January 1, 2024
Happy New Year’s Day. It should be if you are reading this on the day published.
It’s now been over nine weeks since my last runyak DAY. Swiftee is tucked away until spring. I have no plans of putting him in the water over the winter. I have paddled in frigid weather many times. But, I’ve concluded it’s not for me. It’s just not that much fun. Not to mention the added danger.
The only way it could be fun is if I invested money in the proper clothing. I suppose that would be labeled winter recreational kayaking. I don’t consider what I do as ordinary recreation. Give me a dare, a quest of some sort, then possibly me and my lame-brain could be convinced to drag Swift through the snow to some water that is not frozen.
A few years back I made a quest to see how many months in a row I could runyak. It started April of 2019. I made it through the winter months of 2020 but when winter approached 2021, I stated I would not runyak if the temperature was below freezing. My monthly streak ended when in February I could not find a day warm enough. 22 months in a row is the world record for consecutive months of kayaking.
It was another runyaker’s record, Jason Caya’s, that I broke. Jason became a runyaker back in January of 2019. He followed with 18 more continual months. At the same time he had just started the Flint Runyak Club, a Facebook group that presently has 98 members.
Because of Jason’s initiative the number of runyakers worldwide more than doubled. Jason left the Flint area, but the private Facebook group remains. Anyone is welcome to join but needs to ask to be a member. I only made the group private after some troll posted porn on the page.
One thing I plan on doing this new year is add up the total miles that Swiftee and I have paddled. Okay, I’ll make it a New Year’s Resolution. Many times I’ve wondered how many miles have I paddled Swiftee. I think it is safe to say it is somewhere near 3,000 miles. In my head that doesn’t seem that far, I run that many miles in any given three years period. Yet, of all the kayaks there has ever been in the world, he must rank near the top for mileage.
When Swiftee was new I’d use any excuse to put him in water. The first winter right after Christmas I and a group of friends paddled the Shiawassee River near Byron. I wasn’t a mile down river before getting turned parallel to the flow and took in some icy water. I got wet and was freezing the next eight or so miles. Before landing the bow of Swiftee was encased in ice. That’s not anywhere close to what I think of as fun. That one day has influenced all future kayak outings in Michigan during the winter.
My most memorable winter paddle happened February 21, 2007. When launching it was only my birthday.
When landing in Flushing’s Riverbank Park I got a phone call. My daughter Brooke had went into labor before her scheduled C-section. From that day foward, my grandtwins Liam and Brenna, and I have celebrated February 21st together.
As I wait 52 more days to celebrate once again with Brenna and Liam on this coming February 21st, let me say one more time Happy New Year to all my readers. I thank you for following along as I tell of my antics. Also, here’s hoping you have a wondrous year ahead of you.
And the happiest, healthiest, and most prosperous of years to you in '24.
Happy New Year To You and Your Family!