Heading up North
Have you ever reflected over what defines a real adventure? The first
part is coming up with the crazy idea - to do something that no one or
only few others have achieved before. And then of course another big part
is the admiration from surrounding people when you have accomplished the
trip. But during the adventure it also comes up a lot of hesitation - why
am I doing this? How could I seriously want to do this?
Renata Chlumska is right now in Florida and she's planning to head
north along the coast. After pedalling thousands of miles along the
Mexican border it almost felt like a relief for her to see the signs that
said "Welcome bikers!" in Florida. But when Renata thought the
signs pertained to her kind of bikes she was wrong. Apparently it was the
Bikers Week in Daytona, and that means motorcycles (and definitely not
regular bikes)
Even if Renata likes both cycling and kayaking there are many things
that separates them. One is the surrounding environment. On the bicycle
you're sharing the road with loads of cars, trucks and motorcycles (especially
in Daytona), but when Renata is kayaking she's experiencing something very
special and rare - the sound of silence. The good weather doesn't make
things worse and she's having some really good days at sea.
In Georgia Renata takes a break at Tybee Island. Here she spends her
valuable free time with maintenance of her equipment and more importantly
to her overworked body. After a 90 minutes long massage she almost felt
like a new person, gone was the ache in her thighs and shoulders. Some
days later she comes to South Carolina. Both South Carolina and Georgia
provide excellent camping sites but unfortunately the weather turns a
little bit colder which results in a sore throat and a stuffy nose. The
problems get even worse when Renata heads up north along the Pacific
Ocean. The water is not pacific at all, with huge swells, cold water and
very strong winds. At one moment she's seriously asking herself why she is
doing this and how long she will last. As I said in the beginning, this
must be a real adventure!
Renata Chlumska has now been out for nine months and covered 10 000
kilometers. The worst challenge has been the weather, which has not
exactly showed her its sunny side. And there are more problems than the
weather. Having to tow 100 kg equipment in the mountains results in a lot
of blisters on hands and feet. But one thing that Renata did not forget to
pack was the attitude…
The bad weather continued the next day. But the knowledge that it could
turn even worse forced a nervous Renata (she is usually quite confident)
to cross Chesapeake Bay which is about 20 km wide. Swells, having to
concentrate on avoiding heavy boat traffic and to not flip over made the
journey very risky. After this ordeal anyone could give up. But not Renata…
The secret, according to her, is to put up goals that you can look forward
to. The next goal for her was to visit a planned event in Annapolis -
which she knew meant great food, a comfortable bed and nice hot showers.
But after this nice break reality hit her again. The long crossings
aren't just physically hard - they are really tough mentally as well.
Having to concentrate maximal for seven straight hours and knowing that
one second of slacking could mean that you are in big problem must be
really strenuous. After having some problems finding a hotel/motel she
finally got a place to sleep at the owners of a store in Sunset Beach.
Only that is quite impressive.
Next milestone for Renata is New York. On the way she's passing several
empty summer cities with no people at all in sight. All stores and motels
are closed and the rain keeps falling all the time.
Finally in New York, she has reached a HUGE milestone. After paddling
along Staten Island in hard fog she suddenly sees the Statue of Liberty.
Renata describes it: "The Statue of Liberty, greeting me just like
she has greeted thousands and thousands of people before me. Paddling up
to here knowing that I have made it here by my own strength was a very
powerful feeling." Of course reaching New York also must be a very
important motivation factor.
After some days in the Big Apple, loaded with interviews, filming,
photography and a paddling event, Renata felt ready to go on with the
kayaking. But the constant rain and an aching body meant problems after
some days of kayaking and walking. After paddling across the Massachusetts
Bay she decided to take a weeks rest. Under this time the people around
her have accepted her idea more and more. What a great idea it is go
around America! She has even got offers for the boat, but I think you
could figure out what she answered. (And for those who not, I can say that
the boat is not for sale)
SportsGearGuide.com - Carl Blomberg
Subscribe to our newsletters:
Skis
Advanced search
