scream

"one's own self is well hidden from one's own self, of all mines of treasure, one's own is the last to be dug up." -- friedrich wilhelm nietzsche

with only a few days left before leaving for switzerland i had to give my "rogue wave" to stripbuilder for repainting and repair. a season of rough use and hundreds of miles has taken it's toll. repainting the graphite bottom and weathered top, and fixing the cowling crack, reminds me it is time to also continue getting back in shape physically and mentally and set a new course for the upcoming year. but occasionally it is just time to "scream" and let go of old emotional dings and cracks.

rudderless

with changing weather we once again don warmer clothing and keep paddling. back in my own boat an aerobic 3 hour trip feels rejuvenating even with the promise of fewer days on the water. hopefully i'll find a boat when we get to switzerland next month. lago maggiore is beautiful beyond description and possibly bled, slovenia will offer the same if we get there.

"fortunate indeed, is the man who takes exactly the right measure of himself, and holds a just balance between what he can acquire and what he can use." -- anonymous

dreams

"hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly." -- langston hughes

mr140

what should have been the mr340 was shortened for us by orthopaedic complications - mine. not every goal we set is achievable, not every dream we have comes true, not every problem has to be insurmountable, not everything is understandable. my son, TA, had a t-shirt while swimming that read, "failure - when your best just isn't good enough." i guess i did my best for 18 hours and 140 miles but that was well short of the requisite 340 miles. we finished at 0230 at glasgow, mo. stripbuilder gave us every advantage with a beautiful tandem boat, experience and energy but intense training just wasn't enough for my half of our combined 125 years age. fog, headwinds and rain made for an interesting trip and seeing the many different types of craft and paddlers was exciting. a SUP paddler actually made the distance and was only a few hours behind us into our last checkpoint. although the disappointment was evident, getting into the best shape possible was a definite success. now back to more dreams...

even someone's partner, wilson, made it farther than me...

beauty revisited

everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. -- confucius
revisiting this trip from davenport south allowed me to see familar landmarks from a past journey. sometimes the trip is easier when we recognize where we are in relationship to the final destination.

river miles

"nature without an effort surpasses art." -- latin proverb
paddling from davenport to muscatine on the mississippi yesterday i met a man paddling a canoe who came from rockford, illinois on the rock river. he was making about 30 miles/day in a plastic rec boat with a "bicycle bugger" tucked in behind him to carry his gear. he had a sign on board that invoked the words peace and God and he told me he was out of money until his disability check arrived on wednesday. he declined my assistance and said he was losing weight on ramen noodles and oatmeal so much lighter than his original 285#. i figure that by louisiana he should be down to playing weight. he doesn't like "gators" or snakes so doubt if he'll get much past arkansas. i felt like huck finn as i paddled down "the mighty" on a beautiful day.