ironwolf's Tales From The East Chinese Pub. No Canadians, Gays or Obama voters

[ironwolf]

I train at rhe best Muay thai school in the country for ~ 250usd/year. Unlimited training and I even have a key to the place if I just want to meet friends to spar or roll on the matts or whatever I want to do there.

 

[Ethan]

My wrists are absolutely fucked. Arthritis is a bitch. I need to move to the desert.

 

[ironwolf]

that sucks dude.

You find you have less pain when you are in a drier climate?

 

[Ethan]

Yeah, almost none and I don't know why. I was in vegas a couple weeks ago and did 30 odd miles of paddling, completely pain free. I usually can't write for a day or two after a big day in a kayak around here. I stopped racking my power cleans and switched to higg pulls because my wrists wouldn't hold up. My mom is way worse off than I am and she finds a huge difference in the dry too.

It's frustrating at times but fuck it, not a lot I can do about it except look for work in that area.

 

[LZD]

Yeah, almost none and I don't know why. I was in vegas a couple weeks ago and did 30 odd miles of paddling, completely pain free. I usually can't write for a day or two after a big day in a kayak around here. I stopped racking my power cleans and switched to higg pulls because my wrists wouldn't hold up. My mom is way worse off than I am and she finds a huge difference in the dry too.

It's frustrating at times but fuck it, not a lot I can do about it except look for work in that area.

Sucks man. Make the move! You're right into kayaking right? I really really want ti get into it. Open Water (touring I think, or a sea kayak???). I guess I'll use it mostly in the sea, but I want to explore rivers too (no rapids lol).

Any advice? Either on purchasing a kayak or general tips for starting out?

I really can't wait

 

[ironwolf]

Does it have to be the desert or is it a drier climate in general? You could move somewhere like Colorado where there's veryblittle humidity since it's such high elevation (there is actual deserts there too) and there is tons of great kayaking there.

I used to kayak and raft quite a bit when I was back in New Mexico. There are lots of awesome creeks and canyons to paddle. One of my favorites was to get dropped off on the rio grand like 40 miles north of Albuquerque and just cruise down the river. Nothing technical but it would take 6-7 hours and we would drink beer and see lots of wildlife and just get picked up at a trailhead.

I also used to do some sea kayaking. In fact, back in the day I worked for Nols and we would do lots of stuff in Baja for weeks on end during the summers.

 

[Ethan]

Sucks man. Make the move! You're right into kayaking right? I really really want ti get into it. Open Water (touring I think, or a sea kayak???). I guess I'll use it mostly in the sea, but I want to explore rivers too (no rapids lol).

Any advice? Either on purchasing a kayak or general tips for starting out?

I really can't wait

I started last year, been doing a fair amount since then. I got a plastic 10 foot kayak from a sporting goods store, cost me around $700, and it can take my backpack strapped to the front, a small cooler behind my seat, and a bunch of stuff in the hatch and it's pretty comfortable and easy to paddle. That's probably where I would start. You can get a serviceable kayak for $300-400 CAD. If you want something a bit more touring based with a rudder, in Vegas last time I paddled a 14 ft Jackson Journey both on Lake Mead and on the Colorado and that was a great boat. Faster than mine but pretty similar handling.

It's not totally necessary for flatwater I guess but I did a couple courses in a swimming pool to learn how to roll back over and how to bail underwater. Basically just hold your paddle and push off hard. If you're using a spray skirt make sure the loop is sticking out in front where you can grab it and pull it off otherwise you'll be stuck. I've never done an Eskimo roll in my own boat, only in a whitewater kayak, and so far I haven't had to bail out without doing it on purpose.

Does it have to be the desert or is it a drier climate in general? You could move somewhere like Colorado where there's veryblittle humidity since it's such high elevation (there is actual deserts there too) and there is tons of great kayaking there.

I used to kayak and raft quite a bit when I was back in New Mexico. There are lots of awesome creeks and canyons to paddle. One of my favorites was to get dropped off on the rio grand like 40 miles north of Albuquerque and just cruise down the river. Nothing technical but it would take 6-7 hours and we would drink beer and see lots of wildlife and just get picked up at a trailhead.

I also used to do some sea kayaking. In fact, back in the day I worked for Nols and we would do lots of stuff in Baja for weeks on end during the summers.

Just somewhere dry, Vegas is on my mind because of the variety of terrain near the city and I like the area but I'd probably be happy in Colorado too.

I'm hoping to get a couple long river trips in this summer. The sucky thing about river trips here is you're pretty much stuck wearing a wetsuit or something warm, except for the middle of July or so. Would be much nicer if it was like 85-90 degrees, spend all day out there without getting cold, bring some beer and stop for a swim if it got too hot. If it was warmer here I'd probably consider a canoe so the gf and I could take the dogs.

 

[NurseKnuckles]

Driving in the States sucks ass!

 

[Ethan]

Driving in Vegas is pretty easy, most of California too.

 

[MilkManUK]

On the few occasions I've driven in the States, I've not minded it too much. So, are you officially wed now Nurse?

 

[Ethan]

Ironwolf, have you used a carbon fiber paddle? I used a CF greenland paddle I borrowed to practice rolling a while back and paddling with that caused me no pain. Wondering if CF helped.

 

[NurseKnuckles]

Driving in Vegas is pretty easy, most of California too.

On the few occasions I've driven in the States, I've not minded it too much. So, are you officially wed now Nurse?

Driving in Canada has a very distinct etiquette and flow. America seems to be every man for themselves. I will say, though that I drive on the highway much more than the regular person so my observations might be biased.

Yes, I am officially wed.

 

[Ethan]

Congrats Knucks.

No one on the island has a fucking clue so no etiquette or flow here. Whoever most recently got back from Fort McMurray and has the shiniest truck has right of way.

 

[NurseKnuckles]

Congrats Knucks.

No one on the island has a fucking clue so no etiquette or flow here. Whoever most recently got back from Fort McMurray and has the shiniest truck has right of way.

Thanks mang!

I'm mostly speaking highway driving. City driving is completely different. There is a level of aggressiveness that is required. Montreal drivers have that down. People say they're the worst but they're probably the best. They're just aggressive in the city.

Highway driving is a very simple thing. Cruise control is there for a reason. Americans don't seem to know what that is for. Also texting while driving is a far bigger issue in the states than in Canada. And I thought Canada was bad. Left lane is not for you to cruise in...

 

[JimRussel]

Montreal driving can be pretty crazy if you're not used to it and/or a timid driver.

Other than that, you just have to go with it and not try to fight it.

 

[NurseKnuckles]

Montreal driving can be pretty crazy if you're not used to it and/or a timid driver.

Other than that, you just have to go with it and not try to fight it.

I love driving in Montreal. You have to be aware of the one ways, but like you said being timid is not a good thing.

 

[DrBdan]

I've never driven much in Montreal. Usually it's off the highway and straight to the hotel and then I ditch the car until it's time to head home.

Driving in Ireland was an experience. Obviously the first issue is that they drive on the left side of the road but surprisingly it only took a couple days to get used to that and it became second nature. The more harrowing experience was driving along the skinny, winding roads with a tall hedgerow or stone wall next to your car and some local barreling up the road behind you. I got pretty good at finding the small spots where you can pull over to let them pass without totally stopping.

On the plus side, there was almost no traffic except around Galway and Dublin and driving through roundabouts was a lot of fun.

 

[NurseKnuckles]

People here become retards in roundabouts.

 

[MilkManUK]

Congrats Knucks. Wishing you both many more years of happiness together.

 

[DrBdan]

And of course, congrats NK!

Yeah people in North America rarely see roundabouts so I think they panic when they see one. Once you get used to them they are awesome and you rarely have to stop unless traffic is heavy.