The most recent outdoor activity participation study results are in. Cycling is huge. Trail running is still growing. On the water, standup paddleboarding is way up. Kayak fishing is really catching on. Why?
These grab-and-go activities fit conveniently into busy lives. It’s easy to grab a road bike or lace up runners and be back before dinner. Paddleboards require only a paddle and PFD. Fishing kayaks launch just about anywhere. But adventures like whitewater, canoeing and kayaking that have traditionally required more than a couple hours of commitment are sliding down our to-do lists.
I’ve written over the years in Rapid about the pros and cons of urban whitewater parks. I’ve compared them to climbing walls and foretold the slow death of real adventure. Now, I see that climbing walls and whitewater parks aren’t killing us. We are killing ourselves.
Our leisure habits are changing and the smaller windows of time we have to play outside must fit between school, overtime, traffic and daycare drops. Urban whitewater parks remove barriers, making a surf session as easy as a game of squash.
Access however isn’t a barrier for canoeing and kayaking. There is flatwater almost everywhere. The problem is that our dearly beloved tripping canoes and expedition sea kayaks aren’t exactly grab-and-go in today’s world.
Bill Kueper of Wenonah Canoe first tipped me off to this new way of thinking during a round table discussion about the state of canoeing in America.
“For years we’ve been selling people their once-a-year canoes and kayaks, the ones they take on annual trips to the Boundary Waters or the San Juan Islands,” he said. “Instead, we should be selling them boats that perform best for the water they can paddle most often.”
Bill calls these Tuesday night boats—the ones we can most easily enjoy every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or whenever there’s a few hours to escape.
“But my husband and I already have our canoe,” protested one instructor. Why, I asked her, should paddling be any different from other outdoor activities? Why shouldn’t we have more than one canoe or kayak?
Last fall, my wife and I got back into mountain biking. To enjoy our precious time together, I bought a new mountain bike. Now, on Wednesday nights we book a babysitter and join a community ride. We’ve made new friends and tailgate in the parking lot afterward. It’s fun, social and it’s easy.
In only 13 months, I’ve purchased three new bikes—all of which, for the record, cost more than any of my canoes or kayaks. I evolved from a born-again mountain biker to a guy who rides bikes—all kinds of bikes. Different bikes allow me to ride more often. Yes, I could have ridden my trail bike on the road and off big jumps, but it would have sucked.
I believe the same is true for paddling. If I’m going to get out more, it has to be easy. Otherwise I’ll spend my leisure time doing other things, or worse, nothing at all.
The river is a short walk from my office. For years I stood at my desk talking on the phone and looking out the window, dreaming about paddling at lunchtime. Why hadn’t I gone? Bill nailed it. I didn’t have my Tuesday night boat. Nothing says miserable lunch break fitness paddle more than a 70-pound Royalex Prospector. I needed my grab-and-go boat.
Increasing participation in paddling is simple. Here, in our 2014 Paddling Buyer’s Guide, you’ll find 369 canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. Buy the one, or ones, that best suit your local rock garden, lake, river, park, pond or swimming pool. Then paddle the hell out of them. No excuses.
Scott MacGregor is the founder and publisher of Rapid Media. He is the proud owner of a new 32-pound Wenonah Advantage solo racing canoe and a bent shaft carbon paddle. He won’t be taking any more calls between noon and one.
This editorial originally appeared in the 2014 Paddling Buyer’s Guide. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it on your desktop here.
