Rod Price Adventure

Rod Price’s Journey to the Yukon 1000 Mile Race

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:48:23 +0000

Racing to the Yukon begins with Rod Price’s less that fun realization that he is not as young as he used to be. He had just turned forty and in an attempt to prove he still “had it” Rod entered what he would consider today to be a rather puny canoe race… 12 miles. He thought he had prepared for the race by dropping ten pounds and going to the gym. But his preparation fell short as if he had played a round of golf in preparation for The Masters. Let’s just say he got that part of him that rides in the canoe kicked royally. Worse yet, most of his old canoe racing buddies had a great laugh at his expense.

If anyone has ever wondered why boxers, quarterbacks and other athletes come out of retirement for one last ill advised attempt at former glory, Racing to the Yukon will answer that question. It just burned Rod that he was beaten by guys he could have smoked in his sleep only ten years before.

This is when Rod Price’s true adventure begins, when he grits his teeth and decides internally that come hell or literal high water he will get back in shape and be better than he ever was. And whatever races he needed to win in order to prove it he would win!

Getting to know Rod Price

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:13:48 +0000

These days Rod Price wears many hats. He is still an avid Canoe Racer. He organizes canoe and Kayak races for charitable causes. Rod is a fervent environmentalist. More for camaraderie than profit, Rod is a part time river guide. And of course Rod Price continues to work at his business selling office supplies just as the rest of us do, to earn a living and pay for his fun during time off.

Rod Price – Active Canoe Racer

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:11:39 +0000

As a canoe racer Rod Price is among the best in the world. It seems some people are built for different things. While agile young girls seem born to gymnastics, husky muscular shouldered fellows like Rod are suited just fine to pulling a paddle through water. Rod continues to race almost every weekend all around the Southeast with focus on his home state of Florida. During winter, Florida is a Canoe racer’s paradise Rod takes advantage of this with races down (and up) famous rivers such as Al Jolson’s “Suwannee” as well as backwater spring fed streams known only to locals and named long ago by the Native Americans.

All that river work preps Rod Price for huge challenges such as his latest plan to race in the 460 mile Yukon River Race. Unlike the more sedate though grueling due to its length Yukon 1000, the 460 miler takes place earlier in the year when snow melt unleashes a wild and woolly Yukon river.

Canoe and Kayak Race Organizing

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:03:41 +0000

As a race organizer Rod Price has but one objective and that is to share his love of nature as seen from the seat of a canoe. Rod organizes events of all size with the idea in mind that anyone can enter, paddle their arms off and have fun along the way. There is always a charity set to benefit from Rod’s canoe races and in fact any group or good cause is always welcome to contact Rod for help in organizing events. Just don’t let Rod enter against you!

Rod Price also assists in organizing Canoe and Kayak races for other hard core adventure racers such as himself. If there is a puddle of water anywhere deep enough to float a canoe you can be sure Rod and his fellow canoe racing enthusiasts will stage a race across it, especially if the terrain is rough and tumble.

Environmental Interests and Efforts

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:01:24 +0000

While training for and racing in over 1000 Canoe races Rod Price has encountered and come to appreciate the natural pristine state our planet started as. When one travels deep inland as Rod often does for his races, one sees a different side of the Earth. As such Rod Price is a staunch believer in caring for our planet. He practices “Green” behavior both in and out of the water, adhering to the motto “leave nothing but footprints” or in Rod’s case leave nothing but ripples in your wake. Rod has come to truly love nature and is a regular contributor to such organizations as the Friends of the Wekiva River and the World Wildlife Federation.

Rod Price – Experienced River Guide

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:58:07 +0000

Want to see the real Florida? No not Disney or Shamu, those places are great in their own way but the real Florida is the one Ponce Deleon discovered while looking for the fountain of youth. He never found it. Rod Price may not be able to lead you to the fountain of youth but he does offer a unique series of tours to some of the most beautiful spots in all of Florida. Rod is intensely familiar with all every major waterway in Florida and has available all manner of canoes with which to personally guide you or your group. Be ready to see otters and alligators when Rod Price conducts you into almost primeval locations filled with fascinating wildlife and plant life. Whether you are into birds, butterflies or manatees Rod Price knows where they live and will show you these and all the animals unique to the original Florida.

The 300 Mile Florida Everglades Challenge

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:54:13 +0000

Ever wonder what it would be like to be sitting in a canoe at two in the morning the middle of the Everglades? The river of grass as it is called is probably the last place you want to be stranded at, cold, wet and waiting for sunrise. Still, Rod Price remembers his several attempts to win the Everglades Challenge fondly as he retells in an entertaining first person narrative of this and so many of his Canoe racing adventures. Eventually, Rod and his partner for the race won the Everglades Challenge but not before a few tough efforts. Rod Price’s adventures in the the Everglades are just a few of the happy anecdotal rememberings shared in “Racing to the Yukon”.

The 90 Mile Adirondack Canoe Classic

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:51:14 +0000

Every year Rod Price travels away from his home state of Florida to the Adirondack Mountains in upper New York. It is as Rod calls it “One of the most beautiful places on earth” But Rod doesn’t go there for the change of seasons, he travels to upper New York just for one reason and that is to race in the yearly Adirondack canoe race. After several failed attempts Rod succeeded in winning the 90 mile three day race for three years in a row! His early attempts at this challenging race, along with Rod’s unique first person humor allow readers of “Racing to the Yukon” to truly enjoy the more “anyone can” aspects of canoe racing. A fine example of Rod’s early canoe racing occurs when he discovers during his first attempt at the Adirondack Canoe race that the overland portaging segments of the race were harder that the paddling. You will especially enjoy reading about the steps Rod takes to triumph in this race.

The Great Amazon River Raft Race

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:50:10 +0000

One would think that Rod Price would have enough seen enough adventure trekking through the Adirondack Mountains with a canoe hoisted over his head and fighting off alligators in the rivers of Florida. But for Rod the allure of a place unknown is just too irresistible. That is why Rod found himself once again sitting in wet shorts with a paddle in his hands as he joined three friends for the Great Amazon River Raft race. As a fun sidebar section of “Racing to the Yukon” Rod shares with us his trip down to Peru and into the heart of untamed South America for the Annual build it yourself balsa wood raft race. Contestants range from dedicated locals who need to win the race in order to earn a living to other traveling adventurers like Rod who are there for the challenge and the immersion into a different culture.

The Yukon 1000 The world’s longest canoe race

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:49:19 +0000

Rod Price’s trip down the Amazon paddling a water logged four man river raft was all part of his cross training in preparation for the Yukon 1000, “The world’s longest canoe race.” Aside from the obvious trial of paddling a canoe for a long 1000 miles, the Yukon 1000 presented Rod with obstacles such as rapids one moment and flat still lakes the next. While many of Rod’s competitors were content to literally “go with the flow” and let the current carry them, Rod and partner Ardie were bent upon two things. One was to win the race in record time. The other was to get to a warm bed and a hot meal ASAP.