#YouDoNew - Stand Up Paddle Boarding

All summer I've been eager for a chance to try the newest activity trend - stand up paddle boarding (or SUP).

I've been seeing posts all over social media about it, and figured that during my mid-week weekend I'd take an afternoon to go give it a shot.

I had never been to this part of Tecumseh before, where Riverside Drive ends and lavish backyards end at canals connected to Lake St Clair, and pulling up to Urban Surf Co. I felt like I was outside of Essex County. The tropical summer theme of docks, along with the numerous boards, kayaks, and canoes in the water and on nearby racks had me feeling like I was in Florida.

The staff were all super friendly, and in short order we were learning the basics of SUP-ing and climbing onto our boards.

I'm not the most balanced of people, so I fully expected to fall off immediately, I just hoped it would be into the water rather than onto the dock. Turns out this was way easier that I expected, and after a quick explanation of how to properly board the board I was loaded and moving off.

The day of our adventure there were heavy winds and we were advised to avoid the lake, so we headed left off the docks, under a bridge and into some very nice canals running through a residential area.

We took a turn around a stand of trees and quickly began to encounter wildlife - sun bathing turtles, Canada geese hopping ungracefully from the water onto land, very large and very small fish, and a few wading birds that I couldn't identify, and a mother duck swimming along with her adorable babies.

We were moving swiftly past large backyards for about twenty minutes before I finally lost my balance and beefed into the warm shallow water. I didn't lose my sunglasses, and it was actually a nice way to cool off, so I didn't mind at all.

We spent about an hour paddling around the area, and I was in love practically from the beginning. Before we even had our boards turned in I was trying to make plans with my boyfriend about when we could go again. There are other rental locations in the area that I hope to try out before the summer ends, and I might even try to find some more in Michigan. I've already started looking through the Tecumseh canals on Google Maps to see how far they go to get a better idea of what I can find on the next excursion, and I totally can't wait.

If this were the kind of activity that I could get a summer-long membership to, I definitely would. As it is, I'm pretty interested to try the Sunset Paddle and SUP Fitness classes held at Urban Surf Co, in addition to hitting up some other locations.

All in all, stand up paddle boarding was a complete win, and I'm so glad that I decided to give it a go!

#YouDoNew - Week 4 - July 31 to August 7