riverman posted the first "Who Are WE?" back in May 1999.

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...et%26rnum%3D44




mccrea posted the first "Where did We come from?" in March 2000

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...D10%26 sa%3DN



I have been lurking for 4 or 5 years, and now as a new poster to the
RBP, I have been trying to get to know some of you better, and while
searching around, came across these previous threads. I found this to
be great reading, and love your stories. Some of you are really sick!
SICK!!!

However I found nothing newer. If there is some other threads out
there that I did not find, or a RBP related website, which was
discussed, I would love to hear about it.

I am sure that a few changes have taken place in the last 4 or 5
years, for all of us. Also that there are a lot of new paddlers that
would like to introduce themselves. This could be an ongoing thread
during the next few winter month while we wait for the ice to melt!

Thinking that if I got this thread started, I would like to encourage
you to go back, review your previous post, copy and revise, and then
repost on this thread the upgraded info. If new to the RBP since those
previous threads were terminated, I would encourage you to go back and
meet some of the other paddlers out there on the creeks, rivers, and
big water. Then introduce yourself to the group, with the info you
feel is pertinent.

Word of caution: I would encourage you to protect your info from the
email bots if you are trying to protect your privacy. You will notice
that the more experienced have encode their email address, with a
coded section that is removed for the actual address. Include the
decoding info in your post if you want the others to be able to
contact you personally.

Your Bio can include any info you want, but remember it is what you
will be known by. Most of the previous postings included;

your name, your paddling name and signature
contact info, email, phone, address
Age,
Height, weight, so that we can visualize you in your boat,
family and Marital status, any other personal,
when you started paddling,
area where you live,
what boats in your quiver,
experiences, and experience level,
and most important, any sick story you can share!


Please feel free to clip all these instructions, and any other thread
refuse, from your bio to keep it simple. Also post to the OP so that
it does not get to wide, unless you are commenting on someone elses
bio. All comments are welcome since we learn alot about each other
that way as well.

I think that it would also be a great memorial to those who are no
longer with us, if some of you who knew them, could maybe update their
bio and comment as well. I have found that the paddling community is a
caring and sensitive group. Again, we can all learn from those who
have gone down the river before us.


So in the spirit of openess, I would like to start, since some have
accused me of being various nefarious posters from the dark ages, none
of which were true. I am not Austin Powers, International man of
Mystery, either, and actually any mystery was much played up, though
it was fun for awhile. I am actually much more boring!


My email address is no secret, and the bots already have me, so no
mystery he This may change if I get more sleaze
mail and spam, and at that time, I will update.

I am currently paddling under the name Tinkerntom, but previously
KnesisKnosis, and sometimes kNESISkNOSIS. The latter was the oldest
when I first got started on the various boards, and signed up, and
forgot I had the Caplocks on. I know dumb newbie!!! You will also see
"TnT" for a short post.

Tinkerntom, came along later because I love to tinker with thing. As
in take them apart and put them back together better than they were in
the first place. At least that is how it is suppose to work out.
Sometimes they just end up in a box :=)

My name is Tom Stordahl-Gregory, but most call me "Tom the Locksmith."
Professionally I have worked as a locksmith and burgular alarm
installer in the Denver Metro area for the last 35 years. So, I am a
tinkerer by trade, as well. I always have my Gerber or ViseGrip
plyers, and folding screwdrivers close by. I sometime embarass my
wife, with my McGiver act, but then when I actually fix something, she
usually forgives me. I recently hit the big 55, and am elegible for
the Elderhostel programs of AARP. Ugh!!! I am going to have to check
out their kayaking programs.

I am happily married, now, to someone else who loves to paddle. We go
to the reservoir, Cherry Creek, and enjoy a nice relaxing paddle,
after a hard day at work. I use to go there, and tried my hand at
windsurfing, but she was left out.

One day I saw a old fibreglass Phoenix kayak for sale, and got it for
$20.00 with the idea of her paddling while I windsurfed. I could
always use a rescue partner! Well we had so much fun with the kayak,
that it was not long that I forgot the windsurfing. Typical ENTP, I
had bought the Phoenix without getting all the facts, like whether I
could even get in it! The combing was so tight, no hip padding needed
or possible. I did need double jointed knees to bend into the opening,
and who said foot space was necessary. My wife does great, but I was
going to need something else, and started looking for a kayak for
myself.

That was when the problem with kayaking became more apparent. I am
6'2" and 275 lbs., size 12 shoes, and I had trouble finding something
that did not become a submarine with me just setting in it, if I could
get into it at all.

I was eventually led to a Perception Overflow, through some fellow
paddlers on the Mountain Buzz. That was in 1998, and I was thinking in
terms of WW fun. I ran out and got all the other necessary equipment,
checked out some pool classes, and had to wait through a cold winter
to get started in 1999. Early in the 99 season, an aquaintance of ours
was kayaking and caught a strand of Barbed wire, strung across the
river, and was killed. His throat was cut, and my wife indicated, that
if our marriage was important to me, I would be content to go to the
reservoir.

My marriage is important to me, so you know where I paddle. I have
continued to lurk on various boards, and enjoy your stories,
recommedations, and conversations. I am using you as a surogate, but I
am the worlds best paddler being that I am taking only the best you
have to offer.

Recently I added a 1972 Folbot Super TSF to this man's navy. It is a
SOF 17.5 ft tandem, capable of being sailed, motored, and of course
paddled. It is quite stable, and was first designed back in the early
60's and many are still used by the big water crowd. Don't look for me
to use it on any WW up here in Colorado, though some of the bigger
rivers if there is water would be fun to navigate, and someday maybe
I'll try some seakayaking. They are affectionately sometimes call Sea
Slugs. I wonder what that means?

The best thing about this oversized transformer toy, is that you can
take it all apart and snap it all back together. I am in the process
of refinishing the wood, replacing some Aluminum longerons, and
repairing the hull. Other than that, it is in great shape. I have the
sail for it - I know that is an OT subject, but most of the time will
plan on paddling it. The best thing about it, is that it is a
Tinkerers Delight, and so I named her Tinker. Not enough room on the
hull for the full name. So she is named Tinker, and I am Tom, hence
Tinker-n-tom.

I continue to take the Overflow to the lake, where I get lots of
practice bracing against the waves and power boat wake. One of my
hairier moments occurred when shortly after launching, and paddling a
ways from shore, I realized that the kayak was filling with water. The
spray skirt was tight, so I was sort of in shock as I tried to sort it
all out. I ended up doing a wet exit, dumping the water out, and then
remembered to replace the drain plug! I know Dumb newbie!

My last story occurred at the same lake, right on the shore, in maybe
three inches of water. I was trying to get out of the kayak, and
having the atheletic prowess of a walrus, I stumbled with my legs
still in the kayak, and my FA sticking up in the breeze. My SO seeing
my predicament, tried to help by rolling and holding the kayak back
upright, when I was trying to get it to roll on its side so I could
complete my exit. This put an incredible amount of strain on my knees,
creating a great deal of pain, causing me to cry out. The more I cried
out, the harder she pushed the kayak up, the more pain! At some point,
I finally mustered enough strenght to yell at her to let go of the f'n
boat! Which did hurt her feelings, but I was able to finally extricate
my self, where upon I started laughing so hard thinking about how the
last 30 or 45 seconds would have looked to anyone watching!

That really hurt her feelings, that I would yell at her and then start
laughing, when I had hurt her feelings. Sort of like how we treat our
boats sometimes, and I think that is why boats are called "her". BTW,
my SO and I did kiss and make up, and again similar to your boat. You
can take a real thrashing, get kicked out of the boat, but once you
kiss and make up, you will always be received back in love with each
other.

Other outdoor interest: Roller and Ice skating, roller blading, skiing
(downhill and randonee), summer and winter camping, fishing, hiking,
and mtn clambering, biking (road and mtn), windsurfing, and of course
tinkering and kayaking.

Intellectual pursuits: computers since 73 using CPM, now Windows XP,
Astronomy, navigation (recently bought a sextant), reading about most
anything.

Not particularly proficient at anything, but having lots of fun in
life, learning and thrashing about.

SYOTR, Tinkerntom, aka KnesisKnosis, Life, Live it!

good stuff snipped

your name, your paddling name and signature
contact info, email, phone, address
Age,
Height, weight, so that we can visualize you in your boat,
family and Marital status, any other personal,
when you started paddling,
area where you live,
what boats in your quiver,
experiences, and experience level,
and most important, any sick story you can share!
good stuff snipped

I am Andrei (leavign out last name), address
(y'all should be able to
decode that one!). I'm 5 ft 10 in, 200 lbs (or 175 cm, 91 kg) and until
this year I had almost no interest in water, beyond swimming. This year, my
best friend and boss bought a 13 ft boat for her husband, so I spent more
time with his kayak (Walden Paddlers' Voyageur--link:http:/
http://www.waldensports.com/products.../voyageur.html , he has the
oliove green one but it seems to have been discontinued of late ) that he
was no longer using. That was in April 2004; I took several trips in it in
the local river (not a deep river) and in early November I ordered my first
own kayak,( http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=1795860 )
an inflatable Coleman, 9 ft , 295 lbs max. kayak. I've taken several trips
down the river and been getting more and more into paddling. Unfortunately,
the water is getting rather chilly in Virginia and this kayak doesn't even
have a spray skirt option, so I get plenty of water spalshed in it.
Needless to say, that makes it rather uncomfortable to paddle ths late in
the year.

So far, my longest time in the Voyageur was around 8 hours (not by choice,
unfortunately; also got a bad sunburn from it) and about 4 hours in the
Coleman (by choice, no sunburn). Due to the fact that I don't get off work
till 5 PM and by that time it's getting dark (at this time of the year) I
won't be able to share many stories (as you can tell, I need more
experience).

For the kayak shopper, the Coleman is a good one to get if you're just
starting out; it's cheap, fairly easy to maintain and easy to handle. Can't
tell you if it can handle "sea" or "ocean" type situations, since I've
never been in such a situation; so far, though, it seems to be a good
beginner's kayak.

I'm not into any kayaking clubs since I'm pretty much unable to keep to a
stable schedule. I pretty much paddle whenever my muscles and time allow
me. My "paddling name" is same as my first name--andrei (lower case), and
my "joke name" for my kayak is "Titanic", since all it would take to sink
it is to rip a minimum of two of the main air pockets. As you can tell, I'm
not very experienced in paddling, but hope to "get there" soon. I live in
the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA. If you're in the area
you'll be able to spot me as the only one insane enough to go in an bright
red inflatable kayak.

--andrei.

andrei wrote:
good stuff snipped

more good stuff snipped

I'm not into any kayaking clubs since I'm pretty much unable to keep
to a
stable schedule. I pretty much paddle whenever my muscles and time
allow
me. My "paddling name" is same as my first name--andrei (lower case),
and
my "joke name" for my kayak is "Titanic", since all it would take to
sink
it is to rip a minimum of two of the main air pockets. As you can
tell, I'm
not very experienced in paddling, but hope to "get there" soon. I
live in
the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA. If you're in the
area
you'll be able to spot me as the only one insane enough to go in an
bright
red inflatable kayak.

--andrei.

Hi Andrei,

Thanks for the reply, and welcome aboard. Though it appears that we may
be the only ones watching the RBP, or at least who care to talk about
paddling, and letting others know we are here.

Sounds like you are having a good time with the IK, be sure and wear
your PFD, less the Titanic sinks! I read on the Watertribe, that one of
their marathon adventure endurance races was won by a Stearns IK.
Everyone was surprised, probably even the one tough paddler! TnT