Imelda Marcos is NOT amused

Shoes. More specifically paddling shoes. For a habitual barefoot paddler it’s been a conundrum – I don’t even do socks… Loving the vibram five fingers, good feel in the boat, and surprisingly fabulous protection from the stones etc on the towpath, but (and there’s always a but) below about 4oC my feet get cold, not […]

Slowly does it

15stone 13.7pounds Given the frustrations of the last few weeks and the fact that due to other commitments between now and Easter, the reality is that D and I have only about 9 genuine training weeks left before the race during which we can paddle- this is a little worrying. Any more illness, weather related […]

79 Days to go… Time to think about getting back in a boat

16stone 2.0pounds…. Holy crap that’s not good.. It feels like ages since we last boated. The reality is that it is a week that we have been both unable to train due to this f…rustrating virus. It is becoming a little demoralising, although I think we are over the worst of it. I am back […]

Crew Harmony

It’s a harmonised crew that coordinate their colds/viruses… At least we’re only losing one training period… But hoping we’re both back up to full strength soon, and back in the boat, squawking and fidgeting… Yours in fluids and vitamin C, Dirty D

Ben and Morgan start to put in some distance

Feeling lousy. So is Dirty D. The good news is that at least we have both succumbed at the same time to whatever lurgy is doing the rounds. The bad news is we have put in very few miles this past week and look, as things stand (or lie prostrate), to do very little this […]

A peaceful week… woman flu

15 stone 13.1 pounds It’s been a light paddling week due to a mix of near breakdowns. Firstly my car needed a new clutch, then Dirty D developed some sort of woman flu, interestingly after an evening in the company of her mature in Linlithgow female paddling group on Thursday. Perhaps more of a hangover […]

No mean chicken

15 stone 13.4 pounds Tom na Airdh 10km (plus 1000ft of climb) Hill Run/ Stagger 1:31.01 No paddling for Beaujolais yesterday, I was actually supposed to paddle a k1. Dirty D managed it. I don’t think she is that impressed that I once again did not. Hence I think the Chickens. I was supposed to […]

Chickens

can’t help but feel that this is where I need to get to – body moving in fluid independence from the head – could float over any wash dirty d

Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Due to continued clutch problems with Beaujolais’ (t)rusty Astra I have been reunited with two old friends this evening; namely my Elio Puma K1 and the Union Canal between Linlithgow and the Avon Aqueduct. Puma was great – first time I have paddled him since the clocks changed; and pleased to see that there is […]

Waterboarding

15 stone 12.7 pounds Hieland Man Way 9k Hill Run/ Walk 1:12.56 I cannot begin to describe the tortures that Dirty D inflicted on Beaujolais in order to obtain the codes that give entry to this blog site. At first he resisted… only giving name, rank and number. However then it got serious and we […]