Re: [Paddlewise] Outlaw Paddling, was Kayaks and Visibility Study

John Kirk-Anderson wrote:        I admit, a group of middle-aged
kayakers out cruising doesn't seem as scary as a mob of hoods on Hogs,
but it's a start.




John, I'm too cheap to send a cash donation (but will gladly accept any)
but I can donate a story.  (Endless supply of those, it seems.)

There is a whitewater slalom race on the Wolf River in Wisconsin called
"The Last Ditch."  It is late in the season.  It used to be in October
to catch the Fall colors at their peak.  Often there would be icicles
hanging from the bottom of the gates in the morning.

One year it was relatively warm and the colors were perfect.  The main
road through that part of Wisconsin goes right past the race course.  On
Sunday a huge flock of bikers, all decked out in their leathers and
such, stopped in to watch the races.  I'm there on the shore, all 140
pounds of me, wearing a skirt and schlepping my boat back up to the
start, when a bunch of the scary looking bikers came up.  I wasn't sure
if they were going to see if I really could float if they tossed me in,
or engage in some other Neanderthal-type entertainment.  But, not being
able to run very fast, I stood there pretending that I was cold so my
shivering would not be taken as fear.

The Head Neanderthal came up to me, wide-eyed, and said "That looks
really dangerous!  Aren't you scared?"  They were all like kids at the
circus, totally awed and respectful.

Good lesson in not telling a book by its cover.

Jim Tibensky
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