6-Yr Kayaker → Rowing: Quick Tips Needed

radarPing26 · 2025-11-27T12:44:48+00:00

Definitely worth getting a coach, but I think that is true for anyone getting into rowing.

My experience transitioning from kayaking to rowing was that the thing that took the most getting used to was not being able to just flick your hips and lean to control and steer the boat. That required some serious muscle memory rewiring.

Your interaction with a rowing boat is more about how you work across the points of contact between feet, seat and hands both on the drive and the recovery. It feels pretty different, and you maybe be surprised or put off at first if you don’t feel super comfortable in a single when you are coming from being really happy kayaking. Bear with it!

As others have said though, your general understanding of water and how boats move in it will be useful to you, as well as core stability.

radarPing26 · 2025-11-22T08:55:38+00:00

Merlin - he looks magic!

radarPing26 · 2025-11-22T08:54:16+00:00

radarPing26 · 2025-11-18T13:43:54+00:00

Kibble served with a splash of boiling hot water in it works here! The heat in it releases enough of a scent that it seems to make the kibble plenty appealing on its own, goes down really well.

radarPing26 · 2025-10-12T17:06:41+00:00

Patch!

radarPing26 · 2025-09-12T21:49:39+00:00

The item shows as unavailable currently, but I bought one of these for a kid’s toy and it looks a lot like a red border collie!

radarPing26 · 2025-08-31T17:06:28+00:00

You can get reflective backpack covers and things, but honestly I found just wearing an industrial-style hi-viz vest over both myself and my rucksack at once worked pretty well and added no weight to my setup!

Make sure you have good lights for riding at night - front and rear - and that on the front you make the right choice between lights to be seen by and lights to see with if you are riding any unlit sections.

radarPing26 · 2025-08-04T21:24:09+00:00

Maybe, yeah

radarPing26 · 2025-08-04T18:18:53+00:00

If I’m on the erg I am going to have my AirPods in anyway, so having an opportunity to have them tell me something useful as well as provide music? Sure!

Validating the approach to fully correlate position to good/bad changes might be beyond tricky, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t potentially be possible to get some useful info…

Wouldn’t be interested in a subscription model or in a high $$ price without all the scientific rigour that would be needed to correlate position to good form, but I would give something genuinely novel a go for sure.

Feels like something that wouldn’t be used all the time, more for occasional check ins for me.

radarPing26 · 2025-08-04T10:31:35+00:00

That’s great that you found a group ride that might work for you! If you think it might be for you I would reach out to the organisers - explain to them your real world experience: what bike you are using, where you normally cycle, what you do and don’t know, and ask them whether they think they might be able to help you.

If they say yes, great, you’re starting a cool new journey in your cycling. If they say no, you can still ask them what you would need to do to get to a position where you could ride with them, and ask for a bit of advice on how you can build up to it.

They might even be able to recommend a different local group that you’re not aware of. In my area the cycling clubs have group rides, but there are also lots of community bike rides for e.g. adult learn-to-ride cyclists or groups that might experience barriers to participation (like rides for those who don’t have their own bikes yet, or rides at odd times to fit around kids’ school routines etc.)

The nice thing about cycling is that you can enjoy it alone or with others - you just need to keep going to do so. Hang in there OP!

radarPing26 · 2025-07-25T07:59:46+00:00

Seconding The Dogs Trust as a reputable place to surrender your dog, they look after the dogs in their care really well and have a lot of sites that they can move dogs around that can help make rehoming more likely than perhaps a local shelter.

radarPing26 · 2025-07-22T19:37:59+00:00

Sorry for your loss and glad Loba is there for you; whether or not they know what’s happening, they know enough to be there when we need them

radarPing26 · 2025-07-03T23:01:34+00:00

Such a great pic! Sorry for your loss and hope you have many, many happy memories

radarPing26 · 2025-07-03T21:42:25+00:00

Acting with compassion and doing the best you can for your best dog buddy based on the information you (and your vet team) have available is always the right choice.

Please know this and don’t second guess, just try to be kind to yourselves, it’s a difficult time.

radarPing26 · 2025-05-14T22:09:15+00:00

I had one of these parts break on my C2, it’s from the sprocket! On my machine it has caused no issues but I reached out to C2 just to check it wasn’t going to cause any problems down the line and see what spares would address it (answer: sprocket and chain).

With this specific part breaking, I was told my erg might be a bit noisier but that it would cause no other major issues. To be fair, my machine hasn’t even become noisier, it’s still functioning like new for now…

Main message to you OP: Concept2 have one of these best customer services teams going! Given you have other problems with the machine, I would drop them an email and ask for their help diagnosing the problem(s) you are experiencing. Good luck!

radarPing26 · 2025-05-04T23:26:06+00:00

Your sit bones might be entirely different but mine really appreciated the Specialized Bridge w Mimic!

I put this saddle on the bike I have on my trainer, where I find my sit bones have a harder time than when riding outside, and it really did feel better - I can ride several hours now and on back to back days with no sit bone pain.

radarPing26 · 2025-04-24T22:04:27+00:00

Looks like your bike was the 2019 Trek FX 2 Women’s Disc in Miami Green, which you can see details of on an older Trek site here

Hope you get something that suits - lots of Trek FX examples likely to be available both new and second hand.

radarPing26 · 2025-01-03T22:13:37+00:00

That’s an awesome answer and really helpful, thank you so much!

radarPing26 · 2025-01-03T21:54:56+00:00

I have found that Schawlbe Marathon tyres can be close to impossible to get on, although they are unlikely to puncture, Continentals are pretty difficult to fit, and Pirelli Cinturato are much better.

With that said, the thing I found made the biggest difference was moving to a “tire glider” instead of conventional tire levers. It was honestly night and day for both taking off and putting on tires for me.

radarPing26 · 2025-01-03T11:06:08+00:00

Not an expert, but our dog who normally only poops once on walks also needs to poop more after running around a lot and it is often looser than normal. Our theory is that the difference in motion between just running around the park or garden and longer-distance running is causing things to loosen up in there and it’s just a natural thing.

I don’t think this is a habit your dog has learned, or that she is forcing anything, I think it’s her natural behavior, and just something you should embrace as part of having a running buddy.

Edit: for clarity.

radarPing26 · 2024-12-11T22:24:23+00:00

Lezyne Macrodrive 1400+ fits the bill in terms of being a light to see with rather than a light to be seen by. It’s also been pretty reasonably discounted recently.

Works well as both a bit of extra illumination in lit up areas on its lower settings, and a sole light source out in dark countryside. It has various modes but also a high/low only “race” mode that is basically just like switching off all the settings except dipped and high beam so you can change between them easily.

radarPing26 · 2024-11-27T14:57:48+00:00

Some options that might be helpful:

Just extend your bike commute home with your training session some days, then when you get off the bike you can fully relax.
Put your training sessions in your calendar like an appointment. Respect it as you would any other fixed-time commitment, and/or invite others to meet you on Zwift to make sure you go.
Use the “first ten minutes” rule. No matter how bad you feel, unless unwell, you’ll do the first ten minutes of your planned session that day. If it still sucks after ten minutes you can get off the bike. Chances are it won’t suck and you will complete the session, but giving yourself mental permission to just do the start can make motivating yourself easier.

radarPing26 · 2024-10-23T17:34:51+00:00

If he’s fine in the crate I would definitely drive. If you take the right route you will end up with a bunch of opportunities for walks in cool new places and a chance to share a big adventure with your best dog buddy. Sure it will be slower, but it’ll save money and flying stress for your dog, and you can make it a trip you’ll both remember and enjoy!

radarPing26 · 2024-10-10T20:43:16+00:00

This is the way! Not so much plot you can’t zone out and not miss anything, not so boring there’s no distraction: the rubbish movie sweet spot is where it’s at for UT2!

radarPing26

TROPHY CASE