"Look for blue on the map and go there!"
So you just bought a paddle board. That’s great! Now what? Where are you going to take that thing to justify your purchase? You want to use it, but where? I hear this question often and the answer is simple. Find blue on the map and go there.
For your first several trips out on the water you'll want to find a calm setting. Many local rivers and lakes will offer this desired venue. Your paddle boarding spots don’t need to be the popular spots, they just need to incorporate water. Go anywhere you can and go now. Run towards it!
My first recommendation is to bring it to any body of water, paddle out and fall off your board. Trust me. Get used to that. It'll happen while you're learning. If it doesn't, you're not trying hard enough. This will alleviate any inhibitions towards getting wet which will allow you to relax enough to learn. Fall in the water. Learn how to get back on your board. Take a couple deep breaths, relax, roll your shoulders back and get a feel for your board. Get goofy with it. Bring a tennis ball out and toss it back and forth with your friend. You'll learn to paddle quick and and become accustom to falling in. There's no script for learning how to SUP. Make it your own.
"Embrace being a new paddler. You don't know what you're doing and that's great! Figure it out with confidence."
When I first got into paddle boarding it took me head over heels. My dad bought a board and let me borrow it for the first week. I went paddling EVERY SINGLE DAY and by the time I had to give it back to him I had my own sitting on my front door from an online purchase. While living in Minnesota at the time I had plenty of lakes to choose from. There are three rivers that pass around the Twin Cities (Mississippi River, Minnesota River, Crow River) and I used them as a perimeter for the lakes I would paddle. Using a paper map, I outlined the rivers and counted the lakes within their boundaries. There were 132 (Land of 10,000 lakes eat your heart out). I set out that summer to paddle them all. Early in the morning before work, on a two hour break during work, late at night after work, days off, etc. I paddled my ass off. To find these lakes I just looked for blue spots on the map and went to check them out. Some of them were hidden gems, some were swamps. I even found myself paddling a lake on a golf course on the 17th hole just before the green.
I finished that summer paddling 85 of the 132 lakes. After several hikes in and driving around looking for an entry point to the lake I realized that the goal had served its purpose. It demanded that I explore and paddle. After paddling several lakes that were only 200 yards around and 3 feet deep I opted to exit the goal and stick with the dozens of lakes I found that were outstanding. It got me outside. Your paddle board can do the same with the right motivation.
Try this strategy on your local waterways. Find them, paddle them. You don’t need others recommendations or experiences to create your own. Just get out there and do it, then come back and tell your friends about it. Don’t wait for them to do it and tell you about it.
"You can make paddle boarding as much or as little as you want it. Bring it with you on your expeditions or leave it at your cabin. The choice is yours."
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