years of yoga lessons

 

If you want to get a few double-takes at the gym, five breaths of eagle pose balanced on a wobbly inverted bosu ball does the trick.  The other day a lady asked me how many years of yoga I took before I could do that.  "Oh, a few." I answered, not wanting to interupt my workout with a big explanation.  The truth was two.  But not two years.  Two is the number of yoga classes I've taken in my entire life.  That's right, just two.  So then, how do you explain pretzel-man up there?

Well, it happened like this... I started working out in the gym in November once the weather turned cold.  I had seen people doing leg and upper body work on the ball, and it looked like something that would apply to my water sports so I gave it a try.  First I did two legged squats with weights, but I found the balance aspect less than challenging, so I started messing around with balancing on the ball with one foot.  Again, pretty easy.  One leg squats came next.

 Later I got online and researched a few yoga balance poses to try.  Tree pose came first.

Warrior III was the one I found the hardest balance-wise, and it's really strenuous on the core.  Feels good.  So, you're probably wondering if there's a point to all this besides showing off?  Well there is.  It demonstrates the amazing effects stand up paddling can have on a person.  In addition to working nearly every muscle group in your body, stand up paddling improves your balance and physical self-awareness like nothing else.  If you do any other activity, SUP is going to help you do it better.  It is literally cross training for EVERYTHING.  But don't take my word for it.  Get out there and try it for yourself... the season is just around the corner!

*** Before you leave, take a second and sign up for the feedburner email subscription to Windy City Waterman... I just installed the gadget and put it right up on top.  Thanks for reading and I'll see you on the water!

hero

(Booming announcer voice): Well kids, we have a very special guest for you tonight.  It is my pleasure to introduce, direct from beautiful Maui, Hawaii, internationally acclaimed waterman and Naish Team rider, David Kalamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

OK... I am exaggerating a tiny bit.  Dave's not really here.  But I did email him to ask for some SUP training advice and I have to admit, I was pretty psyched when he promptly emailed back.  More than psyched, actually... I was downright star struck. I mean, Dave's been a hero of mine for like 20 years!  I remember seeing photos of him in the windsurfing magazines back when I was in high school, thinking, 'Man, that guy's so cool!'  Well, it turns out, he really is!

Still, you should have seen me, strutting around the Moveable Feast kitchen, pulling up the email on my phone.  I was like, "Oh, look, just got an email from Dave Kalama.  Yeah, you know, he's just checkin' in about some surf stuff we've been workin' on."  I waved the phone around the room so everyone could see Dave's name right there in my inbox.  Unfortunately, the significance of this event was somewhat lost on my audience.  Our Mexican cooks just held up their hands, palms up, and were like, "Quien es Dave Kalama?"  So, that's why I'm telling you guys.

Anyway, the real reason for this post is to talk about SUP technique, and when it comes to that Dave's site is the best resource I've found on the web.  If we're going to go throw down against those guys from Wisconsin, Michigan and even (gasp) Minnesota (they're like, lumberjacks!!!), we better make a good show for the hometown.  And even if you're not into racing, you can learn a ton from Dave's blog.  I know one of the big selling points of SUP is that it's so easy to learn and anyone can do it, but there's a difference between doing it and doing it well. 

That's where Dave's site comes in.  I have learned a ton from reading the posts on Dave's Blog and I would recommend that anyone serious about SUP spend some serious time at www.davidkalama.com.

it's all happening

That's right, SUP racing is hitting the Great Lakes this summer in a big way.  The Midwest Stand Up Paddleboard series is going off with six races between June and August.  Click the link above to learn more... but before you do, let me share the not-so-good news.

There is NO CHICAGO EVENT planned for this summer.  WHAT, you say?  I know, that's what I said too.  I spoke with Paddleboard Specialist owner Gary Stone, one of the event organizers, and he told me that they made an effort to get a Chicago event on the books, but it just didn't happen.  OK... next year then.  I'm going to see what I can do to help this along, so if you've got any ideas or want to help, email me.

In the meantime, I am going to hit a couple of these races for sure.  They all have 'longboard' divisions, which means you can race any board under 12'6" that is not a displacement hull (read, just a regular surfboard-style sup), so you don't have to go out and get some tricked out carbon race board for $2500 (not that getting a new board is ever a bad idea).  Just show up with whatever you normally paddle on and throw down. 

That leads me right into a teaser for my next post... time to start training.

welcome

Welcome to Windy City Waterman.  My goal with this blog is to share the stoke for getting out on the water.  I've always been fueled by the sense of freedom & adventure you feel when you slide away from shore, the intimate connection with nature when you're out on the water and in the wind, and for us here in Chicago, the odd juxtaposition of a great wilderness colliding with a great metropolis.  It always blows my mind when I'm ripping along at 30 knots on my windsurfer, totally focused on managing the waves and gusts, feeling like nothing else exists, to look up and see that iconic skyline and realize, wow, there's almost three million people right there.

But enough waxing poetic.  This blog is going to be about action.  Windsurf, surf, stand up paddle.  It's all happening right here in the second city.  We've got 1.3 quadrillion gallons of water, so let's go out and play.

chinon castle

While in the Loire, we took in some of the amazing castles and churches dating back as far as the 9th century. Here are the kids in front of the chateau at Chinon. The girls dressed as fairy princesses for the excursion...


While the chateaus were built on high ground for strategic reasons, I suspect that on days when they weren't under siege they probably didn't mind the view of the countryside...


... or the town. I'll have a few more chateau and church posts later so you all don't think we just ate our way across France.

la vie a la campagne

Here's a little chronicle of our time so far here at Amy & Laurent's. We've had mostly beautiful weather, and the little spell of rain we had yesterday resulted in this spectacular rainbow over their house.


The markets have, of course, been amazing. Here's Tizzy with a bouquet for Amy.


Beautifully merchandised spices...


Le saucisson sec... we've eaten a lot of saucisson sec...


We had a little dinner party last night featuring this beautiful roti de porc cote. I wasn't sure which butcher to use, so I chose the one with the longest line. Good call...


Entree de moules...


On Tuesdsya we picked blueberries on the side of the road and peaches from the tree in their field so Kim could make us a delicious crumble...


And Laurent and I fired up the wood oven to make some pizzas...



They turned out great!


Country life isn't too bad.

restingne

On Saturday we took the train to Restigne where our friends Amy & Laurent live...


After our train ride, we were ready for some exercise, so we headed out for a ride with Lucia and Max...


Here's Max ready to roll...


And of course, I'm never one to be left out...