Can You Canoe?

Ever heard of the AuSable River Canoe Marathon? Me, neither.

Friends invited a group of us to "watch" the race. I had no idea what to expect. I thought we'd see a full range of folks from the serious to the leisurely. Nope. These people are athletes. They were dressed like professional cyclists only they were sitting in a canoe and paddling like crazy. They've survived time trials and overnight training and were prepared to travel 120 Miles. Their canoes made a wake. Serious stuff.

People lined up at the river bank much like people line up at a curb for a parade. Downtown Grayling was brimming with car shows, craft shows and--of course--canoes. We were in a private home on the river, but close enough to the start that we could hear the roar of the crowd when they put in.

Oh, did I mention the race starts at 9PM? And goes all night and the next day until you are done? I thought a 14 hour flight from Seoul to Detroit was bad, but I think canoeing for 19 hours would be worse.

River bank 

Almost race time 

Switching from our pool to look out at the river

upriver

downriver

Here the come

The second of these three boats ended up the winner (check out the wake!)

If this moment were recorded you would hear Kari yelling, "Nice ABS!" to the shirtless guy.

I think this is where Annette yelled, "Slow and steady wins the race!"

Thanks to Kari and Dan for the invite! It was so fun!

:)sbc