Colorado Bridge Over the Deschutes River is in Line for an Upgrade

After the Deschutes River stretch through the town of Bend, Oregon  was opened to swimmers a few years ago, the culture of the town took a turn towards the river. A vibrant culture of water lovers float the section of river from the Healy Bridge to the Colorado Spillway Bridge most every summer day, sometimes hundreds a day when the weather is warm.

Floaters will get out at one of the casual beaches before the Colorado Bridge, but sometimes, they don't. Though some people make it if they get pulled over the spillway under the bridge, two people died over the past couple of years and there have been quite a few near misses. Gather a group of regular river paddlers and someone will have a story about saving a floater from going over.

Well now, there is some good news -- for both the floaters and the paddlers.

The Colorado Bridge on Colorado Avenue in Bend, Oregon is being considered for a $1.7 Million dollar upgrade. The Bend Park & Recreation District board is considering replacing the Colorado spillway bridge and creating a channel for boaters, a whitewater channel and some wildlife habitat area. You can read more about the proposed project at the Bend Metro Parks and Recreation site.

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Are You Ready for Winter Paddling? Prineville Reservoir Only has Ice on the Edges!

Jerry Lear sent this photo of the ice next to his windsurf sail with this note:

Sailed for 3 hours today at Prineville Res getting out of the water in the dark.  Check out the iceberg floating by.
 Jerry

Jerry's a hardcore guy paving the way for any other hardcore types. Thinking about the cold wind whipping across a lake in January doesn't make most people motivated to rig. So I guess there really is no excuse now to evade winter SUP training. At least we don't fall in (mostly).

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Ask Randall: Oversteering, Paddling on One Side

Hey Randall:

When I paddle, all external factors considered and neutralized (wind, currents, chop) it seems that I track well paddling on my right and not well on my left. So at the end of every session, my right side is dead and left side is still very fresh since my strokes on the left turn me so fast I barely get any in before I'm right side stroking again.
Any ideas? Thanks for your time.

Nick, from Lake Washington Seattle

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Your answer in a nutshell is asymmetry. You're doing something on one side that you're not on the other. Here are some SUP paddling tips:

• When stroking on the left side, try bending your knee on the left a little more and keep weight on the heel and toes.
• At the same time, on your right foot put weight only on the toes.
• You may not be reaching as far forward (out toward the nose)on the left side. Try reaching a few inches farther forward and finishing the stroke sooner, de-power before the blade gets alongside your feet.
  

Whatever you're doing on the right side is good. Analyze it and do the same on the left. Most paddlers would love to be able to stay on one side for more strokes instead of switching all the time. Personally I like to do about ten per side before switching.

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