We have two nice-for-July days this week (yesterday and today), and I’m trying to make the most of them before the heat returns for the end of the week. Yesterday, we got out on the water for a brief paddle from Solley Cove Park to Tanyard Cove and back. That has been a popular destination for me this year, as I work to get proficient on the stand-up paddleboard. I had to “MacGyver” the paddle a bit, as the cheap metal ferrule that connects the halves together broke as I was taking the paddle apart to put it in the car. As with everything else these days, you get what you pay for, and I guess I can’t expect a top-quality paddle in a starter SUP kit. To get us out on the water, I used a clip from a swimming pool brush, but it is not a perfect fit, as the ferrule is smaller than the hole in the paddle shaft. I wrapped a rubber band around the shaft to keep it from sliding back and forth, and it worked fine, but it looks like my first off-season upgrade is going to be a better-quality paddle. I’ll have to keep an eye out and see if REI has any end-of-season closeout discounts on SUP paddles, as they seem to run more expensive than kayak paddles. I’m also going to see if I can find a replacement ferrule to repair my existing paddle.

Today, I rode my mountain bike to the office for the first time since probably late spring. As I wrote the other day, I don’t ride off-road much in the summer, because it’s usually either too hot, too humid, or too wet. Even when conditions are ideal, there’s a ton of poison ivy and other overgrowth along the trails this time of year. Today was great — the trails had a lot of muddy spots, but were mostly good. I spent more time on the bike than off. Time will tell if I end up with any spots of poison ivy. The only negative is that my seat post dropper cable seems to be stuck or seized up. I don’t use the dropper much, so it’s not going to keep me from riding the bike, but I guess I am going to need to take it in to the shop at some point.

I have been pretty good with swimming regularly this summer. Swimming and road biking are the two outdoor activities that I tolerate the best, and look forward to doing the most, during the hottest months of the summer. Very recently (within the past week or so) I’ve started doing the breast stroke portion of my swimming workouts without a tether. I’ve found that it takes me about 20 strokes to cover a length of the pool, so I can complete a 60-stroke set with only two turn-arounds. Next, I may see how it works out with backstroke. If it’s practical, I think a really good way to divide up the workout would be: start out untethered and swim 60 breast, 60 back, 60 breast, 60 back, 60 breast, and 60 back. Then, put the tether on and swim 60 front crawl, 60 butterfly, 60 crawl, 60 butterfly, 60 crawl, and 60 butterfly.