Kayakers stir up Midwest's waterways
BY JOE KAY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The bright red paddlewheel smacks the Ohio River in a rolling cadence, churning
a path through the mud-hued water. Trailing the riverboat is a solitary blue
kayak, riding the waves.

Steering with a double-ended paddle, a mustachioed man in a weathered baseball
cap darts through the froth. Passengers on the paddlewheeler are intrigued by
this meeting of Mark Twain-era transportation and jet-age recreation.

"You can get on one of those big waves, and it is unbelievable in terms of the
thrill of the ride," said Brewster Rhoads, a political consultant who kayaks the
river most days. "You can just surf it like with a surfboard. My record is 43
minutes on the same wave."


There aren't many waves like it around these parts. Paddlers in the Midwest have
to be inventive to enjoy one of the country's fastest-growing recreational
activities.

They are. Wherever there's water - pristine or polluted, in the heart of a city
or out in the hinterlands - there's likely to be a paddle stirring it.

Annual surveys indicate that kayaking has doubled in popularity since 1998. The
Outdoor Industry Foundation, which encourages outdoor activities, estimates that
12.6 million people got into a kayak last year. About 2 million of them kayak
regularly.

Most kayakers live in the West and Northeast. Lately, more women have been
taking up the sport - a 5 percent increase in the latest survey. About 45
percent of kayakers are female.

Although kayaking appeals to all age groups, it is particularly attractive to
those between 16 and 24.

"The younger generation is looking for more risky-type sports, something to test
their limits more," said Kara Lorenz, a 21-year-old Northern Kentucky University
student who has two kayaks. "That's what attracts a lot of young people to
kayaking and snowboarding."

In the Midwest, part of the fun is finding unusual places to test the limits.

Only a few strokes from downtown Cleveland, a guide directs five kayakers clear
of the barges and ore freighters in the working harbor on the Cuyahoga River.
Guide Mark Pecot explains the history of the six moving bridges and riverside
businesses they pass.

The group also touches a sore spot in the city's history - the place where
industrial discharge on the river caught fire in 1969.

"We're paddling through our industrial past," said Pecot, co-owner of 41 North
Coastal Kayak Adventures.

This three-hour "Burning River Tour" is one of several river and Lake Erie
excursions offered by the organization, which provides kayak lessons as well.

The trips are popular - business has increased in each of 41 North's four years.

"People find it fascinating," said Pecot, who also teaches history at St. Edward
High School in nearby Lakewood. "When you're in a kayak surrounded by huge
industrial bridges that lift and lower and you get tugboats and barges and the
other traffic moving, it has a way of making you feel very small. It's an
exciting feeling."

Back on the Ohio River, Rhoads paddles up to a dock across from downtown
Cincinnati.

It's a sunny afternoon. A steady stream of traffic rumbles across a nearby
bridge that links Ohio and Kentucky. Sunlight glints off tinted office windows
looking down on the river.

A 30-minute kayak trip has revitalized Rhoads, who married into a family of
paddlers and loves his time on the water.

"Every day is different," he said, after changing back into a dress shirt and
pants for a business meeting. "The wind conditions. The water conditions. The
sun angles. When the sun is reflecting off the downtown skyscrapers, it's just
stunning. So impressive."

He's not surprised to find more kayakers sharing the river these days. The sport
is growing, in part because it can be so captivating.

"There's something about water," Rhoads said. "It's a calming force. It's deep
in my blood."

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