THE ACTUAL CHALLENGE It felt a little surreal when we met in Town Falls car park at 09:00 on Saturday . Like most of the group , I have paddled the Dee more than I remember . We all love this river immensely , but 24 hours is still a long time . Luckily everyone seemed excited to get started ! We geared up and walked up the hill to the canal , where we would start each lap .
It didn ’ t take us too long to paddle up the canal and onto the river . Being white water kayakers – this was obviously our favourite part ! I soon realised the BEST part though was the boat ramp to get onto the river . The flat water paddle up the canal each time was made significantly better with the knowledge that three seconds of ramp excitement awaited you at the top ! You may think I ’ m being sarcastic , but I promise you I ’ m not . It was the genuine highlight of every lap !
The river was fun because kayaking on white water is the best ! We received a tremendous amount of support from other paddlers on the river . Every time we passed a raft , the guide would get all the customers to cheer us on and give us a round of applause . There were heaps of paddlers at mile end mill and many of them would cheer and shout words of encouragement each time we passed . It was lovely and helped hugely to keep us motivated .
BIGGEST FANS Our biggest fans were waiting for us on the bridge at Town Falls each lap . These fans were our core support crew , including the most awesome trio . This was Niamh ’ s mum Amanda , little sister Sophie , and then Ibbo ’ s girlfriend , Kerry . Each lap we came down they rallied the entire bridge and got them to cheer loudly for us . All whilst encouraging donations to the charities . They were hugely influential in our fundraising over the weekend , and their efforts were very appreciated !
ThePADDLER 21