Here's a way to keep in paddle shape, without even getting wet. For the low low price of $2,450, you, too can buy SpeedStroke Gym, a kayak (or canoe) ergometer that mimics the exact motion of the paddle stroke, all on a user-friendly work out machine.
But wait, just like a Ginsu Knife set, there's more. Now, KayakPro, the New Rochelle, N.Y.-based maker of the SpeedStroke Gym that supplied kayak ergometers to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has announced Virtua-Race Interactive paddling.
Almost like a Wii, but with more realistic motions and an industrial strength paddling machine, Virtua-Race Interactive let's paddlers hook up their SpeedStroke Gyms, and through the wonders of an Internet connect, take on other kayakers from around the world on four virtual courses. You can race head to head, or simply work through training regimens together.
"SpeedStroke Gym is already the choice of the World's top paddlers- but Virtua-Race adds a whole new dimension to Indoor kayaking," says KayakPro president Grayson Bourne.
The virtual courses look cool, too. A couple have Venice-like city scapes, while others are on Grand Canyon-like river gorges.And once you have the ergometer, the software to use it with is only $250. Hey, that's the cost of specialty marketing.
You can find the machines, and the software, at KayakPro's site, as well as select retailers that are listed there.
And apparently, when it comes to simulated paddling, these guys know what they're talking about. The company says that it supplied five of the six current World Champion paddlers with its machines, as well as Canadian Adam Van Koeverden, silver medal winner in the K1 500 meter race in Beijing.
I can only imagine reaching those heights, either in Olympic paddling competition, or even virtually against guys like these. But as winter sets in, this seems like a perfect way to stay motivated, and keep in shape.
Now, I just wonder. Can you fit it under the tree?
Merry Christmas.
