Helen and I met Susie a couple of years ago on our Oregon coast bike trip. She was this amazingly energetic and enthusiastic spark who was living her dream by cycling from Vancouver to the tip of South America. We spent a day with her, then we split off and wished her the best of luck on her adventure.
Her unfortunate story made the front page of the Calgary Herald and Helen recognized her face, and I recognized her name. A few minutes spent digging through photo archives of our Oregon trip resulted in a sad confirmation - it was indeed Susie.
Susie - your positive attitude, energy, enthusiasm and zest for life was infectious, and you will be missed.
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Ocean WiTHiN progress:
I am happy to report that we have contracted a naval architect to produce working drawings of Ocean WiTHiN. Stuart Bloomfield from Bloomfield Innovations will be talking the basic dimensions from my overview and drafting plans that will go to a composite fabricator for construction. I am considering a few builders now.
Oct 15th - WiTHiN and I arrive in La Gomera
transport to Canary Islands
July - first sea trials
June 30 - WiTHiN ready for sea trials (equipment, electrics,
March 1 to 7 - plans delivered to boat builder
I made cardboard cutouts of the various Lewmar port lights and sat in the mock-up to figure out exactly where these windows should be placed. I plotted a horizon line on the coroplast canopy and shifted my view by moving my head forward, back, right and left such that I could get a full 360 degree view around me to watch for other ships.
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TRAINING
I am still planning on another attempt at the 24 hour human powered boat distance record for early June. As I have said before, this intermediate challenge motivates me to start taking my training seriously now! After the 24 hour event, I will be perfectly situated to start some seriously long distance training which will get me ready for the ocean crossing.
My long rides have been inside in the little red coroplast playhouse trainer, but the weather here has been marginal for outside rides, so I cleaned up the M5, and in an hour I'll be heading out for my 2nd 5-hour outside ride with my buddy Dr. Chad Anker who is training for Ironman Coeurdalene.
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24 HOUR RECORD ATTEMPT
As you know, I will be building a brand new human powered boat for the 24 hour 'Pedal vs Paddle' challenge. This is Rick Willoughby's tried and tested design, so there shouldn't be much time consuming R & D involved in this build. Jarrett Johnson is CNC machining the hull and outriggers out of solid foam right now. They should be finished next week. Ben and myself and whoever else we can grab to help will be adding carbon and Kevlar to the foam hulls. Then a drive frame and seat goes on, rudder, prop and I'm done - ready for testing in the nearest unfrozen lake to Calgary.
I am VERY happy with the result. It weighs 2 pounds without any hardware, pedals, etc. My seat weighs 3 pounds. I need to add a bracket for the right angle gear box kindly provided by one of my sponsors MitrPak, a shaft, the prop (we're hopefully getting this CNC machined), aluminum frames for the seat back and outriggers and the rudder.
I am really trying to have this new boat ready for water testing in March sometime. If it tests out as expected, then I will 'pull the trigger' and officially announce the race.
In March, I also want to get back out to Tofino for another round of sea trials in the prototype WiTHiN using a keel which I still have to build.
So much to do, but I am hanging in there! Susie will be my inspiration for March.
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, expedition, soapbox, training
I thought that you might like to know a little about how Greg came to be, so here is my "entrepreneurial genealogy flow chart" (click to enlarge):
I started out on my own almost immediately after I graduated from a two year engineering course at SAIT - Calgary's local technical institute. I worked as a draftsman at an oil company for a very short period of time and hated it. In 1985 I quit my job and started a freelance graphic design company called Image Club Graphics. For the next 5 years, I designed logos and avoided starving to death. Barely.
I got my dad to guarantee a bank loan for a new Apple LaserWriter laser printer and a Macintosh 128 K computer. For those of you not as old as me, the LaserWriter was the very first high resolution (300 dpi *was* high back in the olden days!) printer and the 128 K Mac was the first computer with a 'graphical user interface'. The bundle that I leased was valued at a whopping $20,000. I have more computing power in my watch now than I did with that original Mac system. Since I had no money to put down on the system, it was leased and over the term of the lease it probably ended up costing me $40,000.
I immediately realized that this new technology was going to revolutionize the graphic arts and publishing industry, and that I needed to wake-up and seize the day. As I could afford it, I changed the focus of Image Club to software development for the electronic publishing industry and we grew like crazy.
Fast forward to 1994... I was 33 years old. Image Club had become the worlds leading publishing content software publisher and was acquired by Adobe Systems. Actually, we were acquired by a company called Aldus Corporation who made a page layout application called PageMaker. In the midst of the Aldus acquisition, Aldus was acquired by Adobe Systems and Adobe picked up Image Club as part of the package.
I did not accept a position with the new division at Adobe, but my right-hand man at Image Club - Brad Zumwalt was far smarter than I, and he continued to run the division from Calgary for Adobe. A couple of years later during a corporate re-structure, Adobe decided to shut the Image Club division down and Brad gathered a few investors together and they re-purchased Image Club from Adobe making it a private corporation once again. Brad re-branded the new company as EyeWire, built it back up over a few more years, and then sold it to Getty Images for something like $30 million clams.
Brad negotiated an extremely preferable non-compete clause with Getty, and within a couple of years he had resurrected EyeWire as "Veer". Same people, same products, same business plan with a new name and he and his employees owned 100% of it. In fact, most of the key employees working for EyeWire, then Veer started with me at Image Club.
Brad applied his golden formula and built Veer up through the years and recently sold it to Bill Gate's company "Corbis" and turned most of those loyal employees into millionaires.
No - unfortunately, I played NO part in any of Brad's successes after I sold Image Club to Adobe. Most of my employees that stayed with Brad ended up making WAY more money than I ever did way back in 1994 when I sold (for a relatively paltry amount) to Adobe. Brad is a pretty incredible entrepreneur, and he deserves every bit of success he achieved, as does everyone who followed him.
Now lets re-center back to the middle of the chart - the goofy guy with the yellow cap. Shortly after I started Image Club in 1985, I launched a second company called Sharper Cards. We designed, manufactured and marketed recall cards to the dental industry. After my wife Helen graduated from University of Calgary, she took over the business and ran it up to a multi-million dollar corporation. In 2003 Sharper Cards was acquired by our largest US competitor Smart Health Corporation from Phoenix, AZ. Helen retired and the Sharper division of Smart Health is still up and running right here in Calgary.
Re-center again and we move down to Idea Machine. I started this small company during my time at Image Club mostly to get closer to our customer. We used our expertise in digital publishing to design and produce print products for local Calgary clients. I brought my Brother in-law Tom Short in as a partner, and when I sold Adobe, I let Tom take Idea Machine. Sometime in the early 2000's Idea Machine was acquired by Calgary's Rare Method Corporation where it is one of Calgary's largest communications agencies today.
I had an idea for a software product that didn't fit into what Image Club was doing, so I started NewDirections with my cousin Tim Senger. Our first product was called FastForms and was the first forms generating and fill-out package available at the time. It was very popular, but needed quite a bit of additional programming to keep up with demands for updates. ND was bought-out by Tim and his partners at Shana Corporation where they re-wrote and expanded on the FastForms concept. They eventually became leaders in the forms market and were acquired by FileNet in 2003.
At some point during Image Clubs rapid growth, I had an idea for an innovative way of marketing our digital typefaces. I wanted to offer our entire library of fonts on a CD ROM disc (CD's were brand new at the time), but lock access to the files on the CD. We would give the CD's away, and the customer would purchase an access code from Image Club's toll free order desk to unlock single fonts as required. It was kind of like an online store on a CD ROM disc. Remember - this was WAY before the Internet, so purchasing software online was stuff of science fiction books. I partnered with Shawn Abbott and his company ANDgroup. Shawn would develop the encryption technology, and Image Club would benefit by being able to utilize the technology in our product. The relationship worked out great for both parties and Shawn was able to eventually sell ANDgroup and the unlocking technology he had developed to Rainbow Technologies in 1994.
The most recent 'action' in the flow chart is iStock Photo which is shown with a gray dashed line connected to Image Club. The dashed connection is because I really had nothing to do with Bruce Livingston's brain child iStock, aside from being Bruce's employer for a number of years at Image Club. Bruce observed the incredible growth of our digital stock photography line of products (Image Club was the first company ever to offer stock photography in digital form on CD ROM disc, and we had rapidly expanded that offering over the years). Bruce had a better idea - to start an online photo sharing community. He left Image Club and worked for Tom at Idea Machine for a few years, then launched his iStock Photo web site. After my other brother in-law Pat Lor (married to my KidPower main-man and little sister Theresa) finished his MBA, he joined Bruce as a partner, and last year they sold iStock to Getty Images for 50 million bucks. Yes, the same Getty that purchased Brad's EyeWire.
I would like to eventually expand on the outline by adding in some of the dollar amounts that were generated at each acquisition. It would also be interesting to do a count of how many millionaires were created since I started Image Club 23 years ago. It would be mind boggling. I need to stress that I played no role in any of the little blue balls on the chart. Basically, I made a bit of money from the sale of Image Club to Adobe, and Helen made some from the sale of Sharper to Smart Health. We made enough for a 'careful' retirement, and we are very happy with that. I have no regrets at all, and I am just as proud as hell to have initiated all of this.
Redefining scary - 600 kids from grade 1 to 9
Jerry Seinfeld once talked about a poll that had been conducted in which Americans said that their number one fear was public speaking, and that the fear of death was number five. He said, "...that would mean that at a funeral, people are five times more likely to want to be in the casket than giving the eulogy. "
Theresa has arranged four KidPower presentations so far this school year, two keynote year opening speeches, and two smaller groups. The interaction style of my regular kidPower school presentation has served me well, and this year was my first foray into the keynote format where I just yak on and on for 60 minutes. The keynote is tough - super tough. And it's not going nearly as well as I would like. I'm finding it very difficult to keep the kids attention for a whole 60 minutes of blabbing on and on... That definitely needs work and it is one of my goals this year.
My most recent keynote was at the Glenmore Christian Academy on Tuesday. I was almost late due to unexpected morning rush hour traffic and anxiously waiting at the back door as I pulled up in the packed Suburban were my sis Theresa and the school administrator. I wasn't stressed, as we've done this enough times now that I knew we could do a full set-up in about 15 minutes or less.
The administrator took me back stage - yes, back stage. GCA has a stage so big, it has an actual back-stage, curtains, spot lights, control room, etc. When we walked out onto the stage, it was freaking HUGE! I couldn't believe it. Teared rows of seats like an auditorium with seating for 550. She told me that it was a big day at GCA, and they had speakers lined up all day to speak to select groups of kids in various class rooms through out the school. This is where I thought she would let me know which class-room small group I was expected to speak to. Nope. She informed me that I was their feature key note speaker. I would be speaking to the entire student and staff population of 600 - yup - 600! gulp! Grades K to 9. For 60 minutes. In 15 minutes.
Yikes!
The presentation started off with a 15 minute introduction from Jungle Jim Hunter - a local Calgary celebrity and downhill ski Bronze medalist at the 1972 Winter Olympic games in Sapporo, Japan. Jim is an accomplished, confident and experienced speaker. Just the guy you want to follow. Right...
In the end, I guess I did OK, but I don't think all that great. Certainly not like I would like. My goal is to ROCK the house. Anything less is a failure in my opinion. There were moments where I could tell I was starting to bore the kids, and that is my sign that I have failed. My job is to keep them riveted for 60 minutes. I know that K-9 is a tough crowd, but still... I have to learn how to do this better.
Our usual KidPower presentations are to groups of about 50 to 100 kids sitting on the gym floor, and both Theresa and I have this down to a science and it works great - We rock. Plenty of interaction, question/answers, discussion, some participation and only the raw facts about Critical Power, WiTHiN, the Atlantic and Ironman. This kids really dig that, and it is truly a lot of fun.
The keynote really needs work. That's my Ironman for this year. I's like to find a coach/mentor.
My sister Theresa is doing a fantastic job organizing these events for me. I am lucky to have someone like that working with me. Without her, KidPower would simply NOT exist.
IMPORTANT day for the human powered world!
3 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Tuesday, October 09, 2007 at 6:02 PM.
Jason Lewis has just finished his human powered circumnavigation journey of 14 years! I have been following Jason since his Pacific crossing in pedal boat Moksha from California to Hawaii in 1997 with Stevie Smith and have also supported his effort periodically. Jason is an inspiration and a hero. However, I am also a supporter of Colin Angus who completed his human powered circumnavigation earlier this year.
There is an ongoing debate between the Jason Lewis and the Colin Angus camps. Colin became the first person to circumnavigate the earth by human power earlier this year, but he didn't follow some of the rules that Jason Lewis (and Erden Eruc who is currently rowing across the Pacific ocean) says is part of a true circumnavigation. According to Jason and Erden, a true circumnavigation must pass through two antipodal points and Colin's route, although greater than the circumference of the earth at it's widest part of 22,858.7 miles, did not.
I'll let you decide. Here is Colin's justification of his circumnavigation:
http://www.angusadventures.com/circumnavigations.html
and here is Jason's:
http://www.expedition360.com/home/circumnavigation.htm
I'm not making any judgements, as they are both hero's to me. But, I'd like to know what you think. Send your thoughts to the comments link on this blog post, or email me at greg@justgreg.com or return reply to this email.
Labels: expedition, soapbox
I am a blowhard egomaniac
12 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Friday, August 10, 2007 at 9:55 AM.
And then I get this email from Gary B:
Gosh - what a downer! I guess I should just trash the email and move on, but for some reason I really feel inspired to respond to this.
Am I a "blowhard egomaniac"? I suppose if you didn't know me, by looking at my web page you might come away with the feeling that I might be somewhat of an arrogant swellhead. In my defense though, I come from a marketing background and I realize that I am my product and that I need to treat how I am presented as if I am a product being advertised for sale. I market myself not unlike any other corporation would advertise their product or service. I know from experience that if I am to accomplish my long term goals, that I need to start marketing myself appropriately.
So what exactly are these long term goals of mine that are keeping me focused on this polished image?
1. KidPower
2. Base building and community building
3. To inspire others
But in the end, Gary is wrong - I truly believe that. I can honestly say that my biggest goal with regard to what I want to accomplish and what I have accomplished is to inspire others to achieve the great things I know they are capable of. Nothing makes me happier than to know I have been of some help or inspiration to someone who has decided that they want to drop a few pounds, or run their first marathon, or build a carbon fiber bike frame, or someone who just needs a little motivation to take the first step to making their dreams come true.
"Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best." – Henry Van Dyke
Labels: soapbox
St Gregory school presentation
4 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 7:53 AM.
I did a school presentation today to St. Gregory's school - Two actually, one to the grade 6's and the second to the grade 8's. The second was kind of scary because it was by far the oldest crowd I have presented to yet. You are cool in junior high, and the drill for being cool is you need to be pretty critical of older dudes who build wacky human powered machines and ride them around race tracks to set records. However, I think the kids really digged what I did, as they had tons of really great questions for me.
I haven't been counting but I would imagine I've done at least a dozen schools by now. The presentations are getting much better I think. The nervousness is gone now, and the content is more pertinent to what a kid wants/needs to hear. I change the slide show every week or so in an effort to respond to how the kids react to my obesity epidemic message. In thinking back to what it was when I started, I would have to say that I am getting a lot more brash - in your face kind of thing. That's what I am finding really gets the attention. I can raise my voice and get a bit emotional about what I am trying to impress upon them - that feels good, and they really listen. Weather or not they will incorporate my message into their lives is another matter. I really hope so, but I'm happy with knowing that perhaps I will strengthen the resolve of a few who might already be fitness minded, and maybe even motivate a few of the others to walk rather than drive next time they visit a friend next door.
One of the recent slides added to my presentation is in response to something that one of the teachers commented on a couple of weeks ago. She seemed to think that my preaching about becoming more active was "easy for me to say", because she, like so many other 'busy' people in our modern society had kids to raise, a full time job to work, and no time for doing ironman races or pedaling a human powered boat across the ocean.
So, I went deep into our home video archives and dug up this really great new shot of 200 pound Greg. Check it out:
yep - that is me about 10 years ago at very close to 200 pounds. I had a 'full time job', very young kids that Helen and I were busy raising, and certainly no time to do the crazy things I now fill my days up with.
But... it was right about then, or shortly there after that I decided that I really wanted to start to enjoy some other things that I used to love doing - running, riding and leading a far more 'physical' life. As a result, I knew that I needed to get into better shape. I was weight lifting then, but for sure I was lugging at least 30 pounds of fat around. I was also sick all the time. I felt that my general health wasn't all that great. Common colds always turned into bronchial infections that lasted for 6 weeks, and my Asthma and hay fever was getting worse as I aged rather than better.
I figured it was about time to make becoming fit and healthy a priority in my life. And so I did. That was a good 10 years ago. Today I am hovering around 155 pounds, I get sick on average about once per year and it doesn't last long. My Asthma disappeared about 3 years ago and I am no longer allergic to anything. My energy levels are higher and I generally feel pretty darn good most of the time. At 46 years old, I can probably out perform the majority of today's 20 year old dudes and that makes me feel younger for sure. That's a good thing for a guy who will turn 50 in only 4 years (YIKES!).
I'm not boasting - really. I don't care what you think of me. The point I am trying to make - to you possibly, but to the kids I speak to, is that if you want to continue enjoying life as you age, then let my advice be your fountain of youth. Hey, my asthma could return tomorrow, I could get really sick and It is possible that I could suffer a heart attack, stroke or get cancer next week. All of those things are possible and I know that. This is about MITIGATING the risks. It is a well known fact that obesity causes a large variety of health problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and who knows how many other interrelated medical conditions! By leading a life with fitness as an important aspect, you are GREATLY reducing these risks. But more importantly, you FEEL BETTER! You have more fun doing cool physical things you love to do - roller skate, dance, work out at your gym, walk the dog, play soccer - what ever. You will also have more energy when doing the other stuff like paying attention during a board meeting, or fitting in one more item on your todo list. It's how we were hard-wired - human beings were HARD-WIRED to be ACTIVE - every day. We short circuit when we are inactive.
Cheers,
Greg K
Continued from the previous BLOG post....
The development of Within is important, as is the search for a corporate sponsor(s). But, the most important aspect of this project to me at least, is KidPower. With the KidPower school speaking program, I have a rare opportunity to make a difference and that is one of the main reasons why I am doing this. It is these crazy cool projects like the 24 hour HPV record, this Pedal The Ocean expedition and the 24 hour HPB record attempt scheduled for this summer, that allow me to take the stage and speak out about what I believe to be a very serious problem in our modern society - in my opinion, second only to global warming.
It's called the obesity epidemic, and if the statistic that 60% of North Americans are overweight is correct, then there is a very good chance that YOU are one of them. That's the most difficult part of this whole quest of mine - I end up speaking to people who don't really want to hear my message. No body likes to be called fat and out of shape. in fact, I think most people don't really even view themselves as being fat and out of shape. This is due mostly to averages - if everyone in our society were super-model skinny, and you were 10 pounds overweight, you would feel fat. In reality, the average person is probably 20 to 40 pounds over weight and if you are only 10 pounds over, you might think that you are doing pretty good. It's this comparison to the status-quo that is the most dangerous aspect of this epidemic. it is happening to almost everyone, and we can't even see it.
1.4 million people in the US died of heart disease last year accounting for nearly 40% of all annual deaths. This compares to less than 50,000 who died from car accidents. You wouldn't even think about driving your car without a seat belt, yet many don't think twice about digging into the chocolate donut or hitting Mickie D's for a Quarter Pounder at lunch. Frankly, I am less concerned about what and how much we are eating and more concerned about our active pursuit of inactivity.
Anthropologists believe that early man used to walk the equivalent of a full marathon (that's 40 km or 26.2 miles) every single day of his/her life. Now the average North American walks the equivalent of 200 meters per day (that's 1/5 of a single kilometer or about a quarter mile). Think about that for a second. Three million years of evolution has produced an animal that required a certain minimum of activity each day just to function normally. Our activity levels have been dropping drastically for less than a hundred years - a mere .003 % on the big time line. Our bodies can't adjust to this drastic change in our environment, and as a result we are getting sick and we are dying of a variety of diseases associated to our new found sedentary environment.
I was watching a show on 60 minutes last night where Rick Berman was speaking out about how we have become a 'nanny state' where we are treated like children by our government who regulates most of what we can do and can't do and what's good for us and what's not. Mr. Berman suggests that the obesity epidemic is not an epidemic at all. He says that an epidemic is a virus that we have no control over. Becoming obese is a choice, he says. Well, I don't agree. In a way, obesity is like any other modern day disease, in that we 'create' the disease by our own doing as a society.
One of the reasons the North American natives were overrun by Europeans, according to the book Guns, Germs and Steel, was because they brought diseases with them that they were immune to. The natives weren't, and most died as a result of these diseases, not as a result of warfare like most people think. The origin of these diseases resulted from the European domestication of animals - viruses passed from the animals to people and over hundreds of thousands of years, the European people slowly became immune to these germs. In a sense, our diseases evolved WITH the Europeans and were a result of their progress as a society. When the Europeans arrived in North American with their germs, the native American people were immediately infected and died.
Over the last fifty to seventy five years, modern day society has strived to mechanize most of what we used to have to do by hand, or foot. Transportation, machines, factories, etc. This has resulted in a fairly sedentary environment where at times, it is difficult if not impossible to accomplish things the old fashioned way - using physical effort. For example many new neighborhoods aren't even being designed with sidewalks! You can't even go for a walk!!!!
During a recent school presentation I did, I discussed the possibility of walking or riding bikes to school. After the presentation some of the teachers were concerned that this would present a danger, since in some cases, there were no low-traffic routes that were safe for travel.
What I am getting at here, is that becoming over weight has become a situation which is almost out of our control - we can't help it. We are constantly bombarded with television advertising convincing us that we need to make a trip to the fridge and teaching us about the new meal between breakfast and lunch called "Leakfast" and how the "snack" is now a mandatory meal between lunch and dinner. Fast food and junk food is cheap and it has been designed by scientists to make it taste about as good as it can get. How can we not become influenced by this? Just to be normal in today's society means that we will probably end up getting fat. We can't help it. This is a disease WE are creating - just like those we created that killed off the native Americans.
The first step in dealing with the problem is letting ourselves off the hook on a personal level. It's not really our fault - but it's ALL of our faults. We need to recognize that some serious changes are required AS A SOCIETY or the obesity virus will continue to spread and grow. And this starts by ridding ourselves of the guilt that so many of us feel about our weight and state of fitness. You don't feel guilty when you catch a cold, but you do everything in your power to cure yourself. We need to treat the obesity epidemic the same way - it's not your fault, but you should still do everything in your power to cure yourself.
And unlike the common cold, a cure for our expanding waste lines is readily available! This problem CAN be overcome, and it does NOT require medicine or modern technology. Just a return to what our bodies are craving - some activity!
If any of you need a little motivation or some advice on becoming more active in your lives, I am here to help. Send me an email, and I offer what ever I can.
Very best regards,
Greg Kolodziejzyk
Labels: soapbox
Support boat thoughts
7 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Sunday, April 01, 2007 at 6:15 PM.
Much in keeping with my previous adventures and experiences, I am trying to keep PedalTheOcean about optimal human performance and state of the art human powered boat efficiency - much like what I did with Critical Power human powered vehicle 24 hour distance record . As I have said before, one of our biggest problems today as a society is a result from this pursuit of achieving more with MORE. Faster cars, bigger stuff, MORE of everything. We need to change that and I am trying to show the world how we can achieve more with LESS. And that it's cool and fun! I wrote a little more about that in Dec of last year.
That said, I am prepared to spend some considerable expense on a really great support system including a support yacht and crew. I want to make this clear - this challenge is NOT about doing a solo, unsupported survival adventure across the Atlantic ocean. I have the highest respect for those who do that like current ocean crossers Roz Savage, Jason Lewis, Bhavic, Ralph Tuijn and previous ocean crossing expeditions Leven Brown, Greg Spooner, Colin and Julie, and the many others I follow and have followed.
My 'thing' is the combination of technology and human performance. A fully supported human powered Atlantic speed record attempt is exactly what this expedition is. The support / safety boat will accompany me and provide supplies, traffic lookout, water making, equipment backups, communications, repairs, food, company and even occasionally a safe place to escape to (if ocean conditions allow). This allows me to focus on designing and building the fastest, most efficient human powered ocean boat possible, and my ability to pedal the machine 3000 miles across the Atlantic ocean in less than 40 days.
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24 hour human powered world record
650 miles
human powered mega-meter world record
23.1 hours
The Adventures of Greg BLOG:
http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/
.................................................
Labels: expedition, soapbox
3 million years of evolution has produced an animal whose natural environment probably consisted of walking the distance of a full marathon each and every single day*. Now take that animal (also known as a "human being"), and stick him in a small cage, rob him of natural sunlight, make him sit in a chair all day and feed him a steady supply of chemicals and refined foods.
Is it any wonder that 60% of North Americans are over weight? Described by the World Health Organization as an "escalating epidemic", obesity is "one of the greatest neglected public health problems of our time with an impact on health which may well prove to be as great as smoking." Being overweight leads to many serious medical problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other health related issues.
An unnatural sedentary lifestyle causes chemical imbalances in our bodies which can lead to a host of psychological problems. Population studies have shown an inverse relationship between physical activity and depression, and there is evidence that active people who become inactive are more at risk of depression that those who remain active. According to a study from Duke University, aerobic exercise was MORE effective than antidepressant drugs in treating depressive symptoms in three study groups.
The cause of the obesity epidemic and skyrocketing rates of depression is obvious in my opinion. We need to become reacquainted with our "natural environment". Break out of your cage. Get outside and get ACTIVE! Ride your bike, run, walk, swim, climb - whatever it takes.
Greg Kolodziejzyk
Contact: greg@pedaltheocean.com
The Abstract is here:
http://www.nature.com/ijo
The complete 6 page paper is also available, here:
http://www.nature.com/ijo
Labels: soapbox
I was doing a presentation for a grade four class today at Elbow Valley Elementary School. I was having a hard time believing in what I was telling the kids. To be honest with you, I felt like a total fake. What the hell am I doing here, and what I am trying to impress upon these kids when I don't really know the first thing about going across a ocean in a 30 inch wide boat. I felt like a fool.
Andrew Mcauley is still missing and I am really bummed out. There is a photo in a New Zealand paper of his wife sitting by the side of his empty kayak weeping.
It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. There is also a photo of Andrew with his 3 year old son Finlay. He wanted to know how daddy was going to get home if he fell out of his kayak. This whole thing with Andew is weighing very heavy on me - it adds a ton of perspective to how I view this Pedaltheocean expedition.
During our question and answer session, one of the kids asked me why I do these things - why I built a human powered vehicle and set a 24 hour distance record, and why I am willing to face the risks to break the 43 day Atlantic crossing record in a tiny human powered boat.
He stumped me.
I couldn't answer his question. I knew the answer of course, but that answer had no words - none of my immediate thoughts about the simple and quite obvious question "why" would translate to English. I just stood there for a moment, smiled and said 'well, there is an old saying and it is, if you have to ask the question, then you wouldn't understand the answer". The boy smiled and immediately understood.
Suddenly, I felt a bit less like a fool.
Obviously, the answer to "why" isn't simple. If early adventurers weren't willing to explore what lay across the ocean, we wouldn't be living here in North America and the earth would still be flat. We need adventurers - in some way, they advance the human race. Some could argue that a crossing of the Tasman sea isn't doing anything to further our greater cause, but I am certain that Christopher Columbus was using technology and techniques that were developed by others who had less ambitious goals. Or perhaps I should say, had equally ambitious goals, but relative to a different time.
And then, there are the personal reasons. To push our boundaries and explore what we are made of, to test and expand our personal limits, and to motivate and inspire others to do the same. When you think you can accomplish something difficult, your confidence develops from what others before you have achieved. We feed on inspiration from our brothers and sisters in the human family. I believe it is our duty to make deposits to the inspiration bank when, where and however we can.
After the presentation, Matt filmed some kids chanting "Human Power Rocks!!!" to the video camera. I realized that if you want to make a difference in the world - you have to get people to listen to you. Breaking world records and ocean crossing expeditions give you a stage. No kid wants to be lectured about the obesity epidemic and physical inactivity from some grownup with a science degree. The speaker has to be someone they respect with a message they might be able to relate to. I'm still working on the message delivery, but I think it's slowly getting better and my warning about the health problems caused by physical inactivity just might be pushing through - who knows.
When I asked ocean rower and adventurer Leven Brown how he was dealing with Andrews death he counseled "I guess that's just the price we pay for living a life less normal."
I'm feeling a little better. Have a fantastic week and if you get the chance, don't forget to make a deposit to the bank of inspiration.
Cheers,
Greg KolodziejzykLabels: soapbox
Andrew McAuley is missing
0 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Saturday, February 10, 2007 at 8:46 AM.
From the Sunday Herald Sun, Victoria, Australia:
"Search continues for McAuley
February 11, 2007 08:01amNEW Zealand rescuers will resume their search this morning for missing Australian kayaker Andrew McAuley.
The adventurer's upturned kayak was spotted by a New Zealand Air Force plane late yesterday afternoon in rough seas about 75 km off Milford Sound in the south island.
There was no sign of Mr McAuley.
His emergency locator beacon was still in the kayak but a life jacket and immersion suit were missing, sparking hopes that he may still be found alive.
Mr McAuley had been expected to arrive in Milford Sound today after leaving Tasmania on January 11 in a bid to become the first person to paddle across the Tasman in a kayak.
Concerns about his safety emerged after New Zealand maritime authorities picked up a garbled distress message on Friday night."
Adrew McAuley set out on January 11, 2007 to become the first person in history to kayak across the Tasman sea from Australia to New Zealand. Andrew modified his kayak by adding a fiberglass dome he called "casper" that fastens over the opening in the kayak so he can sleep. He capsized many times during his expedition, and the canopy cover seemed to do it's job well, keeping the sea water out and popping him up after every capsize.
images from Andrew McAuley.com
Andrew was scheduled to finish his 1600 kilometer journey from Tasmania today. The latest news is that searchers are optimistic that Andrew will be found, as his life jacket and immersion suit were not found in the kayak. Authorities say that people have survived long periods in the ocean, such as Robert Hewitt, who was found alive 72 hours after going into the water last year. The visibility is good and the search involves a plane and helicopter.
Latest news on the search for Andrew: http://www.kayakquixotica.com/blog.html
Andrew's Tasman Solo Expedition blog: http://www.andrewmcauley.com/
Labels: soapbox
Life is not a journey to the grave...
0 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Sunday, December 31, 2006 at 9:52 AM.
"'Life is not a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in a pretty
and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up,
totally worn out,
and loudly proclaiming,
"WOW! What a ride!"'
That's how I'd like to close 2006 - what a fantastic quote. That just says it all doesn't it? Thanks to Roz Savage for that.
And I feel like the way I lived in 2006 brought me one step closer to sliding in broadside. What a year it has been, and what a wild ride!
the Kolodziejzyk family
2006 started out with some difficulty - the winter months of January to April was spent making modifications to my human powered vehicle - Critical Power for a second attempt at the 24 hour human powered distance record that I had scheduled for some time in the summer. I had just returned from a November failed attempt in Alabama completely motivated to fix our problems and attack the record again.
The first item on the agenda was to repair the cracks in the fairing shell caused from my many crashes at the NCAT test track in Alabama. Those were patched with carbon and we added some ribs to prevent the shell from caving in again in case of another crash. Then I had it professionally painted sexy silver metallic with a new CP skull logo advertising that I meant business this time around!
Other mods included adding proper chain guides to prevent another chain derailment which derailed the last attempt, a new, smoother canopy bubble, and a quick-access food/hydration compartment.
The winter months were also spent training for Ironman Arizona. Getting ready for an Ironman in the middle of a Canadian winter is brutal! all my runs were circular loops around the track at the Talisman Center and all my rides were inside on the mag trainer. Needless to say, I was concerned about my lack of any serious distance on the bike as the April Ironman date approached. My longest ride was only 4 hours inside on the trainer. The plan, according to my coach Jason Yanota, was to seriously ramp up the intensity to increase my power. And that we did. My training started with a couple of months suffering through brutal Lactate threshold intervals, then got worse with 4 weeks of MAP intervals (maximum aerobic power - grueling sets of all-out maximum effort lasting a few minutes and repeating until vomit is imminent.
The work paid-off. Ironman Arizona turned out to be the race of my dreams. I missed 3rd place by 2 seconds and easily nabbed a qualifying slot for world championships in Hawaii finishing in 10 hours, 15 minutes. For the last 4 years, it has been a goal of mine to break into the top 5 in my division and qualify for Ironman World Championships in Kona, and I had finally done it - I was ecstatic!
After a post Ironman recovery holiday in Florida with my family, the next item on the agenda was a new training program for another crack at the 24 hour distance record. I would have to say, in looking back, that my fondest memories of the entire HPV distance record project - both attempts actually, were my ultra long training rides. These rides were the back bone of my training program - every week I alternated a super long training ride with a 100 miler fast time trial. The goal of the 100 miler time trials was to hammer as hard as possible and try to maintain 230+ watts for about 4.5 to 5 hours on the M5 lowracer. My course was typically a 50 mile out and back flat and fast section of highway south of Calgary. Those days were tough, but rewarding.
The main focus of my training was the ultra rides. I started out at 8 hours and upped the duration by 2 hours every 2 weeks. These rides were unforgettable mini-expeditions that typically took a few days worth of planning in advance. My choice of route was always important because if you are spending 16 hours out on the road by yourself, you need to stay stimulated. My route of choice was the Highwood Pass - a 320 km circular route that took me up to the top of the highest paved road in Canada and through 2 provincial parks. I saw bears, Mountain goats, a Moose, and many elk. My ultra rides peaked at a 400 km day where I started out at sunrise from my home in Calgary and ended as the sun set in Jasper, about 16 hours later. What a day that was!
And then, in the second week of July, my crew and I flew off to Eureka, CA for my second shot at the 24 hour HPV record. Man, what a special moment that was for me. I have many vivid memories of that entire trip - from preparing Critical Power in the days leading up to the record attempt and the record itself, to all of the celebrations after. On July 19th at 9:00 am, after 23 hours of circling the 1/2 mile Redwood Acres race track over 1000 times, I had tears in my eyes as I realized that I had finally done it - I had broken the existing record of 1021 km and had another hour to add distance to it. It's always nice when a plan works out, and extra sweet when you can say you are the best in the world at something.
Soon after the 24 hour record my family and I flew off to France for a cycling vacation through the Loire Valley. That trip definitely goes down as one of our all-time favorite vacations. When I returned to Calgary, I started back at Ironman training to get ready for Ironman in Kona, Hawaii - another dream that was finally going to come true for me.
The fulfillment of a 5 year quest to make it to world championships was finally realized on Oct 21, 2006 in Kona as I completed my 10th Ironman distance triathlon, the world championships. It was a very challenging day and I learned some important lessons. We had a very relaxing vacation and I am motivated to make it back to Kona for 2007 to see if I can improve my finish there.
We returned to Calgary and I realized that I was in an enviable, exciting situation - one that doesn't come around all that often - what to do next? I don't ever look at these cross roads moments as doors closing on previous goals, but doors opening for new ones. An optimist stays up until midnight to welcome the New Year, a pessimist stays up to make sure the old one goes away. I was faced with a choice of embarking on a new adventure! New challenges that I can leverage what I learned and what I was able to accomplish from previous challenges. This was truly exciting! I made a list of all the things that I've always thought about doing, and talked them over with my wife Helen. When I nervously told Helen that I was thinking of pedaling a human powered boat across the Atlantic, she said “oh, I hope you don't mind that I don't want to go with you!" Man - she is awesome! She is so supportive. If I told her I wanted to build a human powered rocket and go to the moon, she would start packing the TANG. Wait a sec... You don't think she wants to get rid of me do you? Hmm.... Seriously, Helen is incredible. There is no way I could do any of the crazy things I do if not for her unconditional support.
And so it was decided - I was going to cross the Atlantic Ocean by human power. Immediately, I got in touch with the real experts - members of the human powered boats group, and instantly made friends with Rick Willoughby who had some very interesting ideas about exactly what that kind of boat should be about. Together, we came up with a design, and now I have a partially finished fiberglass and Kevlar pedal boat in my shop!
So - what is in store for 2007? Well, I have Ironman Arizona again in April where I would really like to repeat my performance of last year and place in the top 5 in my division and nab my 2nd Kona slot. In fact, my goal is to place top 3. After that, I will have most of the summer to gain experience in Within - my human powered boat. I am planning on some ocean trips off Vancouver Island, and possibly some more aggressive sea-testing in rougher ocean conditions. Helen and I are both doing Ironman Canada in August - so if I do not qualify for Kona in Arizona, then I will have a second chance in Penticton.
As far as what the new year holds in store for the Human Powered Trans Atlantic expedition, it will be an adventure for sure! - Probably some difficult moments, surely some excitement, hopefully some fun along the way and certainly plenty of learning. I am looking forward to making some new friends and strengthening some old relationships. It will be quite a journey for everyone involved. My goals for the year are:
1. To solidify my mission statement - am I going for a crossing record, or going for a solo, unsupported first of some sort?
2. To secure a Charity to work with
3. To secure a major corporate sponsor for the expedition
4. To find supplies and equipment sponsors for the expedition
5. To finish fabrication and testing of Within - the human powered ocean boat to my satisfaction
6. To collect some awesome footage for the TV / documentary series. Building, pool testing, ocean testing, training, etc - should be pretty interesting!
7. To make an attempt at the 24 hour human powered boat distance record. I may use Within for this, or may have to use something specially built for a record attempt.
8. To solidify a schedule of exactly when the ocean crossing will take place
On top of all of this, I vow to resume my drums music lessons, support Helen with her new business venture, and help my kids accomplish their goals.
But what I hope the most for in 2007, is to see that YOU accomplish your goals! You can accomplish what ever you set your mind to - But first, you need a plan because how will you know when you arrive if you don't know where you are going? A plan starts with listing your goals, so let’s start there. If it helps you, feel free to email me with a list of your goals for 2007. I can help with advice and motivation, so use me!
I BLOG because I like to entertain, to inspire, to motivate, to show what's possible, and occasionally to show that even the impossible is possible. But the main reason I blog is for me. It's a great way to solidify what my goals are and to record my trials, tribulations, successes, failures and lessons learned. I'm getting older and I forget stuff all the time. I am finding it increasingly difficult to learn anything if I forget my mistakes, because you don't learn from your successes, you learn from your failures. If you write it down, and tell it to the world, then you have to do it. And if you do it wrong, then it's there in pixels forever so you will never forget - and won't make the same mistake twice. Or at least, won't make the same mistake any more than a dozen or so times...
So hey - I wish you and your family all the best for 2007. And remember to enjoy the ride!
Greg Kolodziejzyk
Labels: soapbox
Why human power is important to you
0 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Friday, December 15, 2006 at 9:27 AM.
I'm on a roll now - somebody stop me.
Styrofoaming Within's deck is very tedious work - like assembling a giant three dimensional puzzle, and I've found that I need to take short breaks or I start to get sloppy. Unfortunately for you, the breaks are resulting in these daily treatises showing up in your inbox. This is good though, as it really gives me a chance to solidify my 'greater good' message that is the basis for the human powered trans Atlantic expedition.
Yesterday, I talked about why Human Power was important to me - today, my topic is why Human power should be important to EVERYONE.
Our fragile environment
United States burns 20.4 million barrels of oil per day. We are damaging our environment beyond repair by burning copious amounts of hydrocarbons into our atmosphere. According to Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth", global warming is melting the ice shelf and global sea levels could rise by over 20 feet. Looking at the global temperature data and it's correlation to greenhouse gas emissions, I believe there is indisputable evidence that burning hydrocarbons is responsible for most of the global warming that is wreaking havoc on our weather systems.
Aside from the frightening global warming issue, I am also deeply concerned about our attitude with regard to consumption. Up until just last year, the US was the worlds largest consumer of natural resources. According to David Suzuki's "Sacred Balance" (I absolutely LOVED this book - everyone should read it), since 1940, Americans alone have used up as large a share of the Earth's mineral resources as all previous generations put together.
The real scary thing is, as of last year, consumption in China eclipsed that of the United States in all the worlds resources but oil, and China's 1.3 billion person economy is growing at a frightening 8% annually
Why is this concerning? There are around 6 billion people living on this rock today. Estimating future population growth at only 1% per year, the numbers are staggering. By 2015, experts estimate there will be 7 billion people on the planet. By 2050, there may be as many as 10 billion people living on Earth. Can mother Earth support this extended family? When will we reach the limit of our resources?
We live in a culture where incentives exist to encourage doing more with more - not doing more with less. Doing more with less is called "efficiency", doing more with more is called "Gluttony". Bigger, faster, more powerful vehicles that consume more fuel at faster rates, larger meals wrapped in complex, land-fill bound packaging, disposable products filling store shelves - you get the picture. Take the new wave of hybrid cars for example. Hybrid technology that was intended to produce spectacular fuel economy, was flipped around by car makers to instead, produce more horsepower for their new hybrid SUV's! Less green, more mean.
Human Powered vehicles are all about trying to do more with less. How to go faster or farther with less energy. Technologies Incorporated into human powered vehicles like aerodynamics, wheel rolling resistance, mechanical efficiencies and size and weight optimization are directly applicable to the cars and boats and other vehicles that we rely upon in these modern times. Most importantly though, Interest in human power represents an essential shift in basic philosophy from one of 'feasting on earths resources' to a 'do more with less' ideal.
Health
It is true that the world needs to pay more attention to human power as a step in saving the environment, but there is a far more important, pressing and urgent concern at hand here in North America and spreading quickly throughout the rest of the world. We are killing ourselves and human power is our only savior.
3 million years of evolution has produced an animal whose natural environment probably consisted of walking the distance of a full marathon each and every single day*. Now take that animal (also known as a "human being"), and stick him in a small cage, rob him of natural sunlight, make him sit in a chair all day and feed him a steady supply of chemicals and refined foods.
Is it any wonder that 60% of North Americans are over weight? Described by the World Health Organization as an "escalating epidemic", obesity is "one of the greatest neglected public health problems of our time with an impact on health which may well prove to be as great as smoking." Being overweight leads to many serious medical problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other health related issues.
An unnatural sedentary lifestyle causes chemical imbalances in our bodies which can lead to a host of psychological problems. Population studies have shown an inverse relationship between physical activity and depression, and there is evidence that active people who become inactive are more at risk of depression that those who remain active. According to a study from Duke University, aerobic exercise was MORE effective than antidepressant drugs in treating depressive symptoms in three study groups.
The cause of the obesity epidemic and skyrocketing rates of depression is obvious in my opinion. We need to become reacquainted with our "natural environment". Break out of our cages, get outside and get ACTIVE! Ride your bike, run, walk, swim, climb, row - whatever it takes.
Human power is the power to live. Use it or lose it.
* this refers to a Columbia University study published in early 2005 that suggested "you would have to walk 5.7 hours a day over fields and hills to approximate the energy expenditure of early humans". I have looked for the actual study, but all I could find was many references to it on the Internet.
Labels: soapbox
Why I like human power, and boat name
0 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Thursday, December 14, 2006 at 9:31 AM.
Why I like human power and finally, a name for the boat!The day before the Las Vegas marathon, as I lay in my lawn chair trying to maximize my angle to the low December sun, I got to do some deeper thinking about why "human power" is so important to me. I mean, some people really get into WW11 history, some go nuts over collecting wooden toys and some guys build robots. What is it about human power that turns my crank?
Our passions are obviously related to our personalities. Being a typical male, I am hardwired to dig technology, physical activity is my life-blood, and I like the outdoors and to travel. I also like long walks on the beach and poking dead things with a stick.
As a young kid, I remember reading a National Geographic feature story about a team who rode their '10 speed' bikes from Argentina to Alaska. I was riveted by their story. This really spoke to me. The whole idea of riding my bicycle distances longer that we had ever driven our family car was something that resonated deeply with me. I read that National Geographic story about a dozen times.
I saved money from my paper route and purchased a brand new '10 speed' bicycle. Wow! It had 10 speeds and drop handle bars just like the ones used in the national geographic bike tour. I rode it everywhere. I duct-taped a transistor radio to my handle bars so I could listen to all the 1970's hits on CKXL Calgary radio station while I biked the daily 10 mile route from my house in Lakeview (there was no view of any lake) to my downtown paper route.
My passion for riding bikes returned just after I graduated from SAIT - a technical institute where I received a diploma in engineering, and an education in how to party almost every night, and still pass exams. Phil Evans talked me into riding our 10 speed bikes 100 km from Calgary to Banff. I almost died. I remember reaching the lake at LacDesArc and the lights started to go out. I had almost fainted. I think that trip took us a good 10 hours. Now I can ride to Banff, do a 15 km trail run, and ride back to Calgary in less than 10 hours.
We are the products of our past. Looking back, it's obvious that I would eventually become involved with the design, construction and application of human powered vehicles in some way. We are who we are, and I mean that LITERALLY! - check this out:
I got a really interesting email yesterday from Paul Kolodziej. in case you didn't know, my last name is Kolodziejzyk - only 3 letters longer than Paul's. Paul was reading my article in Popular Science magazine and noticed the similarities in our names. He informed me that in Polish, the name "Kolodziejzyk", and it's various derivatives mean "WHEEL MAKER".
Human power to me though, is so much more than travel under our own physical capacity. It's really about ALL of our power as humans. The power to choose, the power to create, the power to succeed, the power to cross continents, the power to cross oceans, the power to motivate, the power to love, the power to care, the power to inspire, the power to learn and the power to grow. Human power is the power within.
And with that, I have decided upon a name for the human powered trans Atlantic pedal boat.
I hereby christen the boat "Within". Because Human Power is the power from within. Here are some logo ideas. Let me know if you like one of them (click to enlarge).
Labels: soapbox
An inspirational evening
0 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Monday, November 06, 2006 at 12:42 PM.