Too boring

A few years ago, a friend bought a new kayak. As we took a break near a big rapids, he offered me the opportunity to try it out. I carried it to the top and came down the crashing waves. It shrugged them off. I turned around and paddled into the teeth of the swirling waters, carving back and forth across the grain. Ho-hum. I have got to get me one of these! I saw it as a solution for those runs that I might feel a bit less than confident about. A couple years later, the opportunity presented itself in the form of a lightly used specimen I heard about through a fellow paddler. I jumped on it. The first test was last year as we headed south in quest of whitewater. I threw myself into everything the river could muster and the kayak barely took notice. So, it came as some surprise to at least one of my fellow paddlers when he saw me list it on the web for sale today. “WTF?” he emailed. A little hard to answer. The boat was practically foolproof, but therein lies the rub. I found it boring. I felt like I was riding a bike with training wheels. Not only did it cover for user error, it balked at doing some things an imprudent user might want to try. I guess I just prefer to take my medicine and live a little bit on the edge. This had been rolling around in my mind for months. But, the deal was sealed a few weeks ago when I bought a kayak that eagerly aids and abets pushing the envelope. I had a chance to really test it last weekend and came away with a smile etched in my face the lasted hours beyond the run. I suppose I could’ve kept the “safe” kayak as a backup boat, as I originally intended. But that seemed like a waste. And, the die was cast when I posted it on the web at a premium price (somewhat subconsciously hoping that would be a deterrent) and it took all of about three minutes to sell. It does pay to buy good stuff.