TACOMA — On a sweltering Thursday in July, two women paused in front of a curious sight wedged under a highway overpass in a Tacoma parking lot: a school bus with stand-up paddleboards strapped to the roof.
Doug Barclift, owner of Big Bus Paddlesports, popped his head out the window. He gamely answered their questions — yes, you will get a little wet; no, paddleboarding doesn’t have to be strenuous; yes, there are techniques to avoid aggravating a neck injury — then gently invited them to sign up for his weekend instructional classes.
As they walked off in the direction of the beach, one woman told the other, “We just found ourselves something to do this weekend.”
Barclift pulled his head back inside the bus and flashed a victorious smile. “Lately I’ve been doing my damn hardest to get Black women into the water,” he said over the soft reggae music playing in the background, which mingled with the occasional rumble of freight trains.