My Paddleboarding Debut - Tips & Resources for Standup Paddle boarding - SUP!

I am a land-loving cyclist, for the most part. But through the years, I have enjoyed a variety of water sports, including surfing (long boarding), ocean swimming, and even river boarding (outside Seattle - brrrr!). Plus, I have kayaked and canoed many times! Finally, this fall, I got to sample stand-up paddle boarding, better known as SUP, or just paddle boarding, thanks to my friend here in Santa Cruz, Max Montgomery.

Here I am: virgin paddleboarder at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz on a sunny Saturday in September. Max Montgomery generously volunteered to be my instructor and loan me his paddle board. It's so big, it;s like a small boat. Yet, I was still a bit wobbly standing on it even in flat surf conditions.

Max and I drove to the beach and hauled two big, heavy boards down from the parking lot to the surf. Actually there was no "surf," the ocean, which is technically, the Monterey Bay here in Santa Cruz, was smooth as glass, ideal, flat conditions to venture out into the water for a tranquil paddle. There was a little tiny bit of shore break. Max pointed out that is the most dangerous part; entering and exiting the water with the huge board, so he kindly managed that part for me!

Max provided three excellent pieces of advice for a beginner paddle boarder:

1. Use your knees! The first position to get onto the board after bellyflopping onto it, is to rise to your knees, just kneel on it, before standing up. Then, once standing, be sure to have your knees gently bent, not locked for optimum balance.

2. Momentum is your friend. A gently, steady glide is the best way to maneuver about because it's much harder to maintain your balance standing up, even on a flat ocean, if you are at a dead stop. So keep on gliding along, using your paddle on alternating sides.

3. Paddle using your core muscle group at the center of your body, not just your arms. This was the hardest part for me! I worked on the concept but will have to try again to get the paddling right so my arms and shoulders are less fatigued.

Max Montgomery has been a surfer for 30+ plus years and is a world-traveled Santa Cruzer. He says that he also loves stand-up paddle boarding because it's a calmer way to appreciate the amazing Monterey Bay!

It's impossible to mention Max Montgomery without talking about the group he co-founded with Brooks Lamber and passionately maintains: Best Day Foundation, www.bestdayfoundation.org, which helps children with special needs build confidence and self-esteem through safe, fun, adventure activities like surfing.

Max is also on the board of Ride a Wave - Creating Special Days for Kids with Special Needs. I deeply admire his dedication to giving disabled children and adults the chance to experience riding a wave and enjoying the ocean. Check out photos of past events and become a a sponsors at www.rideawave.org.

For more information about stand-up paddle boarding in Santa Cruz, here are a few (of many) options to visit:

1. Covewater - Stand Up Paddleboards, Santa Cruz, owned by Scott and Leslie Ruble
They offer paddle board classes, lessons, rentals, boards and accessories.
www.covewatersup.com.

2. Neil Pearlberg, the freelance surfing columnist for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, offers private classes on stand-up paddle boarding. Check out his website! He also wrote about how the well-established Santa Cruz company Caution Kites is manufacturing paddle boards in addition to their signature wind and kite surfing boards.

3. Inflate your SUP!  Can't stand to drive your car to a stand-up paddle board session? You will have a heckuva time hauling the typical 11 to 1- foot, 30-inch wide, 30-pound board on your bike or your back to the beach, so check out the inflatable paddle boards (iSUPs). Pete Gauvin, Editor of Adventure Sports Journal, suggests checking out surftech.com's inflatable model.

A disadvantage of paddleboarding is that they are so huge you really can't put it on your bike to get to the beach; meaning a need to drive there then haul the heavy boards to the beach. Max did the heavy lifting - thank you!

Amazing Bicycling Bonanza in April and my Sea Otter Classic mountain bike race!

Karen By Kris Suta Pederson KrisCanXS

I am wrapping up an amazing weekend of bicycling adventures that included the 20th annual Sea Otter Classic at the Laguna Seca Recreation area in Monterey; a talk by Jim Sayer, Executive Director of Adventure Cycling Association Friday night in Santa Cruz about the new 2,400 mile Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route; and the Santa Cruz Classic Criterium, an action-packed bike race with top notch talent that happened here in Beach Hill in downtown Santa Cruz on Sunday.



Here are the stories I wrote about the Sea Otter Classic:

• Ned Overend, part time Santa Cruz resident and full-time mountain bike legend, helps Sea Otter celebrate its 20th anniversary

•Sea Otter Classic: A down and dirty mountain bike race report from cross country course by Karen Kefauver

• Spin City: Santa Cruz cyclists prep for major events despite April showers

• Spin City Namedropping - Sea Otter Classic Day 1 Report

• Adventure Sports Journal - March/April 2010 Sea Otter Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

Trek Dirt Series mountain bike clinics - registration now open for 2010 co-ed and women-only mountain bike camps

The 2010 Trek Dirt Series opened registration for all its mountain bike camps in Canada and the United States on February 1. This year marks some exciting changes for the series, including Trek signing on as as the title sponsor. And within Santa Cruz, the hot new shop in town, Epicenter Cycling, will host the clinic (they are a Trek dealer) instead of the venerable Bicycle Trip. The Dirt Series also just added a new Facebook page!

Safety first! A rider gets a helmet adjustment at the 2009 camp in Santa Cruz. 

Photo credit: Karen Kefauver

  In under 24 hours, all the spots for the Santa Cruz weekend clinic sold out! Good thing I have done it two years in a row already. I learned a lot and had a blast, but would still like to learn to bunny hop and clear logs on the trails. I will ask if I can volunteer to help out since all the official slots are filled and the waiting list is growing.

Candace Shadley, far right, is the founder of the Dirt Series. She's pictured here with some of the amazing instructors from the clinic in 2008 in Santa Cruz. 

Photo credit: Karen Kefauver

In addition to returning to favorite locations, the Dirt Series is expanding its women's only camps it British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, Washington, Oregon, California, Utah and Colorado, as well as an additional two co-ed camps in our home base of Whistler, British Columbia. Here's a look at the schedule for 2010. Below is a selection of my photos from 2008 and 2009 Dirt Series camps in Santa Cruz. Visit http://www.dirtseries.com for details.

 

We stretch and limber up before our skills clinics.

Photo credit: Karen Kefauver

   

Learning downhill cornering is a great basic skill.

Photo credit: Karen Kefauver

   

It was awesome to see so many women in the advanced jump clinic, pictured here. I hope to be in this group one day.

Photo credit: Karen Kefauver

   

Have a question for a bike mechanic? Now is your time to ask. Clinics include time in the shop to learn about your bike.

Photo credit: Karen Kefauver

   

We work hard in camp, but we also have time to rest and relax!

Photo credit: Karen Kefauver