Starting Over

Well the past year has been a bit of a bust, as far as paddling and running is concerned. After getting back from Australia, and suffering from "I don't want to paddle in the cold any more", I managed to little or no training what so ever.

On top of that, I managed to be "un-gainfully employed", which did not help my lack of enthusiasm.

During the past year I managed to do exactly one running race and one paddle race. (Hey at least I was consistent. lol)

Now things have started to come around, and I am looking forward to start training again for next year. I have "spruced" up my blog a little and I am coming up with a list of races I want to go in next year.

Since I am basically starting from scratch, I am going back to my previous training logs, to see what worked and what did not. What can I say, if you don't look at previous logs, then they are basically useless. Well maybe not useless.

So it is time to start on basic endurance training first. This will be a long process of running, weights, and yes paddling. I am also going to start blogging about my progress, as I work myself back into shape.

Long and Hard Paddle.

Today was going to be a long technique paddle. Since this would be only my fifth paddle since November of last year, I thought practising technique would be a good thing.

When I was packing up the car to go to Deas Island, I knew from the wind and the rain, that this was going to be a hard one. When I got to the slough the rain had actually gotten heavier. So I quickly got on the water, for what I knew was going to be 2 hours of cold hard work. My motivation was that afterwards, I get to sit on the couch and drink coffee and watch the Masters.

The start of the paddle was ok, with the wind dying down a little. As I approached the marina on the way out to the islands, I checked my GPS, and it read 12.4 kph. I though hey this isn't so bad, good speed, medium hard, not bad.

As I got out into the main channel to Ladner, I noticed that the GPS was still quite high for the amount of effort I was putting in. Then it dawned on me, Idiot, the tide is going out, and you are going with the wind. No wonder I was going at that speed and barely paddling. It dawned on me that when I get to Westham Island, I was in for a major slog, all the way back to Deas.

It wasn't long before I got to Westham, and I could see the channel just churning, from the current and the wind in front of me. I came around the corner, and bam, it hit me. It blew me sideways, toward the straight. So I put the power on, and hammer to the Westham side of the channel, to get some (very little ) protection from the wind. I start grunting my way back toward Ladner, along side some of the biggest fishing boats I have ever seen.

As I was approaching the top of Westham, I decided to see just how long it would take the current and wind to send me backwards. So I stopped paddling, and looked at my watch. Less than 5 seconds and I was going backwards as fast, if not faster than I was going forwards.

I really had to go hard where the Ladner channel and the Westham channel meet. The water seems to swirl pretty good there, and there was no protection from the wind. After reaching the other side out of the wind. I stopped for a bite of a Cliff bar. Then it was off again into the current and wind. I cruised (if you could call it that) along side the floating homes. I thought to myself, boy I sure would like to live on one of these.

I got to the main channel that heads toward the Fraser, and turned toward Deas. I looked up and there was a canoe with two women just hammering toward me. They managed to slow down enough to say hi and off they went. They were sure fast. From here it was a slow paddle (still battling current and wind, which was now across my beam) back to Deas. At the end my GPS read: 17.68 kms.

Not bad for a wet, cold and windy Sunday.

March Racing Calendar

New Think Kayaks Uno Surf Ski

Daryl Remmler of Thinks Kayaks gave me permission so post this picture of the prototype Uno surf ski.

Thanks Daryl.

February's Race Calendar

This is a calendar of the local races going on in and around Vancouver, B.C.

Big Chop 2009 Race Scehdule

Big Chop organizers Ryan and Brian have announced the schedule for 2009.

This looks to be another record year for the Big Chop, as main series sponsor Mountain Equipment Coop is back for another year.

They are also looking for more sponsors to help out with this years series. So if you know of any companies or individuals who what to get on board, have them contact Ryan or Brian

RACE #1 - Thursday, April 30th
+ Opening night. 7km Big Chop & 3.5km Little Chop.
Course - West Side Loop

RACE #2 - Thursday, May 14th
+ 8km race & 4km Little Chop
Course - Back Side Loop

RACE #3 - Thursday, May 28th
+ 8km race & 4km Little Chop
Course - Surfer's Route

RACE #4 - Thursday, June 11th
+ 8km race & 4km Little Chop
Course - West Side Loop

RACE #5 - Thursday, June 25th
+ 9km race & 4km Little Chop
Course - Back Side Loop

RACE #6 - Thursday, July 9th
+ 8km race & 4km Little Chop
Course - Surfer's Route

RACE #7 - Thursday, July 23rd
+ 7km race & 3.5km Little Chop
Course- West Side Loop

RACE #8 - Thursday, August 6th
+ 9km race & 4km Little Chop
Course- Back Side Loop

RACE #9 - Thursday, August 20th
+ 8km race & 4km Little Chop
Course- Surfer's Route

RACE #10 - Thursday, September 3rd
+ Series Championship! 6.5km race & 3.5km "Little Chop"

Epic Production Problems With Manufacturer

Charleston-based kayak company sues Chinese manufacturer By Andy Owens

aowens@scbiznews.com

Published Dec. 10, 2008

A Charleston-based company that sells kayaks around the world has filed a lawsuit against its Chinese manufacturer after the manufacturer refused to release Epic Kayaks' proprietary kayak molds and threatened to put the company out of business in China.

Greg Barton, a two-time Olympic gold and bronze medalist and co-owner of Epic Kayaks, said several American companies doing business in China find themselves embroiled in similar conflicts when they try to end a business relationship with a
Chinese manufacturer.

Now, he's concerned about getting a fair hearing in a Chinese court. Barton and his partner hired attorneys overseas and hope, by taking a legal route, that Fuyang-based Flying Eagle will be pressured to come to an agreement.

"Can we get a fair trial in a Chinese court - an American company going against a Chinese company? Even if we do, are we going to be allowed to conduct business in the same area?" Barton said. "They've said they can put us out of business or make it impossible for us to do business in that area."

The dispute began over project management and pricing in July, some three years after Epic moved its production to Fuyang, an industrial city south of Shanghai. Flying Eagle manufacturers the rowing shells that many national teams used at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The dispute led Epic to try to dissolve its business relationship with Flying Eagle and find a new factory in Fuyang. But four months after agreeing in principle to a separation agreement, Flying Eagle refused to release Epic's molds and equipment unless it received "hugely inflated, ever-changing fees that, if paid, would sink the company," Epic said in a statement.

Barton has spent the past three months in China trying to negotiate a settlement and has spent nearly half this year dealing with production in China. As the demands of Flying Eagle kept escalating, including clauses that could potentially leave Epic vulnerable to penalties up to $1 million, Barton said it became clear Flying Eagle officials thought they had Epic "over a barrel."

Epic filed a lawsuit in the intermediate level court in Hangzhou rather than agree to pay a "ransom" for its proprietary property and equipment.

"It's definitely going to have a significant impact on our cash flow and hurt us quite a bit," Barton said. "It's already hurt us for several months."

Barton said Epic Kayaks has some inventory in the United States and in Europe, so the company is able to fill some orders. Epic produces high-performance paddles and kayaks and was born out of a desire to bring modern, well-designed racing technology to touring kayaks.

"It's definitely costing some money but not nearly the value of what they're holding on to," Barton said. "Unless we're able to secure, very quickly, the release of our molds and things, we're going to be rebuilding some of those."