Last year, a colleague of mine recommended Michael Easter’s, Comfort Crisis; Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. Hooked by the title, I bought a copy and read it twice; I highly recommend it. Yesterday, we had the good fortune to spend the day with Micheal Easter. Immersing himself within our community, Easter listened, talked, challenged, informed, and inspired. After he shared a more formal evening talk, one of our boys invited him to join us for an early morning, 36-degree, polar bear plunge in Lake Washinee. Predictably, he obliged. Though this was no misogi, we were stoked, all thirty of us, to jump into the chilly water with him.

Easter conveyed many points, all backed by research and illustrated by his own personal experiences.

Getting outside is really good for us. Trying something new is really good for us. Pushing our perceived limitations is really good for us.

That is what stuck with me. Sounds simple, perhaps axiomatic, though Easter cites study after study to support these claims. I suppose Easter validated, and perhaps explained, why I enjoy paddling and sharing paddling with others so much.

Learning to SUP can be a daunting task. Clients worry about falling, not being able to stand up, or just not being “good enough”. Others are afraid of the natural lake water or what lies beneath. When my clients express these healthy and natural fears, I assure them that learning something new or pushing perceived limitations is a bit scary. However, you will be ok. According to Easter, you will be better than ok since, by doing hard things and trying something new, you will have grown.

We also grow by Getting Outside. Teaching clients to SUP or leading SUP tours affords me the opporutnity to share the water and surroundings from a very unique perspective. With the Taconic or Berkshire mountains as our backdrop, our local lakes are truly spectacular. From our boards, we spy eagles soaring and ospreys diving, we hear the water lapping against our boards or a heron squawking when we paddle too closely, and we breathe in the fresh lake air. We feel the water against our feet and the wind pushing our bodies. We immerse ourselves within the natural world and this is really good for us too.

In short, Easter validated, through his own personal experiences and varied studies, that Getting Outside, challenging ourselves, and trying something new are really good for us. In no uncertain terms, that is exactly why I created GO Paddleboard CT, LLC, and it has been really good for me too 🙂

Thanks for reading and I will see you on the water soon.

-Adam

You only grow by coming to the end of something and by beginning something else

John Irving, Garp

As I wrap up a memorable academic year, I am now open and available for SUP (paddleboard) lessons, tours, fitness, teambuilding, or rentals. Please email adam@gopaddleboardct.com to schedule your customized SUP experience today!

Let’s Get Out and enjoy the water!

March, 2022

New Year’s Eve day was the last time I paddled. Patches of thin ice poked through the dense Lake Washinee fog and hissed at me when I paddled too closely. Soon thereafter, my beloved lake froze and I, once again, redirected my energy from the water to the woods. I enjoyed a handful of cold AT section hikes and a dozen blustery snowshoe treks. Though I prefer the water to the woods, our local trails and mountains are perfect winter playgrounds. I can’t get on the water quite yet – we have a snowstorm brewing this weekend – though I feel very fortunate to live in such a great town with immediate access to lakes. And, I suppose, mountains too.

Perhaps next winter I will launch GO Snowshoe CT LLC. Until then, I will be awaiting the melting of the ice and looking forward to returning to the water.

Happy Paddling!

-Adam

Paddleboard Lessons, Teambuilding, and Rentals adam@gopaddleboardct.com (443)676-6696

http://www.gopaddleboardct.com @gopaddleboardct

I can’t wait to help you Get Out and enjoy paddling this summer!

After another infamously long New England winter, the spring sun just began to shine warmth – and hope – upon us. The crusty Twin Lakes ice finally melted yesterday so I grabbed my little-tighter-than-last-fall wetsuit, paddle, and board and I hopped on. Cold on my bare feet, the water sparkled in the spring afternoon sun. I buried my blade beneath the undisturbed water, loaded the paddle until I felt the water give beneath my weight, and quietly pulled the water back to my feet. My board whisked above the water – I love that sound. Momentarily displaced by the pointy nose of my 14′ SIC Maui RS, the disturbed water quickly bounced back to form. Water is sensitive, strong, and resilient. We, too, are sensitive, strong, and resilient.

And, after a challenging year, we, too, will spring back, perhaps a bit better than we were.

The recent warmer March weather stirs something inside me – all seems better in the spring, even my hybrid Calculus classes. As I write this, I am very much looking forward to another great paddling summer with great people. I hope to have the opportunity to help you and yours Get Out on the water this summer. I hope that, by paddling with me, you will learn a little bit of technique and you will have a whole lot of fun. I hope to enable you to enjoy your friends, family, and nature in a very unique way. I hope to spread the stoke.

I am hopeful. See you soon.

Adam

GO Paddleboard CT LLC adam@gopaddleboardct.com (443)676-6696