I don’t know about you, but my go to stress release is jumping in a boat. But what when there is no water? Or what about when your head isn’t in the game? Or your body can’t handle the constant paddle time? My advice is get out there and find something that compliments your love for kayaking. For me, that is mountain biking. Give me a choice between the two and you can probably place money on the fact that I will choose kayaking, but there are times that I am not feeling like going to the green and that is the only thing running, or in my current situation, my shoulder isn’t strong enough for harder kayaking.
Here is how mountain biking compliments my kayaking: it is still an adrenaline rush. Anyone that bikes with me knows I am not into the up hill, but rather screaming down the mountain. I still get the same adrenaline rush that I do in a kayak but the difference is I usually have to work for that adrenaline rush on a bike. It is similar problem solving; picking your line. Looking ahead and trying to think ahead. It is a challenge for me. I am not near as good on a bike as I am in a kayak and I often times get very frustrated with sucking. Sucking as an athlete is very humbling. It makes me tough. Flying over the handle bars and hitting the hard ground 9 out of 10 times is going to hurt much worse than flipping in my kayak. Finally, I can take my crazy dogs with me and I feel like a good dog owner by getting them out in nature and enjoying their life just as much as I am enjoying mine.
So, what is your side kick sport to kayaking?
