The bright red paddlewheel smacks the Ohio River in a rolling cadence, churning a path through the muddy water. Trailing the riverboat is a solitary blue kayak, riding the waves.
Steering with a double-ended paddle, a mustachioed man in a weathered baseball cap darts through the froth. Passengers on the paddlewheeler are intrigued by this meeting of Mark Twain-era transportation and 21st century recreation.
"You can get on one of those big waves, and it is unbelievable in terms of the thrill of the ride," said Brewster Rhoads, a political consultant who kayaks the river most days. "You can just surf it like with a surfboard. My record is 43 minutes on the same wave."
There aren't many waves like that around these parts. Paddlers in the Midwest have to be inventive to enjoy one of the country's fastest-growing recreational activities.
They are. Wherever there's water _ pristine or polluted, in the heart of a city or out in the hinterlands _ there's likely to be a paddle stirring it.
Surveys indicate kayaking has tripled in popularity nationally since 1998. The Outdoor Industry Foundation, which encourages outdoor activities and tracks their popularity, estimates 12.6 million people got into a kayak last year. About 2 million of them kayak regularly.
Most kayakers live in the West and Northeast. Lately, more women have been taking up the sport _ in the latest survey, about 45 percent of kayakers were female.
Although kayaking appeals to all age groups, it is particularly attractive to those between 16 and 24.
"The younger generation is looking for more risky-type sports, something to test their limits more," said Kara Lorenz, a 21-year-old Northern Kentucky student who has two kayaks. "That's what attracts a lot of young people to kayaking and snowboarding."
In the Midwest, part of the fun is finding unusual places to test those limits.
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Oblong boats ripple across a storied section of the Cuyahoga River.
Only a few strokes from downtown Cleveland, a guide directs five kayakers clear of the barges and ore freighters in the working harbor. Guide Mark Pecot explains the history of the six moving bridges and riverside businesses they pass.
The group also touches a sore spot in the city's history _ the place where industrial discharge on the river caught fire in 1969.
"We're paddling through our industrial past," said Pecot, co-owner of 41 North Coastal Kayak Adventures.
This three-hour "Burning River Tour" is one of several river and Lake Erie excursions offered by the organization, which provides kayak lessons as well. The trips are popular _ business has increased in each of 41 North's four years.
"People find it fascinating," said Pecot, a high school history teacher. "When you're in a kayak surrounded by huge industrial bridges that lift and lower and you get tugboats and barges and the other traffic moving, it has a way of making you feel very small. It's an exciting feeling."
At the opposite end of the state, the 28-mile Mill Creek divides Cincinnati down the middle. An industrial dumping spot for generations, it got so polluted that the conservation group American Rivers designated it North America's most endangered urban river in 1997.
Bruce Koehler knew all about its reputation. An environmental planner for a regional council of governments, he sat through dozens of meetings about the roiled creek and heard the horror stories.
"I wanted to go down and see what we were talking about," Koehler said.
In 1994, he first dipped a keel into the witches' brew of sewage and industrial waste. As he paddled along, he saw a construction company bulldozing material into the creek. An abandoned easy chair jutted from the middle of the channel.
Since then, he has taken more than 300 people on the creek _ some in kayaks, others in canoes _ for a firsthand look at work that needs to be done. He dubs this hardy group the "Mill Creek Yacht Club."
Paddlers receive a health warning and a liability disclaimer before setting off. They try to avoid touching the water. Germicidal gel is available.
"Thank goodness I have healthy immunities," the 55-year-old Koehler said. "I think going in the creek is like getting a flu shot. I get mild exposure to most every germ known to man. So far, no one has claimed they got seriously ill from it."
And the paddlers are seeing noticeable improvement in the creek because of the Clean Water Act.
"The stream doesn't stink to high heaven or change colors like it did when I was a kid," Koehler said.
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The slender boats stand at attention in their piped-off rows, the taller ones poking their curved snouts above the others. Blue. Yellow. Green. Red. The polyethylene shells are dry and unblemished.
For now.
Kayaks are high-tech and can be high-priced. They're also feeding the growth in the popularity of paddling.
"They look very cool," said Bernie Farley, standing in the middle of his Whitewater Warehouse a few feet from the banks of the Mad River in Dayton, Ohio.
"On the recreational side, the boats are a lot less expensive. They're more basic, and they stay pretty similar year after year. With the whitewater boats _ the more expensive boats _ they're popping out a new design every year. They're very aggressive on the manufacturers' side."
Farley, who has kayaked for 35 years, sees a growing interest in playboats that allow riders to surf and do tricks, such as spins and cartwheels.
"It's just amazing what you can do in a kayak today," he said.
Communities are tapping into the growing interest. A Dayton park board is considering adding a whitewater course to the Great Miami River.
In South Bend, Ind., the East Race Waterway has attracted more than 200,000 kayakers and rafters since it opened in 1984. On a busy weekend, about 500 paddlers from Indiana and nearby states line up to challenge the region's only whitewater course.
"We're all kind of amazed when we see where the kayakers are from," said Paul McMinn, assistant recreation director in South Bend. "For them, to drive two or three hours is no big deal."
Back on the Ohio River, Rhoads paddles up to a dock across from downtown Cincinnati.
It's a sunny afternoon. A steady stream of traffic rumbles across a nearby bridge that links Ohio and Kentucky. Sunlight glints off tinted office windows looking down on the river. A 30-minute kayak trip has revitalized Rhoads.
"Every day is different," he said, after changing back into a dress shirt and pants for a business meeting. "The wind conditions. The water conditions. The sun angles. When the sun is reflecting off the downtown skyscrapers, it's just stunning. So impressive."
He's not surprised to find more kayakers sharing the river these days. The sport is growing, in part because it can be so captivating.
"There's something about water," Rhoads said. "It's a calming force. It's deep in my blood."
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On the Net:
Outdoor Industry Foundation: http://www.outdoorindustry.org
East Race Waterway: http://www.sbpark.org/
41 North Coastal Kayak Adventures: http://www.kayak41north.com
Whitewater Warehouse Inc.: http://www.kayakdayton.com
Ohio River paddling festival: http://www.OhioRiverWay.org
