Darren Bush has kayaked and canoed hundreds of waterways around the world.

One of the Rutabaga Paddlesports owner's favorite trips was from the Bay of Naples and Sorrento out to the Island of Capri and back along the Amalfi Coast. While this Italian adventure was both an amazing and beautiful expereince for Bush, it was a journey much closer to home that sticks in his mind as the most memorable of his many paddling adventures.

"It was a trip on the Wisconsin (River) when I had three days all to myself to just paddle along and enjoy at my own pace in a solo canoe. I wasn't going fast. I was just trying to see as much as I could see. I saw a lot of really wonderful things. I saw some wildlife that I probably wouldn't have seen in a large group because we would have spooked them."

Bush says when it comes to paddling it's not as much about where you are as it is just spending time on the water. Living one half mile from Lake Wingra, he says most of the time he gets on the water is either spent on Wingra or the Yahara River next to his shop at 220 West Broadway in Monona.

Having water access at the shop is important for Rutabaga, says Bush. "You can't really test paddle a boat in the parking lot. It would be like a car dealership not offering test drives. How can you really make an intelligent decision unless you get inside the boat? Plus, we don't sell canoes and kayaks. We sell time on the water. That's the product. Anybody can sell a boat."

Rutabaga's selection of canoes, kayaks and accessories is among the widest in the world. And the staff are knowledgeable about every aspect of the boats and accessories they sell because they are paddlers and outdoor enthusiasts themselves.

"You can go buy a boat from a big-box store and ask all sorts of questions like, ‘how do I put it on my car,' or ‘what kind of paddle should I get?' They don't know because for them it's just another product. It's a S-K-U number."

Selling the whole experience means having all the right gear, including camping equipment, and Rutabaga has the essentials. "If you are going on a canoe trip, we have everything in here so you can do it," says Bush.

Having everything for a paddling trip in one place is convenient. And convenience is becoming more important than ever for making the most of a relaxing outdoor vacation. But those good-old weeklong getaways are becoming less common as busy family and work lives cut them down to weekend or even single-day outings.

"The average length of the outdoor experience is now much shorter than it was 10 or 15 years ago," says Bush, adding that people want to get up in the morning, have breakfast, pack a lunch, go to a local lake or river and be home by dinner. "That's their experience in the outdoors, and I think that's great.

"The benefits of paddling are best taken in short bursts. Most of my trips are three to four days. To me I think it's much better if you can just enjoy yourself a little bit every day."

And with the many waterways open to the public throughout Dane County it's easy to find a nearby place to drop a boat in the water and start going. "There is just an endless number of small paddles around here," says Bush.

It is a wonderful sport to take up at any age, and Bush says that children do exceptionally well at picking up the basics. He says that they can learn the sport quickly as long as they are allowed to have fun. But in all reality that's how everyone learns best, says Bush. "If people leave here with one thing after a lesson, I don't want it to be that they learned how to do the forward stroke. I want it to be that they had a good time."

While fun on the water is definitely a requirement, Bush says a proper level of respect for the sport is also required. "The most dangerous river is the one you approach casually. There's nothing dangerous about paddling per se. It's like aviation - it's not very forgiving of neglect or inexperience or taking a casual approach to it."

Anyone entering the sport is encouraged to take training courses. Luckily Rutabaga has the largest flat-water paddling school in the country, with classes for all ages in all disciplines.

The annual Door County Sea Kayak Symposium-July 11 through 13 this year-is another training opportunity that has gained great popularity due to its unique novice-friendly atmosphere. Bush says the symposium, co-sponsored by Rutabaga, focuses on bringing paddlers of different ages and experience levels together. "We started this symposium, mostly because there weren't symposia where people could go as beginners and not feel like they weren't looked down on. The other symposia had beginning classes, but what they didn't have was the social aspect after the classes. So we made sure to create a novice-friendly environment, and we sell out every year.

"It's about creating an opportunity to connect with others who enjoy the sport and being part of the community. And we're all about building communities."

Rutabaga Paddlesports

220 West Broadway

Monona, WI 53716

Phone

Toll Free: (800) 472-3353

Local: (608) 223-9300

Web: 

http://www.rutabaga.com/

Blog: 

http://canoelover.blogspot.com/