Even with the rise in popularity of working from home, many brits still spend 400 days of their life commuting to work. One person figured out how to use his love of the water to save money on gas and parking fees, and get some exercise simultaneously.
Alex Kell, a financial planner from Gloucester, has paddle boarded for about five or six years. A few years ago, he moved to a location that put him on the water, allowing him to paddleboard for pleasure and get to work.
How much money does he save paddleboarding to work?
He estimates he saves $3,000 a year on gas and parking costs.
What are some other benefits of paddleboarding to work?
According to Kell, paddleboarding is a great way to get some thinking time in the morning and wind-down time in the evening, since there’s no traffic. He can leisurely cruise down the water with no one in front of him or no one behind him.
What are the drawbacks?
Depending on where you work, storing your paddleboard for later could be difficult. Alex works at his own business, so he just hangs his paddleboard outside his business and picks it back up when he leaves. But if you work for someone else, they may have an issue with you bringing a paddleboard to the office. If you live in an area where paddleboarding to work could be an option, you might want to talk to your supervisor about providing storage places for paddleboards.
Paddleboarding to work may not be an option year-round. As the days get colder and waterways begin to freeze up, paddleboarding to work may not be an option – you may have to go back to using your vehicle.
If you use your paddleboard a lot to commute to work, it could get worn out; if you’re considering paddleboarding to work, you might want to get a good quality paddleboard.
How to choose a paddleboard for paddleboarding to work
If you’ve decided to try paddleboarding to work, you should know there are two different types of paddleboards – solid standup paddleboards and inflatable standup paddleboards. The one you choose depends on a few different things.
Solid Stand-Up Paddleboards
These paddleboards are made of EPS foam wrapped in epoxy and fiberglass. They’re durable, lightweight, and affordable. As a material, carbon fiber is stronger and lighter, but it’s more costly. Plastic paddleboards are cheaper but are heavy and bulky and don’t work as well as other options. Some paddleboards incorporate wood to make them look more beautiful.
Solid paddleboards are a good option if performance is important, you need a board that fits you perfectly, you need stability, and storage is available.
Inflatable stand-up paddleboards
Inflatable paddleboards are PVC on the outside with an air core made of drop-stitching. Inflate the board with the included pump, and store it in the storage bag when you’re not using it. The best inflatable stand-up paddleboards are intended to have an inflation pressure of 12-15 pounds per square inch, and they should feel rigid when completely inflated.
You should get an inflated stand-up paddleboard if your storage space is limited, you’ll be traveling part of the way to your destination, or if whitewater paddling is your thing.
How to choose the correct paddle board for your weight.
A standup paddleboard should fit your size. Unless the board displaces the right volume of water, you won’t be supported, causing you to feel unstable. A board’s volume and weight capacity determine how stable you are and how smoothly it travels through water.
The board’s dimensions determine the volume and weight capacity. Board manufacturers use the board’s width, length, and thickness to achieve different performance levels.
That’s how Alex has saved money paddleboarding to work, and what you need to know before you start paddleboarding to work. Once you’ve decided paddleboarding to work is an option for you and found a good paddleboard, you’ll start saving money on gas and parking, just like Alex did.
