| SUP Lachine Rapids, Trip #01

One of the rare leisure days i have enjoyed this summer, easy whitewater SUP with my friend Herve. We went to a small island with lots of birds, located in the lower part of the Lachine Rapids in Verdun. It's safe with small waves and a slow stream, a great place to practice and improve your moves. This is also the day i discovered my allergic reaction to poison ivy.

Music Copyright - Explosions In The Sky: Trembling Hands.

| Parc de la Mauricie...

We are back from an amazing WE of camping at the lake Wapizagonke in La Mauricie National Park.

Not too far from Montreal the park is easily accessible for a short stay and we were lucky to find  a spot at the last minute during this busy weekend. I've heard a lot of good things about it we needed some fresh air.

underwater weirdness...

I really want to go back and see more of the hidden places in this beautiful park!

| Poison Ivy/Herbe a Puce...

This is the kind of high grass area that we have to go through when going down to the water in Verdun, it's fun and exciting (reminds me of my childhood adventures). Unfortunately i recently discovered something less amusing, i am really allergic to Poison Ivy/Herbe a puce (Toxicondendron radicans) and it sucks!!

It's been already 2 weeks and it itches a lot still, the rash is very strong and my wounds are evolving every day with many blisters appearing, you can really see the points of contact with the plant, it's disgusting. I bought a cream with Colloidal Oatmeal/Avoine colloidale (Aveeno or equivalent) and it helps a lot, but it never last long enough :-(

So it's definitely a painful lesson, Nature is tough, we'll be more careful next time.

| Ultimate SUP clinics video...

Here is a little edit of the SUP weekend in Ottawa, i bought a new GoPro hero 3+ to keep some footage but as usual i forgot to use it on a constant basis, at least i did get some moments from the 1st clinic. But then the mount sticker got loose so i couldn't film during the Introduction to River Surfing class, this is due to the pad texture on the Starboard Stream, next time i'll get a proper surf mount.

Ultimate SUP Clinics from BARONTiERi on Vimeo.

In fact i realize now i had an helmet's mount :-) 

| Ultimate SUP clinics...

I just came back from an incrediblemazing trip to Ottawa's awesome river. The Canada's first Ultimate SUP Challenge is happening this WE hosted by Owl Rafting with some of the best whitewater stand up paddlers on the planet. I left work around 6:00 pm yesterday and drove straight to the camp (which is amazing btw) hoping to enjoy a good night of sleep before what should be a busy day in the water.

nice fire pit at the camp and the van with the roof extended...

Unfortunately that night was really cold (~12ºC) and i wasn't prepared at all so it was pretty miserable to be honest, at least it was great to stay in the van with an open roof for the 1st time since i bought it. The breakfast was filling enough and the view on the river is absolutely breathtaking.

Although the staff didn't really know what was really happening on the SUP side (they are specialized in rafting) and i apparently missed an email from the organizers with all the useful instructions so i ended up following the instructors on their way to the Pushbutton rapids and arrived on site way early, the class i subscribed to would normally start at 11:00 am but the overall schedule slipped out a bit. There is no way i could miss the two clinics offered today, best excuse for a well deserved day-off :)

behind me is Johno Fosters, Starboard rep, ready to surf...

Jonah, Badfish rep enjoying the class...

Dan Gavere is probably the most recognizable name in white water SUP today and he was giving the Introduction to whitewater class. Arriving early was a good opportunity to see the 1st group jumping in the closest (intimidating) eddy and starting to experience the trouble of navigating through chaotic currents, raging foam, rocks and big waves. It's always impressive to see pros at work (true for all sports and domains) because everything they do seem so easy and natural compare to us, mere mortals!
We've learned the foundations of paddling in a river, and how to make efficient use of bow draw strokes, ferry across the stream and do eddy turns in and out. It was great to try, fall, fall again and eventually manage to play in the current, everything that seem impossible or too scary at first became progressively more accessible.  We all enjoyed the class, Dan gave us plenty of information without excess so we could focus on applying the basic techniques step-by-step, and he doesn't care about the clock, what a great job. In the end we were all smiles but also dead tired.
Now it's all about training and the Lachine rapids will be a good playground where i can repeat those fundamentals and get back into shape.

John from Distressed Mullet...

exhausted crew...

The following clinic was about to start as they were waiting for me to catch my breath. I had 5mn to drink a little, eat a cereal bar and realize that i have to go back in the water without any strength left.
Mike T rides for Badfish, he is an amazing SUP surfer who travel the continent with his dog in a large RV and a trailer full of boards. He gave the Introduction to river surfing class, seriously i was completely toasted at this point, but the excitement took over.
Another great moment of learning and practising new techniques, we've all tried hard to surf the Pushbutton wave but it was too small to stay on it (although Mike and Dan did it). I could use the bow draw efficiently to get on the wave many times which felt good, the girls on our team did really well, they seemed to enjoy the class tremendously.

I wish i had the energy to try the big wave on a River Surfer 8' board but my body just shut down, too tired to survive the crazy wave train behind so i choked. And you know, walking over the aggressive slippery rocks with all your equipment and a wet board is enough to make you think twice about the priorities ^_^

Returning home was very loOong and boring, especially after such a beautiful and exhausting day, this trip was totally worth it and i can't wait to meet these guys again, everyone was so helpful and friendly. It's difficult to explain how much i've learned and appreciated the exchange of information and knowledge with all these people, it's a great community and a fantastic sport!
Thank you Harmony, Dan, the staff and all the volunteers for the organization of this amazing event.

Merci,

T.

| Tikit au revoir!..

I finally decided to sell the Tikit to a colleague, it was sad to let it go but i wasn't using it since the arrival of the Silk. Sebastien is now the happy owner of this remarkable Bike Friday and i wish him the best. Have fun my friend :)

A tall guy with a large smile on a small bike...

| SUP rack...

Finally i found some time this afternoon to install a pair of Seattle Sports storage cradles that I bought a few weeks ago at MEC. They will be very useful to keep the inflatable out of reach from the cats, they were starting to enjoy scratching the foam too much. The main advantage is that i could now keep the boards inflated until they absolutely need to be rolled in for a trip. The good thing is that hey are not too expensive, feel solid and are pretty straightforward to install (the cradles come in a box with a simple assembly instruction form and some hardware.

bye bye cat claws!!!

In the meantime, i have put my beloved Sub Vector up for sale. That said, 3 boards are too much in such a small apartment and we only want to keep the inflatable ones. It has a lot of minor scratches due to life on a river but overall it is in really good shape. (update SOLD!)

thanks for the great time Sub Vector!