Repair, replace, refresh for new paddling season

Now that the flat-water paddling season is under way, it’s time to dust off your canoe or kayak, check all your gear and make necessary repairs and replacements, brush up on your paddling skills and get out there and enjoy the warm weather and the seasonal rebirth.

I’ve had several outings on local inland waters in the past two weeks. Watching the buds transform into leaves has been refreshing. A trip to Castine on May 7 with students in Karen Francoeur’s United Technologies sea kayak guide class gave the 10 of us our first taste of salt water for the season. The day started out cool, but warmed in the afternoon as we practiced paddling and rescue towing techniques. It was rejuvenating to get back on the ocean even though the water temperature is still in the 40s.

Keep water temperature in mind as you plan your outings. The air temperature may be moderating, but the ocean will remain cold. Dress appropriately! It takes only a few minutes for the early stages of hypothermia to begin their debilitating effects on your coordination.

Speaking of getting back on the water, don’t forget the free Paddle Smart from the Start kayak safety symposium tomorrow evening at the YMCA in Bangor. Doors open at 6 p.m. and for the next three hours you’ll have the opportunity to learn about rescue techniques, personal flotation devices, paddles, boats, essential equipment and proper paddling clothing, communicating from your boat and navigation basics. Maine Island Trail Association, The Map Store, U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and others will have informational displays, and the Y swim team will operate a food concession.

The symposium is sponsored by Castine Kayak Adventures (www.castinekayak.com), Cadillac Mountain Sports and the YMCA in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to help kick off Safe Boating Week.

Should you need an incentive to show up, you’ll have an opportunity to win one of three PFDs, a paddle and a three-month membership to the Y. There’s no better show in town if you’re into paddling or interested in getting into it. For more information, contact Lydia Morgan or Donna Cowan at the Y at 941-2815, Ext. 24.

If you didn’t get a chance to hear and see Jonathan Waterman at the University of Maine last Wednesday, kick yourself and promise that the next time he comes to town you’ll make it a point to do so. His fascinating talk and slide show of his 2,200-mile Arctic crossing by foot, dog sled and kayak were brilliantly illustrated. And after listening to this author and adventurer explain the emotional and physical lessons taught by this epic crossing, I could almost understand why he undertook the expedition – almost.

Waterman said that it was the culmination of numerous life experiences, which included climbing in India, Alaska (where he was a ranger on Denali), the White Mountains and Mount Katahdin, long sailing trips and an 800-mile kayak expedition the length of the Baja Peninsula, which was the topic of his book “Kayaking the Vermilion Sea.”

The trip, he told the audience in Neville Hall, helped him to “understand the web of life, how things fit together and where I belong.”

If you’re curious about Inuit culture and adventure, check out his latest book, “Arctic Crossing” (Knopf, 2001). If you’d like to view artifacts of the Inuit culture, visit the Hudson Museum at UM later this month when their Arctic exhibit opens.

Do you ride your bicycle on area roads? Feeling a little ill-prepared for the challenge? Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System and the Maine Department of Transportation are sponsoring an urban bicycling workshop in Bangor from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 19. (You have to preregister and then you can find out where. And the maximum number of participants is limited to 20.)

The workshop, led by two nationally certified instructors, is designed and sanctioned by the League of American Bicyclists to equip participants with basic road-handling skills and techniques to increase their safety and comfort levels while biking in traffic on streets and bridges. Normally such a workshop would cost $60 plus $12.50 for workbooks. But this one is only $10 including lunch. The aim is to encourage bicycle commuting for Commute Another Way Day, June 13, a statewide event focused on popularizing alternative transportation.

Call Sandi Duchesne at BACTS at 942-6389 for more information and to register.

Got dirt? Love to ride off road? The 10th annual Tour De Moose is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 2-3, at Big Moose Mountain in Greenville and Mount Kineo in Rockwood. If you haven’t participated in the past, here’s your chance to join in the fun. Competitors get two days of racing in the package, while those of us accustomed to experiencing life at a more leisurely pace can tour the Mount Kineo part only on Sunday. It’s all part of MooseMainea, a monthlong festival celebrating the moose in the Greenville area.

By registering early you can save money. If you do so by May 29, the cost is $10 per ride or $18 for both. Register the day of the race and it’ll cost you $15 per ride or $25 for both. There is more than $2,000 available in cash and prizes for racers.

Each course is between 15 and 19 miles long on marked trails and roads. Riders who choose to tour and youngsters who race can do so on shorter circuits.

First aid, bike repair support, water and refreshments will be available during both biking events. Participants are required to wear approved helmets and sign liability waiver forms. All riders will receive an official Tour De Moose T-shirt.

On Saturday, racers will be able to sign up beginning at 9 a.m. at Big Squaw Mountain ski area at the T-Bar Lodge. Sunday riders will have to be at the Rockwood town landing beginning around 8 a.m. and no later than 10 a.m. to catch a boat ride over to the Mount Kineo peninsula. Don’t wait until 10 a.m. though. In years past, things got backed up. After the 11 a.m. race start, young racers and tourers will begin their circuits.

For more information, contact Mike Boutin at Northwoods Outfitters in Greenville at 695-3288 or the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce at 695-2702.