brushing teeth 😂 They had arranged a camp over for the weekend (hence booking me for a day of lessons) and the atmosphere was great.
I didn't end up using the exercise I had planned. It just didn't work out that way, but the planning paid off, knowing a bit about the horses and riders before I arrived, meant we could get on with the sessions and start making improvements.
Every rider was completely different, a couple nervous for different reasons, a couple quite confident, some quiet some talkative and, some younger inexperienced horses, some older quirky ones. Each rider made improvements in their session, whether that be in confidence or technique and it was very rewarding for me to see all the smiles.
It was a glorious sunny day, which made it all the more enjoyable, however I think I had a little heat stroke and now have a little pink triangle where the sun caught the opening of my shirt. I was totally worn out but I realised this is the first time I've felt this exhausted through work, and been happy about it.
A few of the riders asked about how to book future lessons, which I discussed with them and left my business cards with them too.
Another bonus is that a friend of one of the riders came down to take photos for the day, so I have asked if the riders would send them on to me of they are happy for me to use them.
Everything is feeling very positive right now and I'm feeling really motivated to keep this up and encourage bookings of a similar nature.
Friday night was the kayak club weekly river session, this week held at Knightwick. Paddlers got together a little earlier than usual to gather kit and sort cars, then all headed over to the weir. There was a great turn out so it was 'boat soup' on the river. Although this meant there was a bit of a wait between turns playing on the wave (or in my case just going on to the second wave and turning off it again) it was a great atmosphere. Everyone chipping in with some coaching and helpful hints and advice. A couple of swimmers through the evening but no drama, and I even saved my first bit of kit....
Sat in an eddy having a chat we saw a boat paddle and swimmer drifting past.... The boat got washed towards the eddy and the swimmer was making his way to the bank, I saw the paddle floating away and no one following it yet, so I went for it. I caught up with the paddle, picked it up, and while trying to sort it out drifted back in to some over hanging trees. Having been warned about getting caught up in trees I got myself away from them. I started to realise I was a fair way down stream. I tried to put the paddles together as I've seen others do but as mine were straight and the rescued ones were cranked that didn't work. And I dropped them again. Hmmm... Worked out I could put them diagonally, tucking them under the strap on my deck, and still paddle if a little awkwardly. Made it back to the eddy where swimmer and boat were reunited and felt quite good about being part of the rescue. 😊
I didn't really battle a my demons. With all the boats around I just didn't feel like I had the time or space to push my limits, however, I felt really confident with ferry gliding and turning lower down. It's really starting to feel smooth and that I'm getting a good feel for the water and what I need to do with my paddle (even if I can't always execute the maneuver).
Saturday morning and I'm already a tad stiff, but once I get moving I'm feeling better and I managed to get Buddy out on a ride with friends at the yard. It was a new route for us including a short distance on the main road. Buddy was well behaved of course and even though we got rained on we all enjoyed the ride.
I got back home then as Keith was coming over to fix the alternator back on the car. Although it is my car and I wanted to be around to help I was a little redundant as between Dad and Keith all was well in hand. So I made drinks and a little lunch. Within a couple of hours all was sorted and I was very relieved to hear my car growl in to life once more! 😂
We then went off to meet a couple of friends who are also coming out to the Alps and went climbing at the leisure centre for a couple of hours. We all decided to meet up again later in the evening and go for a bite to eat. So a quick run round to feed and sort cats, dogs and horses and get changed before joining up at Harleys in Kinver. A good choice (thanks Gregg) really great food.
Then Sunday was the full day clinic. I arrived at the yard a little early, incase I needed to set anything up and was greeted by a few of the riders, still in pajamas and brushing teeth 😂 They had arranged a camp over for the weekend (hence booking me for a day of lessons) and the atmosphere was great.
I didn't end up using the exercise I had planned. It just didn't work out that way, but the planning paid off, knowing a bit about the horses and riders before I arrived, meant we could get on with the sessions and start making improvements.
Every rider was completely different, a couple nervous for different reasons, a couple quite confident, some quiet some talkative and, some younger inexperienced horses, some older quirky ones. Each rider made improvements in their session, whether that be in confidence or technique and it was very rewarding for me to see all the smiles.
It was a glorious sunny day, which made it all the more enjoyable, however I think I had a little heat stroke and now have a little pink triangle where the sun caught the opening of my shirt. I was totally worn out but I realised this is the first time I've felt this exhausted through work, and been happy about it.
A few of the riders asked about how to book future lessons, which I discussed with them and left my business cards with them too.
Another bonus is that a friend of one of the riders came down to take photos for the day, so I have asked if the riders would send them on to me of they are happy for me to use them.
Everything is feeling very positive right now and I'm feeling really motivated to keep this up and encourage bookings of a similar nature.
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