Fort Collins canoer prepares to paddle 250 miles to buy a few cows

At 5 a.m. while Fort Collins is still peacefully at rest, the sun has yet to rise and the Sunday paper hasn’t hit the doorstep, Rob Bean is already strapped into his royal blue lifejacket and unloading his 23-foot-long, sleek and narrow boat. These days he is often the first out on the pond—hearing the birds sing their first chirp and watching a family of muskrats playfully chase him through the otherwise still waters.

Beaver Pond, in Arapaho Bend Natural Area sits just off Harmony Road on Strauss Cabin Road, but during the early morning hours, it becomes a private getaway.

“It’s a great relaxing thing for me,” Bean said.

But don’t let Bean fool you. He isn’t simply there for the R &R; he’s a man on a mission. On this particular morning he hopes to get a good 25 miles of rowing under his paddle. Since January, he has stuck to a pretty rigorous training schedule which includes swimming once a week, weight training and paddling three days a week. The 37-year-old self-described “ordinary guy” is less than two weeks away from a grueling 250-mile solo marathon down the North Platte River. The Big Moo Canoe personal challenge, as he’s calling the adventure, will be his longest canoe venture to date.

“For about three years, I’ve wanted to do something like this,” Bean said. “A lot of my friends have done super long marathons. It’s a lot of effort. I thought it would be good to raise awareness.”

And so he decided to turn his trip into a fundraiser for a non-profit group. He selected Heifer International, a humanitarian assistance organization that works to end world hunger and poverty, because of its timelessness and relevance.

“They are really an important program that supports a lot of people who are being priced out of being able to eat,” he said.

Heifer International operates on the simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief. Depending on the donation amount, money is used to purchase a flock of chicks, a heifer, a goat or other livestock for people in need.

With a goal of raising $5,000—or 10 heifers—Bean has been amazed by the reception. He has raised almost $6,000 and plans to continue fundraising efforts through the end of June even though his excursion is June 13-15. He has received donations through his Web site from 14 different states. Even his two children have volunteered to raise money by going to neighbors’ homes, giving presentations at church, making posters and running lemonade stands.

Because Bean works for Burns Marketing, pulling together a marketing concept was second-nature. During a round-trip flight for business, he planned out his entire strategy.

“It’s amazing how this silly little project has had this much reach,” he said. “I don’t like doing anything small.”

That is quite apparent given his canoe trip ambition. No stranger to the water, Bean grew up in the Midwest and started canoeing when he was 8 years old. He was on a family trip to Lake Placid, New York when his dad saw a sign along the road for canoes for sale. On a whim, the family bought a boat, took it out on the lake and brought it back home. Bean remembers taking the canoe out exploring for afternoons at a time.

“It was like my little time machine,” Bean recalled. “I’ve been in a canoe most my life.”

Even now, Bean says he enjoys new adventures. Whether it’s white water boating, flying traction kites or planning an event like the Big Moo Canoe, Bean seems to always have some sort of hobby brewing.

“This is one in a long line of bizarre, weird things I’ve done,” he chuckled. “My wife blames it on the Internet. ... This is the kind of stuff I love to do. If I could find a course that was uphill both ways, I would do it.”

The course for Bean’s Big Moo Canoe trip will start on the North Platte River, a class 1 river with a few ripples, but generally gentle, near Saratoga, Wyo. A support team will follow him and meet him at specific checkpoints. He will also be carrying a satellite phone in case of emergency.

His 35-pound boat, a Spencer Extreme unlimited-class racing canoe, will carry 30 pounds of gear which will include three gallons of water and food to eat every hour. Bean is keeping things as light as possible so he can row with ease. His paddle only weighs 8 ounces, which is less than a typical cell phone.

He said he does about 70 strokes a minute which will save him thousands of pounds in effort over time. His plan is to do two 100-mile days and one 50-mile day and has been training for 15 hour days.

As the big day approaches, Bean is getting in last minute training and checking the water levels on a daily basis. He said because there is so much water this year in contrast to the last 10 years that have shown more drought-like conditions, he may have to alter his path a bit. The route includes a big wide open stretch and then a stretch through canyon country where high winds can become challenging.

“My biggest fear is the wind and weather,” he said. “You never know. It’s a very remote area. It’s a lonely stretch, but it’s beautiful at the same time. You see folds and how the earth changed over time. It’s beautiful... The North Platte River is gorgeous. From a distraction point of view, it’s really great.”



Breakout



For more information on Rob Bean’s Big Moo Canoe, visit www.moocanoe.com. For more information on Heifer International, visit www.heifer.org.