Ohiopyle Falls Race 2008

OK I thought I'd throw up a quick post on Ohiopyle Falls Race---Geoff, Maggie, Jason or Jordan might follow up with their own takes on the weekend. Falls Race in Ohiopyle this year was pretty much, as Jason put it, a 'PPS team meeting', hahaha. And we tweaked out some pretty good results in the mix! aaand i think we all came to the conclusion that none of us took any good pictures. but Ohiopyle Adventure Photography did!

anyway, it was a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l day in Ohiopyle and the crowd was bigger than i can ever recall. everyone from our crew had clean lines for their race runs and we made a good showing on the podium. i had a personal feat in the freestyle competition, two lefty freewheels were feelin' pretty good and were enough to seal 6th overall. especially the second bugger!

geoff swept first place for the third time in a row--AMAZING. AND, he broke the one-minute barrier, sealing the victory in a phelps-ian fashion. beakes was right up there too, as always, and with the kiddies rooting him on! can we say... "my daddy rips it"...?? hahaha, and maggie kept it strong in the ladies class.

right before the race (like 9 minutes before) i asked Geoff if he wanted to do a K-2 run... and in typical Calhoun fashion, he said 'fuck yeah'. it was so much fun, we'll be back next year, folks. 8th fastest time overall is what you get when calHOOOOSE is pushing from behind! which kind of makes me feel like dead weight, haha, but i tried to turn up the heat, i swear.


here are the rest of them results... for those interested.

Men's Long Boat
1. Geoff Calhoun 0.57.16
2. Jason Beakes 1.02.85
3. Jesse Shimrock 1.04.41

Men's Short Boat
1. Geoff Calhoun & Jesse Shimrock 1.14.40
2. Jason Beakes 1.14.60

Women's Long Boat
1. Kara Weld 1.14.09
2. Monica Gokey 1.16.80
3. Maggie Snowel 1.27.00

Women's Short Boat
1. yours truly 1.24.38
2. Susan Hollingsworth 1.31.96
3. Maggie Snowel 1.45.16

C-1 Sprint
No competitors, but to be DOMINATED by Jordan Poffenberger in 2009.

K-2 Sprint
1. Geoff Calhoun & Monica Gokey 1.11.38
2. Jesse Shimrock & Kim Alexander 1.27.80
3. Ron & Jocelyn Metzger 1.46.00

Freestyle
1. Adam Johnson
2. Dave Fusilli
3. Geoff Calhoun
Women's
6. Monica Gokey (pretty stoked not to be last this year, haaa)

it really couldn't have been a better weekend. falls race is kind of like an annual yough river reunion... people come from far and wide, and if the race doesn't bring them together then the after-party does. it's one of the best times to celebrate each other's company and the boating community in general.

this past Tuesday we lost one of kayaking's finest. Isaac Ludwig passed away while creeking the gnar and though he wasn't from this area, i think the whole boating community feels a hit when we lose such an amazing spirit. i had the privilege to work with Isaac on the Lower Yough for a few seasons, and he is easily one of the most compassionate, genuinely-good hearted souls i know. i'm so grateful to have paddled with him and family all weekend, good times i'll never forget.

cheers to isaac; freewheelin' into the sky, we're gonna miss you buddy

thanks for reading, everyone. cherish your kayaking buddies and go have fun!

Buseater in August

I got to go to canada for about 5 days to work on my wave tricks, I was expecting low water waves like garberator, but instead I got to get on buseater for my first time and surf one of the best waves in the world.

and in august too!

Jordan P

Nepali Girls Kayak

helloooo peeples! i have something really exciting that i've been involved with... something amazing, inspiring, and beautiful---Nepali Girls Kayak. i'm headed to Nepal in Oct (eeeep 6 weeks!) for the boating season, and this is definitely the ice cream on my apple pie---so excited!

the idea of the program is to teach a few Nepali women the kayaking and guiding basics they need to get their guide licenses so they can pull some mad rupees in the whitewater tourism world. what's even better about it is that it's an international team of female kayakers coming together to introduce other eager women to the marvels of the sport... and the amore of the river.

here's our magical collection box... out at the PPS demo at Angler's a few weeks ago:



the box is now at the Potomac Paddlesports shop in Rockville, MD. If you have any river equipment to spare, there are some eager girls ready to get some more life out of it half way across the world! helmets, PFDs, paddles... tops, anything you've got! and thanks to those who've already donated generously... you're making a huge difference.

let me give a shout to SkirtworkS in Friendsville, MD---they've stepped up in a really generous way and donated 10 spray skirts to the program. these people really have a great thing going, and i've never seen so much heart and soul go into a sprayskirt!

to stay updated with the program, check out the blog the kiwi girls are keeping: Nepali Girls Kayak. if you'd like to make a donation, there's a Paypal account set up on Inka's site. to get the month-long kayak boot camp off the ground it's costing about $8000-9000 dollars. that's mucho mucho... anything you could give makes a huge difference to some. to bulk up the funds, click here:

here

Click through to the "Donate" button on the right

Potomac Paddlesports is going to match whatever you folks contribute... so whip out those Visas, Mastercards, and let 'em rip here. anything you can give would be fabulous--it's definitely going somewhere that needs it!

here's some media clips from around the world:

Spot in Outside Magazine, Sweden

Reference in Paddler Mag,

thank you for all the support! great things are happening!

PPS Free Demos

Thank You to all who showed up to sample some products for FREE!!

Potomac Paddlesports monthly free demo for August was fun with a twist of Anxiety due to the awesome rain and thunder storms that started the day off. The day started pretty poopy but turned beautiful and great to paddle at Anglers due to everyone writing the day off because of inclement weather. Monica, Jordan and myself arrived with boats and hopes for better weather and the day would turn out to be a great success. Once unloaded I began to prep the grill....

Next demo wrap up a burger or something and throw it on the grill with us, you can look over boats while your lunch is cooking then decide what you would like to try next .

No hassle, no strings attached, PPS demos. First Saturday of every month in the summer, Did we mention it's FREE?

-Simon

P.S. Thanks to all who contributed gear to the Nepali Girls Kayak Program!

"Cleanin' It"

Cleanin' up on Great Falls---literally and figuratively!

Geoff and I headed out for some after-work laps and we got the crazy idea to steal a bunch of those State Park trash bags and evacuate as much filth from the Flake as we could. Ian Buckley met up with us and he got suckered into helping as well. Poor thing.

A snippet of the "Before"

some interesting bounty

Boys playing Captain Planet

aaaaand then there's the sweet stuff! Geoff and I did one quick lap on Pummel and then headed over to VA side for some more kicks.

Pummel love!

Here's one of Ian cleanin' it on the Spout. Cleanin' it, truly our theme for the day.

Overall we packed out six bags of trash (had to go back for two the next day). someone in the parking lot said "it's sure good to see someone cleaning up out there". No joke! We found all kinds of 'treasures'... from fuel cans to footballs... if you need a vintage kitchen sink or something else random, check the Flake.

Some of you may or may not know... but the PPS shop does a pretty good job with sustainable business endeavors. Since re-locating to the area, I've been thoroughly impressed with their commitment to "green". I like to consider myself an eco-naut too, haha, and minimizing their ecological footprint is definitely something the shop does well.

Alright, enough blab for you folks. Thanks for checking the blog---and see you all out on the water!