On Rolling a Kayak

I'm terrible at kayaking, but I love it. The adrenalin rush makes suffering through sucking manageable. However, whenever anyone hosts a practice day I am the first to sign up—never to miss an opportunity to get out in the water and work on my skills.

Monday was such a day. After a nice long bike ride over the weekend, I came home, took my bike off my car, and tossed the kayak on top. Then, after work on Monday I rushed home, and drove off to the lake to practice. The weather was chilly, and the water was frigid. Usually I wear a splash jacket when paddling, but I always get water up my sleeve, so I opted to not.

Bad choice.

I was so cold that after a 20 minutes of dunking and sucking I finally announced that I was bailing. I pulled my boat out of the lake, hiked up to my car, changed into dry clothes (including pulling on my emergency beanie), and headed to REI where I bought a new wet suit, and jacket. I shall be very warm next time.

I still need a new swimsuit.