Saturday, November 28, 2009

Nouvelle Provence still new

I just finished writing content for the Comox Valley visitor guide. A big focus was on agri-tourism, a growing trend that sees people travel places specifically to sample the produce grown locally. Working on it reminded me of an article I wrote for BC Business Magazine a couple years ago. The Comox Valley has put a lot of effort into attracting new farmers to the Comox Valley. This area, near my home in Courtenay, is home to a large percentage of available farm land on temperate Vancouver Island. The marketing effort is dubbed the New Provence. While I don't necessarily agree with the moniker I do know the local food tastes good!

Here's a link to my article in the June 2007 issue of BC Business Magazine: http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/top-stories/2007/06/01/la-nouvelle-provence

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Two features in Explore's winter issue

I wrote a big chunk of explore Magazine's winter issue and you can see excerpts from both articles on the website. One is called Do it like an Olympian. The concept came from an article I wrote for explore last summer that was a collection of tips and tricks from pro athletes in a bunch of sports. The Olympian version was devoted to Olympic sports and focused mainly on technique tips, ways of improving performance at the ski hill, half pipe and cross country area. The other article was a round up of 50 things for winter. I included everything from destinations, activities to try and gear that will make this winter better. Check it all out on explore's website under articles.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Life inside a ping-pong ball with Eric Larsen


I interviewed American explorer Eric Larsen earlier this year for Outside Magazine. The Q&A focused on his expedition to the three poles - North, South and summit of Everest - in one year. He is now at the beginning of his first leg, the South Pole, waiting for the weather to improve (120 kilometre winds have his party pinned) before he begins skiing. For someone so determined and focused he's a pretty down to earth guy. The only thing I don't get is how he handles the cold and boredom. He admitted to me that he gets really bored on these expeditions. Surprisingly enough skiing in a whiteout isn't that much fun and it's even less fun when you get vertigo. "It feels like you're stuck on the inside of a ping-pong ball," is how he described it. Sounds wicked. Sign me up. Seriously, I'm cheering for him. Follow his progress on his website, ericlarsenexplore.com

Monday, November 9, 2009

Growing a Mo

There's nothing like a little facial hair to make a man feel manly. (Hmmm, it's the idea, not the reality, of the facial hair.) Having a home office I often sport a few days growth, but this month I'm growing it to a whole new length. This Movember, the month formerly known as November, I'm growing a moustache (see picture for one weeks worth of stache). And not some good looking, almost stylish stache either. No, I've got the porn star style on the go: full under the nose with a slight droop to bottom lip level on the sides. Very gross looking.

The reason I'm sacrificing my good looks is for Movember, a charity event where men grow moustaches for the month of November and raise money for prostate cancer research. At the end of the month we'll have a party with DJs and award the coveted Man of Movember award. So far I'm looking good for the self-explanatory Lame Mo award. I'll post a pic in a couple days. In the meantime if you want to donate to the cause head to my Mo Space. You can also find out how to join.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Paddling drills on my other blog

I write a couple blogs. One for Explore Magazine on gear reviews and my adventures and another for the BC Wilderness Tourism Association on BC's wilderness tourism industry. Today I posted a blog for Explore about a great paddling clinic I took over the weekend.

I'm an avid whitewater and flatwater kayaker. The clinic focused on using a wing blade paddle, designed for optimal efficiency. I use it sea kayaking or on my surf ski, a long, fast, sit on top kayak I paddle when it gets rough near my house. Hopefully improved technique will make it easier for me to surf my ski and do better in races.