Diary of a middle aged kayaker

World Masters Games, Auckland 2017; Dropping the weight of expectations.

The WMG have been my training focus for the last couple of years, and I’ve put in plenty of time and effort to prepare. It was a treat to be on the start line with world class paddlers like Peter Micheler, Vincent Fondeviole and Donald Johnstone. Off-water, the camaraderie of the Masters Games made it [...]

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Look through the gate

I was recently tackling short gate sequences on the two big drops at Lee Valley. These ‘feature moves’ are easy to get wrong, but they feel fantastic when you nail them, and require a precise combination of boat speed, angle and position.  Typically this involves coming down one side of the drop and surfing across [...]

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Is it worth doing dry land training for kayaking?

I’ve just spent two and a half weeks on holiday with my family, relaxing in the sun in Sardinia. This was the longest time I’ve spent off the water for well over a year, and a stark contrast to the previous few months when I was able to put in a solid training block that [...]

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When goals get in the way

I’ve long been fascinated by the way goals can help or hinder performance, right from my early days of competition.  Having a clear objective ‘should’ be a good thing, but it seems to me that this isn’t always the case.  It takes a bit of care to choose the right goals. Over my winter slalom [...]

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Re-building your confidence

I was prompted to write this after reading this blog post from Louise Jull, describing her experience of an injury on the Green River.  http://playak.com/news.php?idd=2129836684817 I wanted to write something that would be helpful for anyone in her situation – so I hope this is useful! Everyone knows that whitewater kayaking depends on your ability to [...]

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Road trip to Val Sesia and Ticino

8 Rivers with Dean, Andy, and (all the way from Tasmania) Harry. We spent five days in Val Sesia, to take in the Gene 17 Festival and paddle the classics, before heading east to Ticino in southern Switzerland for some new rivers.  We started with a couple of runs on the Sesia including the Gene [...]

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Wilderness Journeys

Now that I live in the UK, one of the things I miss about Tasmania is the easy opportunity for a multi-day trip down a remote river.  Although parts of Scotland and Wales are pretty remote, there’s not the same sense of wilderness.  I think back to the three years between 1977 and 1979 when [...]

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I thought I was immortal.

If you’ve not already read it, I strongly recommend reading this posting by Pat Keller on the Tribe Rider Facebook page.  It’s a great reminder of the need to grow your paddling abilities in line with experience, and not rush into bigger situations than you can handle. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=350583031637867&set=a.242093089153529.73955.242090492487122&type=1) It reminded me of a phase in [...]

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