Page 5 - 2022-08-01 Paddling Magazine

WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?
PHOTO: YAN KACZYNSKI

OFF THE TONGUE
Breaking Bad

by scott macgregor

NO ONE KNEW IT AT THE TIME, but October 16, Firestone suggests first making a list of routines Revelstoke are quieter. There are fewer boats on fewer
2019, would be the last time for more than two years we’re willing to switch up. Only then can we start to cars. There’s now more online chatter throughout the
that members of the Revelstoke Paddlesport Association take action. The secret, she suggests, is baby steps. day about what rivers. Who’s going? What levels?
would officially meet for the Wednesday night paddle. Nothing monumental at first. Just mix things up a Who’s driving?
No doubt it was raining. It starts raining here in October. little, like trying a new restaurant or taking a differ- Who cares, I say.
And no doubt it was in the public parking lot at the ent route to work. Eventually, we may explore what We’re stuck in these new hand-wringing routines
corner of First and Orton. It’s where they’ve always met. it would mean to break out of a fixed identity or a of concern, guilt and indecision developed during
Every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., cars and trucks role we impose upon ourselves. Covid. Firestone says it’s important to check in with
arrive with kayaks strapped to them. There are hand- Okay, sure. But what if our Wednesday paddle ourselves and see how these new routines make us feel.
shakes and high fives. Water levels are discussed. Then drop-in dirtbag crew is part of our fixed identity and The old way was better.
boats are untied and stacked on fewer cars heading self-imposed role in life? What if we like it? And what Wednesday nights were a sure thing. You could
toward rivers best matching the skills of whoever if a global pandemic causes the world to lockdown, plan your life around it. Rain or shine. You knew at
showed up. Newer paddlers are mentored. Nobody almost overnight? No baby steps. Cold turkey. least one other person would show up. It didn’t matter
I know remembers who started the Wednesday night Canoeists, kayakers and paddleboaders everywhere who. And that was enough. There was no need for
paddle. All they know is that it used to be on Tuesdays, were tossed out of their routines. Most of us struggled to Facebook groups. That’s what tailgates are for. “What
but it got moved for some reason no one remembers. find new things to fill our weekly club paddling nights. do y’all wanna paddle tonight?”
The Corona virus surged around the globe before Two years is a long time. Long enough to forget Maybe it will take another two years to get back to
the snow in the mountains began to drip into our river fun. Regulars left town, board members retired, and where we once were. I hope someday soon we feel less
valleys. Even after the backcountry ban was officially minute books were lost. I bought a television. Annual anxious about everything. I hope we reconnect with
lifted, nobody was shuttling together. Put-ins and events and races were mothballed. For two years, if each other and who we really are. I hope we will re-
launches were busy with small bubble groups. No anyone paddled it was with family or those whose member what we enjoy, what matters most to us, and
paddling organization wanted to be caught sanction- Instagram handles we already knew. Small bubbles. what makes us come alive. When you’re ready, head
ing anything social, even an event as loosey-goosey I hope we never use the word bubble again. On my down to the corner of First and Orton on any given
as the weekly Wednesday night paddle. first club night this spring, I realized I hadn’t paddled Wednesday. You can figure out the rest from there.
Lisa Firestone is a clinical psychologist and author. with anyone new in two summers.
In Psychology Today, she wrote about why it’s impor- Despite a 30 percent growth in paddlesport par- Scott MacGregor is the founder and publisher of Pad-
tant to break routines. Her self-help advice is about ticipation and sales during pandemic lockdowns, dling Magazine. To find a list of clubs offering weekly
breaking bad habits. Like, say, scrolling endlessly gatherings have been slow to recover. Paddling events paddle nights near you, first visit paddlingmag.com/
through social media or stopping for a bag of Doritos across the country are coming back online but with clubs. Then just show up.
at the corner store. But her advice works both ways. lower registrations than before. Wednesday nights in

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