"Michael Daly" wrote:
On 22-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:

So, is my cadence a reasonable one for a "regular" paddler?

For a regular paddler, the correct cadence is the one you
are comfortable with.

Mike

Thank you Mike, for a very "zen" answer.

Ok, forget the "regular" part. Much earlier in life (deep voice: many,
many moons ago...) I used to run a lot, and while the enthusiasm was
there, I wasn't keeping up with the older but better runners. One of
them pointed out to me that my running style was rather short and
choppy, and if I changed to a more flowing stride, rolling from heel to
toe, it might help. It took several weeks before I felt comfortable
with the new stride, but once I "got it", I covered more ground faster,
with less fatigue and muscle strain.

Not long after that, I got into long-distance touring by bike, and a
similar evolution happened. A kind fellow traveller pointed out that my
cadence was very slow due to use of too-high gears. After
experimenting, I came up with a cadence of 70-90 rpm at a medium gear,
which I could do for hours.

Now that I have taken up kayak touring, I'm asking whether a slower
cadence, with a longer power stroke is better than a shorter,
higher-cadence power stroke, or whether a low-power but high-cadence
stroke (as with a greenland paddle, I guess) will give me the ability to
paddle all day, cover long distances, but be able to actually enjoy the
area I'm paddling through from beginning to end.

Paul

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