Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Downwind and Racing => Topic started by: PonoBill on May 26, 2018, 10:12:24 PM
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Man, I am beat. Viento run in mega current and good wind.
Tre Hendricks finished a bit ahead of me and said it was about two hours. He stayed in the middle of the river, I mostly eddy hopped. Too messy to try to tough it out for the distance--I'll leave that for the kids, The eddies weren't all that great though, the water is so high and the current so fast that they got scrubbed right off. I could have had more relief if I'd hugged the rocks, but I didn't want to be a complete sissy. Mitchell point was insane, but I got through it clean and fast, hooking one bump to the next. And once I was clear I fell--just like I always do. When it's horrid, I do fine, when it lets off, I fall. The approach to Wells was steadily bigger waves, and at the downstream tip of Wells there was a set of huge rollers, with wind swells breaking waist high. Kind of fun, but at the end when you're beat, fun is relative,
Town has too many tourists cramming into every restaurant to consider eating out. I'm going to go to Rosauers and get a big steak, some oysters, mushrooms and spuds. Do a backyard barbeque--me and the dog. Martini with three olives, steak, sit and regain my strength. Tomorrow is another day. Just a little less current though, please.
Edit: My menu changed--Roseauers had Morel mushrooms for twenty bucks a pound. Big-ass new York steak, cottage bacon and Morels, Hendrix Martini. I make a fine Martini.
(https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/33619115_10155737774098668_6115517110010511360_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&_nc_eui2=AeEjGo-Zws3rStYtbCQpaFhyiOLd6KBXO8vK8JGRRlAYQaxUf2dftAlssMptXd1T1stLGmyNJm1jJMeYcOMVwD1qbBQnbj2H-9673xLIj8U_jw&oh=fdd7300216300a9d84c539728e4382ad&oe=5B841AC5)
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Sounds like you earned it. Be safe out there.
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Russel Peart got a picture of Joel Yang in the river the day before. Big current equals lots of craziness. This is probably Mitchell Point. Totally nuts there yesterday.
(https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/33612930_825519044298764_4334762697733177344_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=9db1ee199493127bf4e3ab34d4911a5c&oe=5B7B307F)
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Looks like a washing machine ! :o
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Pono ,bust out your foil and give it a go. But notify the search and rescue beforehand. ;)
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Rod did it yesterday. Did a 1:37 compared to my over two hours, and he added an extra mile of zigzag. He's a lot younger, a lot lighter, and a lot fitter than I am, but I always consider that if Rod can do it, I can do it. Delusional.
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Oh, lovely, 524,000 CFS today. No.
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What board fo you choose in those conditions?
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SIC 17' Bullet V2. I think the 14' Bullet V2 fits the swells better, but I'm used to the 17'
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I know this is all for fun and fitness, etc. but do you use anything to track your stats such as average speed, stroke rate or anything like that? I know the first time I did a Viento run (with a great bunch from Big Winds) I was doing over 9 mph when I did my first "wheelie" over the front of the V2 I rented. My heart rate got up to 175 on that run.....and I felt about dead after that first run. Can't wait to do it again someday before I can no longer "standup"!
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Oh, lovely, 524,000 CFS today. No.
Guaranteed meal like that, I'll take 500,000+ CFS every day :)
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I know this is all for fun and fitness, etc. but do you use anything to track your stats such as average speed, stroke rate or anything like that? I know the first time I did a Viento run (with a great bunch from Big Winds) I was doing over 9 mph when I did my first "wheelie" over the front of the V2 I rented. My heart rate got up to 175 on that run.....and I felt about dead after that first run. Can't wait to do it again someday before I can no longer "standup"!
How do you track your heart rate while paddling? I have been looking for a usable, real-time heart rate monitor that is waterproof, and not having luck.
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Russel Peart got a picture of Joel Yang in the river the day before. Big current equals lots of craziness. This is probably Mitchell Point. Totally nuts there yesterday.
(https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/33612930_825519044298764_4334762697733177344_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=9db1ee199493127bf4e3ab34d4911a5c&oe=5B7B307F)
a lot of current under there and luckily your on top supping on that strong current.
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Actually, we go against the current on Viento runs. The wind blows from downstream. The current stands the wind swells up, but when it gets above 450,000 CFS it's a rough go. It was 499,000 today. That's about 5 mph in the middle of the river, 4 mph near shore.
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It was 499,000 today...
Bill, are you on wetsuit these days or the thoughts of that juicy steak keep you warm enough?
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I know this is all for fun and fitness, etc. but do you use anything to track your stats such as average speed, stroke rate or anything like that? I know the first time I did a Viento run (with a great bunch from Big Winds) I was doing over 9 mph when I did my first "wheelie" over the front of the V2 I rented. My heart rate got up to 175 on that run.....and I felt about dead after that first run. Can't wait to do it again someday before I can no longer "standup"!
I am currently using a Scosche Rhythm + and it "broadcasts" to my smartphone that is running Endomondo App and records all of my stats. I also have a Garmin GPS/Map 78sc on the deck and I can watch my heart rate in realtime on it as well as average speed and distance. It is waterproof. Keep my phone in a ziplock bag even though the S7 is supposed to be able to handle a splash or two...don't trust that.
I recently purchased a Garmin 735XT and my wife uses it and it seems to be working pretty well. You can watch hour heart rate in real time as well, though I sometimes question the accuracy of these wrist based sensors. The Garmin has an SUP specific activity tracker that is pretty good.....shows stroke rate, distance per stroke etc. I tried a Samsung GEAR SPORT and I wasn't that happy with it.....I returned it and may get a Garmin like my wife's.
How do you track your heart rate while paddling? I have been looking for a usable, real-time heart rate monitor that is waterproof, and not having luck.
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It was 499,000 today...
Bill, are you on wetsuit these days or the thoughts of that juicy steak keep you warm enough?
Spring suit. A 2/3. It's my permanent Orca suit that keeps me warms, though I've got a hell of a cold right now that probably has something to do with getting chilled to the bone.
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It was 499,000 today...
Bill, are you on wetsuit these days or the thoughts of that juicy steak keep you warm enough?
Spring suit. A 2/3. It's my permanent Orca suit that keeps me warms, though I've got a hell of a cold right now that probably has something to do with getting chilled to the bone.
Cold sucks. Thanks for the tip. these suits look badass. I'll try to get one before hitting HR in a week or two.
Hope they'll be going easy on the current by then. I'll take 150 CFS over a steak :)
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150? In your dreams. I'll be thrilled to see 400.
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150? In your dreams. I'll be thrilled to see 400.
I guess I was thinking late July like last year, oh well, I guess going on the right side of the river
for mid June is a better strategy?
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Depends on what you want and how strong you're feeling. Tre Hendricks went up the middle last time I went. I was eddy-hopping with occasional forays towards the middle. The eddies are not the easy money they usually are--lots of current right to the rocks. The water is not only fast, it's deep, so the friction with the bottom isn't what you'd expect. This time of year, in this current I'd expect to smoke anyone that stuck to the middle if I eddy hopped, but Tre and I were neck and neck until we got to Mitchell Point where I went out far enough to clear the nutty current coming around the corner and then found some big bumps that got me all the way through with minimal fuss. Tre took a bit longer so I got a good lead. Then he took the inside line at the split rock and caught a massive reverse eddy up against the rocks that shot him through, I got stalled in the current towards the middle and never caught him again. He was a few minutes ahead of me at the end. I thought I'd catch him through the Wells Express but it was weird and hard with my long board and he pulled away.
The bottom line for all that narrative is that you can make any line work, and the best bumps are in the middle or left, but if you fall a few times (I fell eight times), or just poop out from all that high-cadence paddling, then welcome to the right side. I'll see you there--until the current stops being so crazy. When the big pulse of early runoff stops the current will drop quickly. Usually, that has already happened, but right now the river is super high chocolate milk with occasional logs mixed in to make it more interesting. When I paddled OC6 yesterday morning we stayed tight right to avoid the logs. I didn't see any yesterday, but a few days ago a lady windsurfer hit one and broke her wrist. It's a jungle out there. I'm going to go race my vintage car in Spokane this weekend. Seems more rational than trying to do a bunch of high current downwinders with the usual flock of loons.
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Helpfull info as usual. I'm all too familiar with slalom course from the Hudson (comprised of billboards, couches and the occasional corpses)
should fit right in comfortably :D
I guess with so much discharge you're not even bothering to time the runs? Usually you'll let us know when you made it under 1:20 ;D
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2:20 is more like it right now.
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Sh*t, that's like slow motion with some standing waves along the way... No chance you make it to the second shuttle.
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Some of the less experienced folks are doing it in three or more hours. Some aren't making it to the event center at all.
It's been an interesting May. Kitesurfers that don't know how to self-rescue are getting washed down the river. With no sand bar yet, all the kiters are launching from the event center. They're saying "experts only" but I watched a guy get dragged across the grass yesterday. Good thing there was plenty of goose shit to lubricate him or he would have had grass burns. Something about the way he was screaming and waving his hands told me he wasn't really an expert.
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;D ;D ;D
Who wouldn't want a front row seat for that shit show
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Hey PB, can you take and post some vid of your run tomorrow? I've never been to the Gorge and would enjoy seeing those gnarly conditions in action.
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Pono......what site are you using for flow data? Is it pretty dependable?
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Pono......what site are you using for flow data? Is it pretty dependable?
Sure Pono will chime in if I'm wrong, but this is the one I had bookmarked from my trip last year. Discharge rate at The Dalles - nearest damn upriver of the town of Hood River.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00010=on&cb_00060=on&format=gif_default&site_no=14105700
Just think about that number though - 400,000 cubic feet per second!! That's almost 3 Million gallons of water every second. Sheesh!
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When the wind is whipping straight up-river that makes for quite a collision......no wonder it can get to be like the inside of a washing machine!!