Reno-Tahoe

Things in Reno have been good. I have been boating most everyday with either of my two paddling partners, Macy and Jason. Jason Craig made a really cool short video of me that is posted on the Jackson Kayak web site. He is obviously very talented at his young age and I can hardly wait to see what he puts together in the future. Other then that I am still bird hunting a couple mornings a week, and wrestling during the evenings. I keep the paddling for the "heat’ of the day.

I just got back from week up in Eugene for the holiday and some great kayaking. My first day there I went up the Mckenzie River and got a great high water session in at a rapid called Clover. The bottom left hole was fast and foamy allowing for as good of aerial tricks as any hole I have ever been in. Lots of Front and back loops, and Space Godzillas was the name of the game. Even a fat boy like me can sometimes fly! I got a couple more sessions in there during the week, and every time it was sweet. It brought back a lot of old memories and that was fun as well.

During the last few weeks I have really revved up the time in my kayak. We still have low water, though it looks like storms are finally coming, but nonetheless the kayaking has still been good. Like usual I have been boating at least a few days a week with my buddy Jason Craig. He is paddling really well and he some how always seems to make my time on the water more fun.

The Reno-Tahoe Blog will occasionally feature entries from athletes sponsored by Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Jay Kincaid, professional kayaker, has been paddling over half of his lifetime, and is back to blog about his life as a professional kayaker living in Reno, NV. As 2003 Freestyle Kayaking World Champion, 2001 U.S. National Champion and three-time U.S. Point Series Champion, Jay is the most proud of the many first descents he’s done on rivers and waterfalls in his native Oregon and in California.

The 2006 season has been really fun and very productive.

I spent the early Spring living and kayaking in Reno. We had tons of water this year and that conveniently made for an ideal training and playing location. With Macy Burnham, Rusty Sage, Jamie Cooper, and Jason Craig in town it seemed that I always had someone awesome to paddle with.

The first event of the season for me was the Brush Creek Race at the Kern River Festival. The Kern Fest turned out to be a great time with lots of paddlers in the area and high water on the creek. With tons of spectators and a really good class of racers the Brush Creek Race turned out to be one of the most fun races I have ever been part of. I made one mistake that cost me a couple of seconds and put me in 3rd place. Without that mistake I would have moved up to second place but I still wouldn’t have caught EJ who basically destroyed the rest of the field. After the event was over I spent the next day doing clinics on the water for the event which was also very fun.

The next event was the American River Festival. The water level was weird and all week long we trained at different features not knowing what to expect for the competition but determined to have as much fun as possible, as we always do. The morning of the competition the event was moved to a small wave that could be really good one ride and pretty hard the next, and that made for a fun competition. I won the prelims with two good rides and then got beat by Stephen Wright and EJ in the final to finish 3rd. Jackson Kayak sweep number one.

From there Stephen and I did a little Jackson Kayak dealer visit tour. We first went to Portland Oregon to see Alder Creek and paddle at the Clackamas river and Joe bob’s at an awesome level. The we headed to the Alder Creek store in Bend and paddled at a little know spot called Area 51. Basically we just wanted to personally touch base with Alder Creek, answer any questions if there were any, and let them know that we appreciate having them as a dealer.

That next weekend Jackson Kayak did a one water day with Reno Mountain Sports in Reno. After a in store visit we headed to the water doing clinics and demo boats all day long. I love Reno and I love to see my people paddling Jackson Kayak, almost as much as they love doing it.

Up next was my personal favorite event, the Reno River Festival. For me this means a solid week of media engagements leading up to the event usually starting at 6am. I don’t mind though as I love promoting the event and seeing the 20,000 plus people who showed up for the weekend makes it all worth while. The usual suspects were there and I was ready to dominate as I take a lot of pride in how I paddle at my home feature. It turns out that as well as I paddled, and as much fun as I had, I didn’t have my best ride at the right time and I finished 3rd again. The next day consisted of the head to head race and I was determined to get my revenge. What I got in return was 3rd place in the Time Trial, another 3rd place finish in the race itself, and no revenge at all. It was however a lot of fun and can hardly waite for the event in 2007.

Next it was off to Colorado for a big sales event at CKS. The three day event consisted of clinics, demos, and time in the store itself. Together with Stephen Wright and Clay we had a great time both on the water and in the store. It is easy to call that weekend a success, as it indeed was.

From there it was on to a kayak club gathering and Jackson Kayak video showing in Colorado Springs. Clay and I meet up with the kayak club, showed a few video, held a Q&A session, and generally had a great time with everyone.

Steamboat Spring was the next stop. This year Paddler magazine held a pro-invitational that consisted of a extreme race and a freestyle event on the same day, with the goal of having a winner of the best overall paddler.

The race was on a fast and steep creek called Fish Creek. It was basically one long rapid with very cold water and lots of small technical moves. I ended up 3rd in the race which put me in prime position to win the overall if I fished well in the freestyle. The freestyle event was at a large powerful hole in downtown steam boat that was really my kind of spot. I was able to win and that gave me the overall title, and some more cash, which was quickly used as gas money.

Vail was next on the list. I have a long unfortunate history of finishing 2nd or 3rd in the freestyle event. If my memory is correct I have five 2nd places and one 3rd place with no victories. Unfortunately this year was no different except that it gave me that one 3rd place. The event was awesome though. The feature was challenging but still allowed for huge air that made it tons of fun for the crowd to watch. EJ and Stephen finished ahead of me making for another Jackson Kayak sweep. The head to head race was also a ton of fun even though I could swear that my throat is bleeding after each run.

The combination of high altitude and a 4 minute race make for some burning lungs to say the least. My time trial went great as I fished second and within a fraction of a second to EJ. During the race itself I again finished second which I felt pretty good about as EJ and I took the top two spots.

Later I found out that I was DQ’d for not touching a gate, and that put me in 4th place. I was really disappointed to be disqualified as I felt I had a great race and made no such infraction, but at the end of the day it was how it was. No problem, I will be back next year and ready to have fun again.

After Vail I had a break in my schedule. This allowed me to come back to Reno, paddle around home, and do a Main Salmon Trip with some good friends from Reno and Carson City. It was an awesome trip that mostly consisted of floating in a raft drinking the occasional beverage and fishing. I did get in my kayak a few days though, just enough to keep the guilt to a manageable level.

After the outdoor retailer it was on to the Ottawa River. First up was the U.S. Team Trials and in my opinion the most important event of the year, because if you aren’t on the U.S. Team, and you are American, you can not be World Champion. It was at a the famous Garborator Wave and I had lots of learning to do. I had not been on a wave in months and combine that with the ultra long lines in the eddy made for a slow challenging learning curve.

Come competition day I was mentally ready to compete, regardless of how I was physically paddling, and ended up making the Team again.

From then until the World Cup I was paddling better everyday but was also quickly becoming burnt out. By the time the World Cup began I believe that I had all of the physical and technical tools to win but wasn’t really into it, and as a result finished poorly. Burnout is really weird because it is not intentionall, and the only real cure is to taking a few days or a few weeks to simply do something different.

I am back out west now and have been paddling a handful of times the last few weeks and am really starting to feel the love for what I do as a complete package come back. I am planning on next week to be the begging of a new season for me and I am really starting to get excited about being on the water again. At first I felt guilty about being burnt out, but I just had to put it in perspective. I have spent well over half the days of my life on the water in a kayak and this is the first time that I had just had enough, after literally thousand of days. I am actually surprised it has not happened before, but am glad that it has gone away.

So, this fall is going to be filled with playing on and off the river, and I can hardly wait to wake up tomorrow and start a new day.

The Reno-Tahoe Blog will occasionally feature entries from athletes sponsored by Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Jay Kincaid, professional kayaker, has been paddling over half of his lifetime, and is back to blog about his life as a professional kayaker living in Reno, NV. As 2003 Freestyle Kayaking World Champion, 2001 U.S. National Champion and three-time U.S. Point Series Champion, Jay is the most proud of the many first descents he’s done on rivers and waterfalls in his native Oregon and in California.

Well the first World Cup event on the Ottawa is finally over. The river dropped down to a perfect flow and we couldn’t have asked for a better wave.

I trained my butt off everyday since the U.S Team Trials and was very confident and happy about the way that I was paddling, as well as feeling a bit burnt out and ready for a change of scenery. I kind of had some mixed emotions as I don’t like to train at the same feature for such a long period of time, but had to because the U.S. Team Trials and World Cup where back to back.

I didn’t paddle very well the first day for the prelims but was still able to make the cut to finals. Sunday morning, finals morning, I actually went out to the wave by myself and paddled for almost two hours, which is normally not something that I do before competing. I came up with a a whole new plan for my ride and was hitting it more often then not in practice.

So, finals stated and I was again competing. My first ride started off well, but I flushed for the first time all morning on my left Air Screw. My second ride started off really well. I stuck a perfect entry Helix, was getting huge air on all of my moves, and then landed weird on my left edge and carved off the wave with 15 seconds left. My last 15 seconds was reserved for my left Air Screw and my right Pan Am.

I missed the cut to the top 5 by 10 points, which is half of the score of an Air Screw. In the end I ended up 9th which was very disappointing. I trained very hard for that event and finishing 9th place is very hard for me to swallow. Like usual after a disappointing lose I have physically felt ill all day long. Not fun but something that has happened to me a few time before.

Now it is all about the comeback for me. With two events left I really need to finish well to make up for the slip up yesterday. I took today off resting and hanging out with Lisa and her Mom in Gananoque, which is only about 45 minutes from the 2nd event site in Watertown.

So, starting tomorrow it is back to training.

The Reno-Tahoe Blog will occasionally feature entries from athletes sponsored by Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Jay Kincaid, professional kayaker, has been paddling over half of his lifetime, and is back to blog about his life as a professional kayaker living in Reno, NV. As 2003 Freestyle Kayaking World Champion, 2001 U.S. National Champion and three-time U.S. Point Series Champion, Jay is the most proud of the many first descents he’s done on rivers and waterfalls in his native Oregon and in California.

Two and a half weeks ago I flew back to Reno from the Outdoor Retail Show packed up my stuff for two months, grabbed the dogs and started the cross country drive. As long as the drive was it actually went very well. I arrived on the Ottawa River three days later and have been here training, competing, fishing, and running my dogs ever since.

Last Wednesday was our U.S. team Trails. I was able to make the Team again, now for the 6th year. It was a tough flow at a wave called Garborator. The wave came up and the wave was very flushy. Combine that with the fact that I hadn’t really been on a wave in six months made for a stressful event for me. Relying more on my ability to compete then my current skill on a wave I was able to pull it out and make the team.

Since then I have been practicing as much as my body will allow as the first World Cup event is on that same wave this weekend. I have been making lots of progress and hope to be again paddling well come competition day.

So, that’s it for now. I will update you again after the weekend.

The Reno-Tahoe Blog will occasionally feature entries from athletes sponsored by Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Jay Kincaid, professional kayaker, has been paddling over half of his lifetime, and is back to blog about his life as a professional kayaker living in Reno, NV. As 2003 Freestyle Kayaking World Champion, 2001 U.S. National Champion and three-time U.S. Point Series Champion, Jay is the most proud of the many first descents he’s done on rivers and waterfalls in his native Oregon and in California.

Since my last update I have been kayaking, kayaking, and more kayaking.

Yesterday I met with about 30 members from every avenue of media down at the white water park and gave them a demonstration. That seemed to go well as everyone seemed very interested and there were smiles, clapping, and thumbs up from everyone.

The white water park has been really good but is finally starting to get low, as it has been dropping around 50 cfs a day for the last 10 days. So, this means that I am going to be moving my paddling sessions upstream to a little secret hole that I have, if it is still there after the floods this winter. My favorite hole upstream washed out two years ago, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Other then that I have been wrestling a couple of days a week Those who have known me for a long time know that I wrestled for years growing up, so I am enjoying doing a bit of that in my spare time.

I also finally finished the landscaping in the front and back yard. And I must say that if I was competing with my neighbors in the nice lawn competition, I would be dominating.

The Reno-Tahoe Blog will occasionally feature entries from athletes sponsored by Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Jay Kincaid, professional kayaker, has been paddling over half of his lifetime, and is back to blog about his life as a professional kayaker living in Reno, NV. As 2003 Freestyle Kayaking World Champion, 2001 U.S. National Champion and three-time U.S. Point Series Champion, Jay is the most proud of the many first descents he’s done on rivers and waterfalls in his native Oregon and in California.

The Reno-Tahoe Blog will occasionally feature entries from athletes sponsored by Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Jay Kincaid, professional kayaker, has been paddling over half of his lifetime, and is back to blog about his life as a professional kayaker living in Reno, NV. As 2003 Freestyle Kayaking World Champion, 2001 U.S. National Champion and three-time U.S. Point Series Champion, Jay is the most proud of the many first descents he’s done on rivers and waterfalls in his native Oregon and in California.

Before coming to Jackson Kayak I had worked for another kayak manufacturer for the better part of ten years. A lot of things had changed during that time and in the end the only thing that kept me there was the friends that I had made along the way. The truth was, and is, that those friends will be part of my life regardless of who I work for, but that didn’t make telling them that I was leaving any easier. When I finally called Robin Culver with the news it actually took me about five phone calls that day before I could get it out of my mouth. She, like all of my friends with Dagger was very gracious and supportive upon hearing the news, as I knew that they would be.

At that point in my kayaking career the move to Jackson Kayak was really a no-brainer for me. EJ, the Jackson family, and myself had been friends for years. I loved to paddle with Eric, and just as much loved to compete against him. For us the two have always gone hand in hand. Everyday that we are on the water together it is “game on” as I believe that for both of us that kayaking with out competition would somehow be very different. I trusted and believed very much in Eric’s fresh ideas and philosophies regarding kayak design, the future of our sport, and business in the paddle sports industry in general. So, when the time was right for me to come aboard, I did so jumping with both feet despite what anybody else thought that I should do.

The truth is that I have never worked for a more professional and friendly group of people in my life as I do now with Jackson Kayak, and that is saying something as I have been doing this a long time. We have what I believe to be the best product in the world, and even more importantly at the best value. Jackson kayak is a 1 percent for the planet company and is surrounded by people who are more then willing to give what they have so that others might have the opportunity to live better lives. It makes me very proud to be part of a company with great people, great product, and great values.

Team Jackson Kayak, meaning the company as a whole, as well as the athletes making up what is traditionally thought of as a team is something awesome to be part of. It is the first time in all my years of kayaking that I am surrounded by a group of people who genuinely want everyone to do well.

Stephen Wright will come down to the water to help me with my competition ride knowing full well that his help might result in him being outscored, and that is inspiring to me. The amazing thing is that everyone on the team is like that, like a true team should be.

A lot of people; acquaintances, old team members, media, and friends, questioned me when I made the move to Jackson Kayak. Eight months later I don’t hear those questions anymore. I am now in what I believe to be an enviable situation, and I look at the company that I work for and what we are doing and can only smile.

The Reno-Tahoe Blog will occasionally feature entries from athletes sponsored by Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place. Jay Kincaid, professional kayaker, has been paddling over half of his lifetime, and is back to blog about his life as a professional kayaker living in Reno, NV. As 2003 Freestyle Kayaking World Champion, 2001 U.S. National Champion and three-time U.S. Point Series Champion, Jay is the most proud of the many first descents he’s done on rivers and waterfalls in his native Oregon and in California.

I am back out west from Colorado. The Teva Mountain Games went well but I am glad that it is over. I raced really well in the head to head race finishing in second in the time trial, less then 5/100’s behind EJ. I also finished second in the actual race, behind EJ, and in front of Tao and Brad Ludden in the final heat. Much to my surprise one of the gate judges said that I missed a mandatory gate, and that resulted in a disqualification, putting E in fourth place. I am not really sure of how exactly that mistake happened but never the less it was disappointing to be disqualified after being so fast all day.

The freestyle event in Vail has been my long time nemesis. I have finished in the top three there five out of the six time that I have competed and have never won. This year I finished third which was again disappointing, but the good news is that we once again had a Jackson Kayak sweep. Actually 5 of the 6 medals from the men’s and women’s classes went to Jackson Kayaks.

I like to call that DOMINATION!

EJ won and Stephen was seond, both having unbelievable rides.

So, I drove back to Reno after the event as fast as I could trying for an unofficial World Record. The way I see it is that if I wasn’t speeding I was wasting time. I made it from Vail to Reno in 12 hours and 15 minutes. You might want to Map Quest that one to get full appreciation.

I spent one day in Reno, surfed at the play park,and then hit the road for the Northern California Coast, and the home of Kokatat. I will be here until Thursday morning and then it is back to Reno for a few days.

I am looking forward to those days at home.