Blog - The Naked Kayaker

Sunny beginner paddle on the Rotte River

10/28/2018

Anton, Kim, Anais, and Francisco in the lock between the Kralingse Plas and the Rotte River

Today we have a guest post by friend and fellow Never Dry member, Nathalie! She writes about a beginner day trip on the Rotte River that I (Nena) organized for new members of the club. Edited and commented by Nena, with comment in brackets [].

Today I went on my first official kayak tour with Never Dry!! Destination: Café Oud Verlaat along the Rotte River. [Nathalie and I were joined by Marieke, Francisco, Berend, Kim, Anais, Anton, and Iede, a very energetic, happy, and enthusiastic group!]

The day began with a lot of rain and even some thunder, which made me unsure of whether we would make it to our destination (easily). I rode my bike to the club, arriving damp but excited to paddle and ready to prepare for the trip.

Snapshots from Canoeing and BBQing in the Biesbosch (Time Capsule)

10/22/2018

Arriving at the lunch spot!

Last May, Anais and Anton invited us to join them an a couple Canadian friends on a canoeing day trip and BBQ in the Biesbosch. Fully aware of the culinary abilities of A&A, we enthusiastically said Yes!

How to win a dragon boat race without practicing!

9/5/2018

There goes our combined Never Dry - RCC - Staatsbosbeheer team!

It was an unusually hot sunny morning as I cycled down the Rotte River towards Crooswijksebocht (literally: Duckweed District Bend, where "bend" refers to the bend in the River). As I approached the bend, I saw a colorful crowd milling on the riverbank. Overheating, I removed my sweatshirt to reveal a bright blue t-shirt: our club uniform. I locked my bike on one of the many temporary bike racks and wandered into the crowd, keeping an eye out for other blue-shirted people.

A watery tour of Linschoten, Montfoort, and Oudewater

7/28/2018

Paddling through the centrum of Oudewater, at the intersection of the Linschoten and the Ijssel River

Linschoten is a small village (~3500 inhabitants) in the Netherlands, between Gouda and Utrecht. Juliette, a fellow kayaking club member, recently moved there, and planned a trip for all of us to explore the area by kayak. This day trip took us from the town of Linschoten through some canals to Montfoort. From there, we rode the Hollandse Ijssel River to the old town of Oudewater, turning right onto the Lange Linschoten River. This lead us back to the starting point, but not before stopping at a "tea garden" along the way!

Sunset over the Maas River in Rotterdam

7/18/2018

One bridge permanently up, and the other just opening, and another in the distance. Two kayakers playing in the swirling water.

Today I'm just sharing a handful of photos from this evening's paddle on the Maas River in Rotterdam! The city shines at this hour. Led by Erik and Iede, a big group of paddlers (I didn't even count) went for a paddle through Rotterdam. We caught a nice river current on the way back.

Riding the IJssel River from Dieren to Olst (Overnight Trip)

7/12/2018

Paddling past the city of Zutphen on the IJssel River

Last weekend (my birthday weekend!) I spent two extremely sunny days paddling along the IJssel River in good company, with plenty of assistance from the currents. We encountered sandy and very muddy beaches, swirling river currents, a little bit of wildlife (including a partying kayak-polo team), and an evening circus! Read on for photos, a map, and the story.

"Patatje met tocht" aka "french fries and a paddle" to Rotterdam centrum

3/24/2018

This photo really captures the essence of this paddle!

As I pack my bags for a paddling trip tomorrow, I realize I've forgotten to finish this post about a recent trip to Rotterdam centrum. A couple weeks ago Joachim organized a relaxing/low-key trip from the kayaking club on Kralingse Plas to the center of Rotterdam. We took a different route into Rotterdam than in previous trips. We saw a number of iconic Rotterdam sites, and ended up in the heart of the city during the peak of the Saturday market. â€‹Read on for a short post with plenty of photos from a wintery urban paddle!

Surprise! Kayaking in December is warmer than biking in December...

12/2/2017

Two days ago I sent a message to the Never Dry club WhatsApp group to ask if anyone wanted to go paddling this weekend. The guilt of not using my new boat yet was building up (busy weekends!), and there was no rain in the forecast. But with temperatures hovering right around freezing, I was secretly hoping no one would respond, so I'd have an excuse to stay in my cozy warm apartment.

Exploring my new city by kayak: Rotterdam on the Maas River

8/27/2017

Iede chatting with the Port of Rotterdam, who scolded us for paddling the wrong direction and commenced stalking us...

Back in May (how did that happen?) I went on one of my favorite Dutch paddling trips so far: the Maas River in my new city of Rotterdam, with Iede, Marianne, Erik, and Adrian. The great thing about it is that you can get there from the club if you're willing to go through a small lock and carry your boat across a giant intersection in downtown Rotterdam... :D

Day trip on the Linge River from Tiel to Buren, and why people kayak

5/16/2017

Taking out our boats in the center of Buren, where we ran into another kayak club!

My alarm went off at 7am on Sunday. At any other time of year, getting up would have been a challenge. Thanks to the long days that the Dutch latitude (52 degrees) bestows us, it was palatable. In what's becoming a weekend routine, I strapped my lunch and dry clothes on the back of my bike and swung a sizable duffle bag of kayak gear over my shoulder. It always takes a bit of extra effort to get the bike moving when it's loaded down this way. But thanks to the lack of topographic variability, the 12 minute bike ride to the kayak club is easy once you're rolling. Some aspects of Dutch life just need reframing to see the bright side.