Crying on the river?

[stumpster]

Get a song stuck in your head and whistle/hum/sing it on your way through the rapid

Ipod works for me! What better way to face fear than rocking out to Metallica, or Red hot chili peppers? l= Really though, this whole thread hits home, I can relate to all of you knowing I am not alone out there with the whole mind f@#k thing!!

[rboater7]

Great thread! I've cried on the river a few times, but it has more to do with how much more alive I feel when I'm boating than in most of the rest of my life. Thanks.

[riverrat]

yeah, I'm my own Ipod. Great sound quality, probably only a gig or two of memory, if that, but waterproof and I can hear other boaters on the river. I'd like to see apple beat that. Of course now they probably will and call it the I-I or I-me or something like that.

[yetigonecrazy]

Originally Posted by riverrat

I don't know where your playboating skills are, but down river playboating is a blast. Kinda combines the two. You're constantly looking for good play waves to jump in and good rocks to splat on or spin over or wave trains that you can throw a wave wheel or something off of. It's great fun and it's hard to get scared when you're goofing around that much.

ha ha ha amen brother. i love watchin your downriver play, it makes me giggle. especially when it doesnt work and you end up doing a body splat on pinnacle rock.....

[riverrat]

uh...yeah, figured you'd bring that up. Body splats are actually the coolest new thing. No pain no gain.

[spartankayaker]

My wife taught me to paddle right after we started dating. She had been out of the sport for about 6 or 8 months after having some particularly bad experiences paddling Class IV+ water up in Canada and was, in general, afraid to get back on the water. While I was learning, she was graceful, confident and was best damn teacher a new paddler could ask for. She was, in short, what I judged my paddling skills against. As I progressed and started leading runs, I noticed that she was becoming really hesitant and afraid on the river, to the point where we had to walk off a few runs, because she just couldn't make it down. We talked about it and she confessed that while I was learning, she was more concerned about me and keeping me safe and happy and didn't think about being afraid or uneasy. With this in mind, we have hooked up with some other new female paddlers that she has taken under her wing and is back to being the same old graceful, confident and inspiring paddler that I married.

It sounds to me, and I'm no expert, like you might have some similar issues. Playboating gives you a focal point while you are paddling and that takes your mind off whatever fear issues you might have working inside of you. River Running, in my opinion, has a lot more down time in it and it seems like that allows for the fear to really work its way to the surface.

In any event, I hope all works out for you...

jim

[stumpster]

I can hear other boaters on the river

As long as I don't crank it I can hear better with my headphones on then with doc's in, plus they keep the water out better

[Steve Kahn]

Don't feel bad, my buddy Shawn Bratt is always crying on the river too.

[jboats]

If more of us would cry we might have another good water season. Keep up the good work. More tears more CFS..

[cayo 2]

Michelle,


You have a damn good roll.The one time i saw you cry you just kind of freaked out even though you were jammin' and the hard part was almost over.You stopped paddling when you could easily kick that rapids ass, because it was an unfamiliar situation to you.J freaked out when you freaked out started throwin' boats and stuff "DUDE i got her boat".Usually he is very under control, sometimes people over react when it's their loved one,but thats your time together and paddle partner.You just need to get comfortable in new situations.You know we would never take you down something dangerous or that you can't handle.There is nothing wrong with crying if it helps you deal with fear,but there is if you let it paralyze you.

Thats funny about the singing to yourself,I've got this one tune from an old video of Jeff Snyder that I never hear except in my head when I am paddling and a little nervous.