Getting out paddling

Hello everyone from Cold, cold Charlottesville. This past weekend I had the opportunity to take my gear out for a maiden voyage. I finally had all of my gear compiled in one location, and a bit of free time, so I decided to take all the gear out for a trial paddle. Saturday(1/10) was a cold, rainy day. When Jim Heckman (my roommate) and I drove up to Walnut Creek Park(http://www.paddlingforparkinsons.com/pfp/News.aspx), a local park close to Charlottesville, the rain drops started falling. Looking at my thermometer, the temperature was 38 degrees. What better weather for an inaugural voyage? After getting my gear on, and slowly sliding away from the bank I had time to think about how awesome this moment in time was.

So many people had gone to great lengths to help me get to this point. Mike Cichanowski and Jake Greseth of Current Designs had believed in my cause early on and had helped me get the Storm GT to Charlottesville. Casey Worzella and Blake Longworth from NRS had provided me the gear keeping me warm and safe. Jim Miller from Werner Paddles had provided me the paddle allowing me to move effortlessly through the water. And now with Rick White from Egeeks.com, I would be able to share my experience with anyone who was interested Most important was the support I had received from my family and friends, telling me that my dream was possible. The Storm GT paddled beautifully. I was warm and dry, my NRS Full Zip Sea Tour kept me super dry and toasty warm. My Werner Camano was light, responsive to my hand, and even with the low volume paddle blade I was able to really kick my speed up very quickly. The day was great, even with the bad weather. Hopefully I can get out this weekend, even if the high is only 24 degrees.

I am also in the process of adding a ton of new information to my website www.paddlingforparkinsons.com Keep checking it out for the latest info!