Ive never been one for "sports", or what most people think of sports... but when i was 18, i was introduced to white water kayaking and took to that like a duck to water... it is an unparalleled experience... but one thing that disturbed me about the sport was that it always began with 2 tanks of gas, two drivers and many miles between put in and take out... even though i was born before the gas crisis of 71, and was only 4 when our great president Carter implored Americans to question their habits of energy consumption... i came into "consciousness" during the reign of Reagan and seriously subsidized "cheap" fuel. I could never really come to terms with the required consumption of kayaking... it is a great irony in my life that the most liberating and natural activity such as river running had such a draw back as dependence on fossil fuel... I don't kayak anymore: i just cant justify it. Though there is a hole in my heart that has not been filled quite yet. I cannot participate, in good conscience, in any recreation that takes more enrgy to get there than to do the activity... Thus i am a surfing newbie. i don't use a car to get to the ocean... i tow the board with a bike. This does limit me to nearby locales and even more by limited conditions... but it just feels better....
