Author: Paul Tomblin

Kayak Racing: 24.13 Woo hoo! I rule!

Last Thursday I went for a private lesson with Dan. It went so well that I confidently boasted to somebody that not only would I beat my person best, 24.60, but I’d demolish it with a 24.30. Instead, I not only demolished it, I jumped up and down on the pieces. 24.13. My split was 11.88, compared to my previous best of 12.00, so much of that improvement came in the second half, where my improved technique on both halves of the course meant I had more energy and didn’t have to stop paddling to take a drink several times in the last quarter as I’ve done so many times in the past.

I took a stop watch this time and recorded split times at both buoy turns as well, but I forgot and reset the watch before I recorded them. Oh well, maybe next time.

With my technique and conditioning improving, I’m convinced that the only other factor I need to work on is the fact that I’m paddling a heavy plastic boat. Time to get back out into the garage and finish my Arctic Tern 17 Hi.

Kayak Racing: 25.00 – Not a personal best, but still fun

Ok, I was slower today – 25.00 instead of 24.60. Most people beat their personal best. I guess that’s what I get for missing a week. But we’ve had so much rain this summer that the creek is still running well, and there is still a good crowd coming out, so they’ve decided to run the races for a few more weeks.

On the way out, I was trying to paddle right, but as I passed the split, Dan yelled at me to push the paddle in at the catch and then pull, instead of pulling as the paddle went in, or words to that effect. Once I figured out what he meant, I fixed my catch and also started working on what my upper arm was doing on the power stroke, which gave me better rotation. And it was good, the boat was moving fast. Unfortunately by that time I was too tired and I could do a good stroke about 5 or 10 strokes and then had to rest. That’s why my split time was 0.30 slower than my previous best, and my total time was 0.40 slower.

Dare to hope, prepare to be disappointed?

(No, this isn’t an Obama post.)

I went to see a new doctor yesterday. This was the first time Vicki has managed to convince me to convince a doctor to give me a referral to a neurologist. I’ve asked before, and the doctors always said “no, it’s not neurological”, and then given up on finding an orthopeadic or other cause. This time, I got my doctor to promise that after his idea failed, he’d refer me to a neurologist. And it did, and he did.

I hate to get my hopes up, but this guy (or rather his physician’s assistant) outlined a multi-pronged approach to figuring out how much of it is orthopeadic, how much is neurological, how much is caused by sleep apnea (evidently apnea can make you more susceptible to pain – who knew?), how much is due to rheumatoid arthris, etc. I’ve got a blood test script here (Comprehensive Metabolic, CBC + Platelet, Sed Rate, Protein Electrophresis, C-Reactive Protien WR, Creatine Kinase (CK), Angiotensin-1-Conv Enzime, ANA, Anti-Cardiolipn Ab, Lyme Antibody), then I’m going to have three days of a powerful steroidal anti-inflammatory (can’t remember the name, but I’ll never be allowed to compete in the Tour de France now), and three days of a powerful neurological drug. All I have to do is figure out how to accurately compare one day’s pain to another, something I’ve never been able to do. They’re also talking about various tests of nerve function and sleeping with a pulse oximeter and maybe even a sleep study.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me. I would give my left knee to be able to cross country ski again.

AvMap EKP-IV complaints and kudos

I’m using this post to track the problems and user interface deficiencies that I’m having with the AvMap EKP-IV.

  • The damn CF card is busted, and they they’re currently giving me a run-around instead of sending me a new one! was busted, and the replacement came with a return envelope that wasn’t postage paid.
  • There should be a single keystroke to get to the currently active flight plan, instead of having to hit “Menu”, “Menu”, “Flight Plans”.
  • You should be able to name flight plans.
  • Calling the button for the nearest airport “Page” is stupid.
  • Hitting the “nearest” button twice should take you to the nearest airport button instead of forcing you to hit “Page”, “Menu”, “Airport”. If you need the nearest airport, you generally need it FAST.
  • Why do I keep end up in the cursor mode just about every time I go to the map page, even if I haven’t touched the joystick? It should only be in a cursor mode if I move the cursor with the joystick.
  • The joystick is way too sensitive.
  • There should be a half-arc on the display with DTK and TRK on it like the Garmin 296 and 530W have. The only thing close is to use up a lot of screen real-estate for a HSI display.
  • The way the vertical navigation works is stupid – as far as I can tell, you have to put in the top altitude, the bottom altitude and the glide slope every time you use it. In the Garmins, you just say “I want to be at 1000 AGL when I get 3 nm from the airport, and I want to descend at 500 fpm”, and it calculates where to start your descent based on your current altitude and the altitude of the airport.
  • The manual wasn’t included in the box, even though the Quick Start booklet said it would be.
  • The manual, which I downloaded from the web site, sucked rocks.
  • The power switch evidently turns itself on if you just breathe on it. I’ve discovered the batteries dead numerous times, and it’s just sitting on my flight bag.

I’ll probably think of others.

To answer Gordon’s question in the comments below, what I like about the EKP-IV:

  • It has a really great screen. It’s big, it’s bright, and it’s very clear
  • Even better, it’s in “portrait” mode. My original GPS, a Garmin 195, was in portrait mode, and I never understood why they went to landscape mode for later models. I don’t know about everybody else, but I want to see where I am and where I’m going, not where I am and 30 miles to each side. And the AnywhereMap Travel Companion and the new Bendix King AV8OR are landscape mode too. I don’t get it.
  • It’s about the same price as a 296, much cheaper than a 396, 496 or even a 495. I don’t need XM WX yet, but if I do, I like the idea that it will someday be an optional extra on this unit, rather than having to make the decision at purchase time like the Garmins.
  • It was strongly recommended by a friend who had one, sold it to buy a 496 for the weather, but then wished he’d kept the EKP-IV.
  • It doesn’t have a road mode. That way I won’t be tempted to leave it on the dashboard of my car. Let the next car thief steal a Nuvi or other car type GPS and leave my aviation GPS alone!
  • I looked longingly at the AnywhereMap new iPaq Travel Companion, and while it had some amazing features, it was incredibly slow. This one looked like it had some of the features, without the horrible slowness.