That's right, Rowing has
its own national holiday. Rowing, as Big
Coach is fond of saying, is a sport for life.
What he
means by that is, there are a few sports you can enjoy way beyond your
competitive athlete years. Swimming is one, and tennis and basketball can be
enjoyed for quite a while. Competitive
rowing is for the youth rowers and the adults who continue to have the
competitive spirit. Today’s blog is not
about competitive rowing but about the sheer joy of Recreational Rowing, and
how the whole community, and people of all ages, can get in on the action.
Recreational
rowing is one of the hidden gems of the Hudson Valley. In fact, Hudson Valley Magazine just did a
feature story on this very topic, featuring the Hudson River Rowing Association
in Poughkeepsie and the Newburgh Rowing Club.
I really look forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
because I know Michael and I will both be at Recreational Rowing.
My rowing BFF, Kathe, and I like to
get out in a double crew shell. As we
like to say, we have one gear: Drive. Backing up, turning, docking -- these are
skills we learned last summer and then promptly forgot over the winter as we
took to the indoor rowing machines. But
that’s OK, since there are always coaches out on the water in motorboats,
reminding the recreational rowers what to do.
As Coach
Cunningham would say: Everything is
Better on the Water. There is something
about being out on the water, be it the mighty Hudson River or wherever you
happen to live that may have a rowing club.
When everything is clicking just right and you are moving along in a
crew shell, there is only one word I can think of to describe it: fun. I
think each row come out to $3.75 per hour on the water. Imagine having fun for less than $4.00 per
hour, no hangover involved, with your kids right next to you. Rowing is also phenomenal exercise, I have
never been in better shape in my life, at age 48, almost 49. And the beauty of rowing into a Hudson River
sunset, well, it’s indescribable. It’s
like being a school age kid all over again, because once we get out there, we
never want to come back in. “Time to bring it in,” Coach Fernandez, our 20-something
coach will say to as he pulls his motorboat up to us.
“Already?” we say, feigning
shock.
“Is this what it’s like to be a
parent?” our coach will joke.
“Yes, coach,” we say, “this is just
like parenting, you’re doing great, we will be right in. Can we have just a few more minutes of
watching this sunset?”
“Next time, ladies,” says our
coach. “There’s always Thursday night.”
“OK, coach,” we say. And we row, as slowly as possible, back to
the docks, because there is no better place to watch a Hudson River sunset than
in the middle of the Hudson River.
The rowers and coaches of the
Newburgh Rowing Club will be down at the Newburgh waterfront with ergometers –
indoor rowing machines – for free “Learn to Row” lessons from 9 am to 12
pm. Join us, or find a Learn to Row
event in your area by visiting www.USRowing.org.
Have a great day, everyone and, as
always, Remember to Count Your Blessings! <3 Mrs. Lo
For more of the Mrs. Lo Blog visit www.lobiondopage.blogspot.com
