My Perfect Day | DieselFish Dragon Boat Team

DieselFish’s Minister of Newbie Happiness describes his perfect Saturday.

By Alex Ling

It's Alex's perfect day, so he gets to supply his own photo.

9:30 AM: I never sleep in on Saturdays because I don’t like wasting my mornings. I need to get out of bed and do something. Today, I’m psyched because I get to paddle with my dragon boat buddies.

9:45 AM: I arrive at DieselFish's practice site in Redwood City. I live nearby and there’s no traffic, so it only takes me 15 minutes to get there. DieselFish is a Silicon Valley team—we service the South Bay and Peninsula.

I walk through the gate, and it feels like home. I’m instantly greeted by my teammates. We kill time by talking about random stuff—our Friday night adventures, new restaurants and our favorite episodes of “Game of Thrones”. I love hanging out with these people.

10:00 AM: Practice starts. A newbie has joined us for her first dragon boat practice! I’m the Minister of Newbie Happiness, so I get her loaner equipment and provide a quick lesson.

10:30 AM: We are on the boat and paddling hard!

The newbie is doing OK. I show her how to improve her form. I'm not a drill sergeant. I never yell at the newbies, because paddling should be fun. Instead, I offer lots of encouragement.

10:40 AM: I spot a seal! We see lots of critters while we’re paddling. A while ago, we saw a shark!

It feels amazing to be outside on a day like this. The sun is out, but it’s not blazing hot. The water looks as smooth and shiny as glass. A slight breeze blows through the air and my hair. You can’t get experiences like this when you work out in a sweaty gym.

11:00 AM: The crew is dead quiet and on edge, because we’re about to practice a race piece.

“GO!” yells the coach.

The boat begins to chug through the water, gaining power with every stroke.

“UP! UP! UP!” we yell. We shorten our strokes to quicken our pace.

Every stroke feels heavy. Each gasp of air isn’t enough….

We finally reach the finish line. I’m exhausted, but I feel great.

I’m proud because no one in the crew dropped out to rest—not even the newbie. Moments like this make me proud to be a DieselFish. We worked hard together and overcame a difficult challenge. That is what dragon boat is all about.

 

12:00 PM: IT’S LUNCH TIME. This is my favorite part of the DieselFish experience. We head over to Zadna, a casual Mediterranean restaurant in Redwood City.

I order the lamb shawarma, which is always tender and flavorful.

The table eats slowly and talks excitedly about a variety of topics. Some of us are playing the new Destiny video game. Many of us are going to see the new “Star Wars” movie tonight. A few of us talk about the new tax bill that was passed.

1:30 PM: I head home for a warm shower and short nap.

2:00 PM: I think about my day, and realize how lucky I am. Then, I start writing a blog post about my perfect day. Sometimes, the posts write themselves.

Saturday mornings with DieselFish are filled with fitness, food and friends. Email me at dfcaptains@gmail.com for free dragon boat lessons in Redwood City!