Rick and I burned work on Friday knowing we'd be on the Lehigh River all day on Saturday. We took a leisurely 2 hour road ride on Friday covering about 25 miles. Rick enjoys riding at a social pace and coasts as much as possible. (I love him!). The rest of the day was filled with chores around the house. Saturday went as planned -- 20 folks met up at the put-in in White Haven for a 12 mile trip down the Lehigh River. It took us 5 hours and we thoroughly enjoyed every second of playing, chit-chatting, surfing, and watching others do tricks. There were all skill levels in our group including a guy who bought his boat just the day before. The Canoe Club of Greater Harrisburg was the trip organizer and they did an awesome job of pairing less experienced folks with experienced folks so they could learn the ropes. I had my first experience at the wave at 2nd Chance Rapid and screamed like a giddy little girl on a roller coaster. You see, there's this HUGE wave -- maybe 5-6 feet high -- and we've seen folks get stuck in it, flip backwards, and simply don't make it through. The guy just ahead of me was totally vertical and in the air. We weren't sure if he'd make it over the top but he did. I always avoided the wave but this time a little girl of about 12 or 13 went through it ahead of me and I thought damn it, so can I. As I approached it, I started paddling like hell to push through it and had success. It was the BEST! Now I'm ready for more. Of course it helps when you have an indestructible river-running boat like my 65 gallon Wavesport Diesel. I'm thinking of switching up to my 52 gallon Wavesport EZG which probably wouldn't make it through wave as nicely, but I can play more with the small boat.
Sunday ended up being a totally unplanned metric century of the back roads of Central PA in Northumberland, Schuylkill and Dauphin Counties. It rained in the morning which put the damper on riding mountain bike in Weiser 'cause the trails get way to tight with wet brush hanging on them (the trails virtually dissappear). So I opted for a road ride. Early Sunday mornings are a nice time to road ride with little traffic except the old folks heading to church at about 20 mph. They are harmless to bikers (IMHO). I knew I wanted to get 4 hours in and that's pretty easy in the mountains. But on the road? That's a lot of pedaling and miles. Off I went on my regular 45 mile loop. As I neared the end of it, it was less than 3 hours. Shit! I gotta ride more. Until I was done, I put in the 4 hours and ended up with 62 miles. H.o.l.y. h.e.l.l. I never expected that one. 2,989 calories burned and yes, I'm on my way to being ready for the Rattling 50 in August. I was toying with doing the 23K Kuhn is putting on the same day, but I think I'll stick with focusing on the riding and reduce the running to shorter distances (4-6 miles at a time) for the time being. I'm finding my body can't do both, so it's either long rides, or long runs, so right now I'll focus on the riding since I already put in a long run for the year. Awesome stuff. And what did YOU do this weekend?
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