My last row?

Oh no. Today the weather is in the 80s but tomorrow it'll drop down to 50. Gotta love Colorado! Trouble is, today may have been my last row for the season. I have washed down the boat and emptied the car, stored the oars and the wing. So sad.
After I was finished rowing this morning a young couple came up to chat. Turns out the gal had rowed with Rocky Mountain Rowing Club and was thinking of buying a boat. I let her try my beautiful Wintech E21 and she seemed to enjoy it. It would be lovely to have more rowers on my lake. Yesterday another friend came to row with me, so I was on the Little River Olympus (for only the second or third time this summer) when she was in the Wintech -- I am finally comfortable on that skinny boat, if the water is flat. I love seeing improvement in my rowing!

Boston 2007

In October of 2007 we went to Boston to watch the Head of the Charles Regatta. What a fabulous trip -- the weather could not have been more beautiful. I was raised there, so getting to walk through Cambridge and watch the scullers was just precious to me.

Now, when I row here in Colorado, there are large pelicans in the lake. We didn't have white pelicans where I grew up, but these guys remind me a lot of swans, only with longer beaks and shorter necks. Remember, I'm going backwards most of the time so my vision isn't the clearest! Anyway, they remind me of the Swan Boats in Boston Garden, and they are not afraid of me in my shell as I drift by them. I remember when my girls were little. Boston used to hold a Duckling Parade, where children would come to Beacon Hill dressed as characters from Robert McCluskey's Make Way for Ducklings. There were lots of ducklings, some Officer Mikes, but that year we were the only ones dressed as a Swan Boat! I had the girls in a double stroller, with foam board swans on each side, and their dad pushing them wearing a tam just like the swan boat driver in the book. After the little parade, tuxedo-clan waiters came out of the Ritz bearing large silver trays with pastries shaped like swans for all the children.

So here I am in Littleton, Colorado, on a lake with pelicans, being reminded of Beacon Hill 1985. Funny how my brain works.

Longest Row

Here's the bicycle mirror, purchased at Target for $5.99, mounted on my oarlock. My husband bought a pvc endcap, drilled a hole in it, and used the bolt that is already on the oarlock. Then the velcro strap just wraps around it, and the mirror is fully adjustable. Voila!

I rowed the entire perimeter of the lake today, approximately 10 kms. I have never done such a long distance. Mostly on the paddle (slow but rhythmic pace), it took me about an hour and 40 minutes. There were almost no other boats on the water, which was like glass. A rogue jet-ski showed up but I wouldn't let it chase me off. The hardest part was reaching the point of no return, just at half-way, when I knew I was committed. My fanny got pretty sore -- guess I'll need to invest in a pad for the seat if I continue to row for long amounts of time!

Labor Day weekend

Most of what I have done on the water this weekend has been in kayaks due to the heavy traffic on the lake. My husband has rigged a rear-view mirror for my shell which I am dying to try out, but won't do it until Tuesday morning when all the holiday revelers are gone. The people I call "real rowers" don't need mirrors, but it will help with my confidence a lot.

Last summer I was in a single (owned by the club) when I rammed into a quad and poked a hole in the boat I was in. Not entirely my fault, as I have to turn around about 180 degrees and they only had to look sideways to see me, which they didn't do! Sitting on that lake, waiting for the coach to come pick me up, was uncomfortable; transferring my big duff from an incredibly skinny boat with a hole in it, onto her launch, was a nightmare of epic proportions. Why do I think I should be able to move like I did as a 10 year old in Marblehead Harbor?? I felt like the biggest klutz on earth, with five people watching me, the hull of the single filling with water as I lunged my way from one boat to the other. God it was embarassing -- far more embarassing than actually poking the hole to begin with!

Rowing at Union Reservoir

What fun! It is always a special treat when I can row with my friend J. who bought my Alden. I have rowed almost every day for the past couple of weeks by myself, so to have company is just amazing. But what was doubly amazing today was we saw another sculler on the lake having a lesson! I got home and googled sculling on Union Reservoir and found the Longmont Sculling Club! www.LongmontSculling.com I can't wait to find out who they are and who their students tend to be -- maybe there are one or two old folk like me!

Ouch!

Tennis this morning with my Senior Breakfast League was really fun; all my shots stayed in and even some of my serves worked! But then, I had some time to kill before picking up a friend so I decided to take a shower at the tennis club. On my way into the shower my left foot hit a tiled step to the hot tub and I went tumbling down. Now the toes on my left foot are all swollen, my back hurts and I have a couple nasty bruises.
But as my friend who does waaaay more athletic things than I do says, at least I know my bones are ok cuz I didn't break a hip!
We'll see how the rowing goes tomorrow -- thankfully I don't need the toes, but the back might get a real workout. I will be driving up I25 for the first time with the Wintech on the roof. My local lake is only 5 miles away, but Union Reservoir in Longmont CO is about 25 miles north up a very busy and fast interstate. The friend I'll be rowing with bought my Alden 16 from me a few weeks ago -- so happy my darling little recreational scull went to a good home! She lives north of the reservoir, so it's a good meeting place for us.