Kayaks and the placid waters of Ferril Lake in Denver’s City Park may not strike most people as an intuitive combination. But Geno Wasilewski, who runs the rental boat concessions at City Park and Washington Park, thinks otherwise. He’s adding kayaks and canoes to the familiar, clumsy paddleboats at City Park’s 24-acre lake.
Q: Why would people want to kayak in something that’s the opposite of whitewater?
A: Actually, with these new Hobie kayaks, you can do normal kayaking, with traditional paddles, or you can maneuver kayaks with this new pedal- drive system that gives you three times the speed for the same amount of energy you expend on a paddleboat.
Q: A kayak with pedals?
A: I consider myself pretty fit, and you can get a good workout with those pedal-system kayaks. You get a real sense of speed because you’re so close to the water.
Q: How does it work?
A: The pedals power fins that make the kayak fly through the water like a penguin. You pump the pedals with an up-and-down motion, as opposed to the paddleboats, which operate more like a bicycle, beating the top of the water. It’s not whitewater stuff, but the kayaks have a rudder on the back so you can kind of fish through the water.
