I’d like:- 1. A few pints of beer, preferably Tanglefoot 2. Some cheese and biscuits 3. Chocolate Since my accident I’ve had to stop all alcohol and am on a low fat diet due to ongoing internal organ issues. I’m hoping to get the all clear soon. I’m down to 63kgs now. The low fat is much worse than no booze. I’ve got a nice Omega and bought two new bikes this year already.
Well in all honesty I don't know a great deal about this lark as yet. There are very different kayaks for rapids and waterfalls, as well as sea & touring, but I just picked up an all rounder/ recreational boat to get into it and see what happens. I plan to get a lesson or two aswell to learn the eskimo roll and practise getting back in the thing in deep water. Fun & games. I envisage it to be more akin to cycling than biking -at least until I get to the right level of fitness & skill. The physical aspect is one of the reasons I want to give it a go. There is a myriad of personal kit available though some if not all my sailing gear will get me off to a good start. The PFD's used are very different so I coughed up for one of those already. I was a little surprised at the cost of a high end paddle. As you'd expect lightness, design and branding all play a part along with Olympic champions endorsements. Even so a carbon fibre broom stick with Carlos fandango blades will set you back £650 at least. Then there are the expensive heavier, handmade, wooden, Greenlander paddles which don't seem to make sense but no doubt I've a lot to learn. And lets face it those guys were kayaking a long time before any of us so I'm certain there is more to it. Lastly the government has a water equivalent of road tax so I'll be filling in a form and getting a sticker or whatever too. I've got a new roof rack for the car and I spent a few hours making trestles to store the kayak on today. I've ordered some other fittings (handles/ nets) which will hopefully arrive during the week so it shouldn't be too long before its launch day.
What did you weigh before? I don't miss the booze at all, but I suppose years of drinking an entire river most nights set me up pretty well. I bought my Omega on the Hohweg in Interlaken back in '91. Its nice, I never wear it, and whilst I don't want to sell it, I'm certainly not buying another one.
That watch has served you well - money well spent. Inline fours can be okay - the MT10-SP was okay, just the euro 5 going soft around the 5k revs mark. I think I can live with an inline 4 again, although different to the current KTM 1290. You might be on to something there. I liked the looks of it as well. Not sure if you ever watched the BIKEME TV review of the S1000R - very entertaining ! The life jacket that I had in my Zodiac days was designed to inflate only when it was submerged in water - likely for kayaking the jacket will be inflated at all times and be more bulky. I had a waterproof marine radio attached to mine at all times as well. Good luck with it, and hopefully you will get out there now that summer is almost here - maybe join a club ?
He loved both the S1000r he owned, he’s on a hypermotard now. I preferred the Euro 4 headlight over the euro5 cyclops. I would have bought one but with my mate also having one I didn’t want to look like a follower so kept with my KTM 790
If you’re interested there is or at least was a club in Stone but I’m not sure if they covered all the differing aspects of the sport or just the competitive side.
Thanks for that. There's a couple of clubs in Stoke too. One is based on Trentham lake and the other is the folks who teach the eskimo roll in the pool. I'll probably try both -can't do any harm.
I don't understand the whole watch thing. Since we're all basically forced to have phones on us to function these days, why do we need to wear a watch to know what the time is? I gave up wearing one probably 30yrs ago and just don't miss it. Actually, the thing I want most is not to have to know what the time is.
Maybe it is something you either do or do not understand. But there is definitely an appeal for well made mechanical watches, even in the age of smartphones. Different styles appeal to different people. A colleague at work likes more ornate looking watches, with complications. Personally I like the more basic tool watch designs - but still well made robust and hassle free. Actually, I already have an Omega Planet Ocean, in black with some orange on the bezel - which is a bit more dressy. I would not like to get it scratched or damaged. The idea with getting a blue Planet Ocean is that it would be for more casual use, wear it with a T-Shirt or swimming and not be so bothered if it took a knock or two - currently have a Seiko Prospex diver for those duties !! Indeed, but time it is still ticking away.....
