I’m off on a three week road trip that started with a Girls at Play Summer Tour event at Potomac Paddlesports in Washington D.C.  It’s one of the coolest looking paddlesports stores I’ve been into.  The owner, Sunny Pitcher, has great vision and has created (and is continually creating) a very forward thinking paddlesports business. I hadn’t been to D.C. to teach in a few years so I was psyched when Sunny extended the invitation.  D.C. is an awesome place to get into kayaking because of the high quality instruction available and the Potomac flowing right there!  There is a section for everyone from beginners to playboaters to class V runs down Great Falls.  

The first night I arrived in D.C. I had dinner with Elayne Chow, founder of Grafeful Edge, a fun and sassy website for hip and fun-loving adventurous women.  We got so into chatting about ways to encourage women to get outside that the next thing we knew it was midnight!  I look forward to doing more combined work with Graceful Edge in the future.  

Saturday was the beginner day and we had 9 women join us for a beginner whitewater kayaking class on the Potomac.  Everyone did awesome and it was fun to see new women taking to the sport.  Sunday was the intermediate day with 13 women looking to improve their skills.  We worked on reviewing basic strokes, the roll, the double pump and then moved into moving water for ferries, s-turns and finally up to the wave on Maryland chute to work on surfing!  I saw some exciting breakthroughs. 

Sunday evening I taught a Yoga for Kayaking class at the store.  We moved some fixtures around and created a nice space for stretching.  Nine people showed up to treat their bodies to poses, breathing and relaxation.  There were a few male paddlers who were tentative about trying yoga, but who ended up really enjoying the class. Yoga is great for everyone and does wonders for your body and for your paddling.  

I really enjoyed meeting, paddling and practicing yoga with everyone.  Thank you Sunny and Lauren for hosting me and for creating a successful event.  Thanks also to Lauren, Emily and Monica for helping out on the water.  And thanks to all of you who participated in the events!  You inspire me with your enthusiasm and love of the sport.