Travelogues

Travelogues · RowingRelated

The RR
Travelogues

On-the-ground dispatches from the athletes who took RR along for the ride — from the boathouse in Charlottesville to the course at Henley, and beyond.

5Series
26Dispatches
2011–2017Archive Span
All Series
OTW Series · 2011 · Henley Royal Regatta
Matt Miller & Virginia Men's Rowing
University of Virginia → Henley-on-Thames
The original 'On the Water' series — nine dispatches following UVA's men's crew as they blazed up, crossed the Atlantic, and raced the Temple Challenge Cup at one of rowing's most storied venues.
9 parts · Parts I–IX
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OTW Series · 2012 · Henley Royal Regatta
John Forrest & Potomac Boat Club
Washington, D.C. → Henley-on-Thames
Pirates, locks, blazers, and the Thames Challenge Cup — six installments following Potomac Boat Club's journey from the Potomac River to the banks of the Thames for Henley Royal Regatta 2012.
6 parts · Parts I–VI
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#HoosGoingToHenley · 2015 · Henley Royal Regatta
Forrest Brown & Virginia Men's Rowing
Charlottesville, VA → Henley-on-Thames
Five chapters following the Cavaliers from home training in Charlottesville through Swiss club champions and the Temple Challenge Cup draw — a bittersweet ending and new beginnings.
5 parts · Parts 1–5
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#BucksGoRoyal · 2017 · Henley Regattas
Stephanie Williams & Ohio State Women's Rowing
Columbus, OH → Henley Women's & Royal Regattas
Four dispatches from Ohio State's women as they take on the best in Britain — setting the standard at Henley Women's Regatta, visiting Cambridge, then racing tight on the Thames at Henley Royal.
4 parts
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Interview Series · 2014 · New Zealand
Mike DiSanto & Oxford University Boat Club
Oxford → Gallagher Great Race, New Zealand
Two interviews with the Harvard grad and Oxford Blue — first previewing the Gallagher Great Race in New Zealand, then recapping the experience after racing on the far side of the world.
2 parts
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Read the Dispatches
Ohio State Women's Rowing at Henley, 2017
#BucksGoRoyal · 4 parts
Written by Stephanie Williams
Virginia Men's Rowing at Henley Royal Regatta, 2015
#HoosGoingToHenley · 5 parts
Written by Forrest Brown
Mike DiSanto at the Gallagher Great Race, New Zealand, 2014
Oxford University Boat Club · 2 parts
Interview series with Mike DiSanto, Harvard grad & Oxford Blue
John Forrest & Potomac Boat Club at Henley Royal Regatta, 2012
OTW Series · 6 parts
Written by John Forrest, Potomac Boat Club
Matt Miller & Virginia Men's Rowing at Henley Royal Regatta, 2011
OTW Series · 9 parts
Written by Matt Miller, University of Virginia

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The Complete Guide to Rowing Machine Benefits: Why Indoor Rowing Is Perfect for (Virtually) Everyone

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Updated 2026 — with links to our full Rowing Machine Reviews . The rowing machine (or ergometer) has evolved significantly over decades, but its core purpose remains unchanged: bringing the comprehensive full-body training experience from water to land. Today, with immersive workout experiences available through streaming platforms and integrated displays, the gap between indoor rowing and on-water training has narrowed substantially. Of course, it's never going to be a 1:1 feeling from the dock to the boat, and rowers (typically with not-great ergs) are apt to point out that "ergs don't float." But the value of rowing machines for fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and beginners alike is undeniable. Table of Contents: Essential Rowing Machine Benefits Lesser-Known Rowing Machine Benefits How to Incorporate Rowing Into Your Fitness Routine Best Rowing Machines for Home Use (2026) Rowing Machine Workouts by Fitness Level Frequently Asked Ques...
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8 Tips to Tackle Your 2k Erg Test

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Lightweights racing at Crash-Bs in 2012 (Photo: B. Kitch) The junior and collegiate indoor rowing season is just around the corner, and that means sooner or later you are going be testing yourself for 2,000 meters along with your teammates. Whether it's at your club's boathouse, a regional championship, or Crash-Bs, there are a few tips that can help you to achieve your goals this winter. There are as many ways to approach a 2k as there are people rowing, but given my experience the following, simple tricks can put you in the right place when the electronic starting official let's you know it's time to go. 1. Don't worry if you can't sleep. Being nervous is natural, and look at it from the positive standpoint of neurological and physiological preparation: your body and mind are ready to get after it. That's good. The best advice I ever heard regarding sleep was as simple as this: when your body needs sleep, it takes it (I believe this came from Matt Pi...
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"I Row Crew" — Rowing in 'The Social Network'

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Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b...
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Best Rowing Drills: The Athlete's Perspective, with Olympic Bronze Medalist Megan Kalmoe

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Megan Kalmoe in the single (Photo: Nikki Raab) The first three of articles in our 'Best Rowing Drills' series have focused on the view from the launch, so we thought it was time to flip the script—here, we check in with two-time Olympian and London 2012 bronze medalist Megan Kalmoe about her approach to skill and drill on the water. Kalmoe began her rowing career at the University of Washington, and earned her first international bid with the U.S. U23 team in 2005, winning gold in the BW4- in Amsterdam. Since then, Megan has more often raced with two oars, switching to sculling and competing at the Olympics in Beijing and then in London, the latter of which saw her win a bronze medal in the U.S. W4x along with teammates Kara Kohler , Adrienne Martelli , and Natalie Dell . Last season, Kalmoe switched back to one oar, and earned a silver in the women's pair with Kerry Simmonds at the 2014 World Rowing Championships. Here are a few of her favorite exercises to develop ...
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Best Rowing Drills: Two-time NCAA Champion Kevin Sauer of Virginia's Fave 5

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Kevin Sauer at the 2012 NCAA Championships (Photo: B. Kitch) Having done a little research recently, I discovered that, surprisingly, there's not much available on the Internets in terms of useful content for rowing coaches. Try scanning the web for decent examples of drills and technique, and you'll find that what is accessible to most is largely race footage, which certainly has its place in the coaching toolkit, but ultimately isn't that informative on its own. This is the first in a series on the best rowing drills, featuring some of the top junior and collegiate coaches in the U.S. If you like this idea, let us know, and share it—if it takes off, then we'll continue to build a library and create an index on our Rowing Drills page. For the first series, we'll be releasing the an article every Wednesday for the next five weeks. As with this post, this early series will be mostly geared toward sweep rowing, but sculling will also feature in the near future....
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