Triangle To-Do: Stand-Up Paddleboarding
The Triangle isn’t exactly the first location you think about when wanting to learn a sport that originated hundreds of years ago in Hawaii as a means of every-day travel. Then again, it’s the presence of this kind of widely diverse cultural mix that makes our home so unique.
Triangle Glides is a Raleigh-based company that provides stand-up paddleboarding lessons and Segway tours. While most people are familiar with the two-wheeled Segway and the downtown streets they venture along, fewer folks would recognize the large, surfboard-shaped vehicle called a paddleboard. They are very similar to a surfboard but tend to be substantially more buoyant for use on flat water and small waves. That, and they’re propelled by a paddle.
Stand-up paddleboarding is a great way to explore regional waterways and the sport is growing tremendously. Today, boards are made for different conditions, from mountain whitewater to double-overhead barrels in the Outer Banks. They also provide a terrific form of exercise.
Triangle Glides offer 90 minute group lessons for $60 on Lake Wheeler. For another $30, you can have a private lesson. Should you like your lesson enough to pick up the sport, Triangle Glides also sells boards. Great Outdoor Provision Company and REI sell stand-up paddleboards as well.
Since so many of us vacation at regional beaches, stand-up paddleboarding can be a great new sport for the kids. Our state is lined with extraordinary waterways and aquatic environments perfect for the quiet, smooth ride of a paddleboard. Bring the camera and some lunch for the shore.