Being a sporty sort of chap, I have been in the habit of carrying my SUP paddle with me in the back of my truck wherever I go. You never know when you mind find yourself in a position to paddle a SUP, and it would be heartbreaking not to have a paddle with you.
This arrangement worked well until the last time I was at Bira racing circuit. I put down the back of the truck so I could climb in the back and take photos from an elevated position; then I drove home. On the way I heard a sort of a bang, but ignored it. When I got home I discovered I had left the back of the truck in the down position, and the paddle had escaped. Damn.
Yesterday I bought a new paddle. It’s the latest Starboard offering and I don’t know how good it is as a paddle yet, but it’s incredibly light and it looks very smart:
So I put it into my trailer and headed out onto Sukhumvit Road to go home. In a couple of hundred metres I caught a glimpse of something flying out the back of my truck. Was it a plane? Was it a bird? No, it was my new paddle, so light that it just jumped out the truck and rattled down the road.
By the time I had slowed and parked, there was a mass of traffic carefully negotiating round it. I ran down the road as first one and then two buses had to stop as they could not negotiate round the paddle. The two drivers seemed most amused as a panting, sweating farang rushed to retrieve his length of carbon. The cars piled up behind them were probably less amused.
Amazingly, just a bit of road rash, so it is strong too. I must try not to lose it (again).