A) Where is the Cheat River?
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Maryland
- Pennsylvania
B) Is the Cheat a tributary of:
- The Potomac
- The Monongahela
- The Ohio
- The Shenandoah
C) What does the Indian name of the Cheat "Achsinhanac" mean?
- Stony River
- Treacherous River
- Canoe-Eating River
- Sky Tainted River
D) Does the name "Cheat" come from:
- a French explorer (or an Indian) named Cheat
- an abundance of cheat grass along its banks
- deceptively deep sections containing whirlpools that presumably "cheated" men of their lives by drowning them
- the gambling activity that used to take place in the area when it was colonized
Answers (to be read AFTER trying to answer the questions... no cheating, OK?):
A:2 and 4; B: 2; C: 1; D: maybe 1, 2 and 3 but no good document about this
Now, to know more about the Cheat River, you can always check out this Wikipedia Article.
Paddling The Cheat
Right now, the goal of your training is to prepare you to Paddle the Cheat and ultimately, enter the race, if this is something you would like to do . The section of the Cheat we paddle is about 10-mile long, from Albright to Jenkinsburg in West Virginia (see map below). This is a long stretch! And you need to be in shape, in order to not run out of steam half way through the run. You will soon notice that all these attainment workouts and long downriver paddles will serve you well.The Cheat is a "big volume" river with many rapids. The five largest rapids are:
- Big Nasty
- Tear Drop
- High Falls
- Coliseum
- Pete Morgan
But do not fear, this river will not fail to keep you on your toes with many other "not so small" rapids. You can find the description of the river and the various rapids on the American Whitewater page. Another goal of your training is to get you to a point where you will know every single rapid very well.
The Cheat race, which occurs every year the first Friday of May, is the largest whitewater race in the United States. Last year, more than 150 participants entered the competition. The beauty of it all is that... all paddlers start the race at the same time in one gigantic and chaotic mass start. One more reason to wear a helmet that day! The race is a lot of fun. Some paddlers enter it to win it, some do so to enjoy the beautiful canyon and a nice day on the river in good company and others challenge and push themselves all the way to the finish line, but all are in good spirit.
This short slide-show should give you an idea of what Cheat Training and the race are all about. Listen carefully! There are some good pieces of advice to keep in mind in there!! You will hear words like "pacing", "keeping it smoooothe"...etc ;o)
