BRANSON MO NEWS: The crew of Tandemonium: Diane Diebold, left; Mike Dey, center, and Daryl Simon, right.(Photo: Cindy Hiles)Paddling at night on the Missouri River, Branson resident Diane Diebold said, a huge approaching barge suddenly blinded her with its brilliant spotlight.”Normally, when they say there may be a barge, you get out of the channel,” Diebold recalled. “But the guy on the barge shined the spotlight right in my face. I couldn’t see where to go.”She and her teammates, Daryl Simon of Rogersville and Mike Day of Schertz, Texas, managed to maneuver their 27-foot canoe toward the rocky shoreline. They got out and held on to the boat as large waves from the barge’s wake rolled by.They avoided what could have been a disaster and last week went on to win the Team Division in the 340-mile Missouri River race — their second win in two years.Their boat, named “Tandemonium,” made it nonstop from Kansas City to St. Charles in 45 hours and 42 minutes. They were among 450 boats that competed in 11 division categories during the 12th annual river adventure.For most, it’s a punishing race, with long hours in the sun and constant exposure to wind and waves. During her first MR 340 race in 2010, Diebold said, her team canoe started dead last after colliding with two other boats that overturned in swift water. “But we pushed hard and took second in our division,” she said. “I just love a challenge.”Diebold credits team captain Daryl Simon for bringing her into the sport of endurance paddling. At age 69, Simon is an example of how age doesn’t necessarily slow one’s competitive drive.Take last year’s race, for example.”We started as a three-person team, but one guy got sick while we were on the river and had to leave. We still …
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