Bicycle Trip Across
Canada
(Victoria
BC to St.
John's Newfoundland)
I've always wanted to ride my bicycle across Canada.
It
was a pipe dream of mine that I held close and only occasionally shared with close
friends. I was given the opportunity to cycle across the
country during the summer of 2008. During this summer, a
buddy (Ludovic Clavier) and I rode 6,700 Kms to
reach St. John's,
Newfoundland
from Victoria,
British
Columbia
in 57 days. We did this completely unassisted and on our own terms; we did it because we wanted to.
It has enriched my soul and has reinforced in me, comfort with
the unknown. Each morning we would cycle roughly 140 Kms without knowing where we would end
our day-- where we would sleep, who we would meet, and if it
would rain. This adventure has improved my penchant for perseverance. It
has given me personal strength-- physical and mental. It has also
invigorated my sense of community, and positive outlook on the
future.
We collected some statistics that describe
our speed (Km/hr) for each day of the trip. This information
is provided in our blog
along with some description of
routes.
I met many wonderful people while my buddy and I sat outside a Save
On Foods, Overwaitea,
SafeWay
, or other
grocery store a few times a week while eating our freshly
purchased food. Each night when we slept at a
campground fellow campers offered us beverages in exchange
for good company and stories. These Canadians
living in other parts of the country entertained us with their
stories of festivals, train derailments, cultural
peculiarities, and outdoor adventures. This provided me
with the opportunity to re-connect with people after
having spent many solitary hours working on my PhD
research.
This was one of the most wonderful adventures in my
life and I highly recommend such a trip for anyone who dares to dream big. I have given slide-show
presentations of this trip and I am happy to given them again if you are
interested in hosting a talk. I've posted some
information in the format of a rough picture blog: http://2friends1goal.blogspot.com/,
Videos: On
YouTube
My
Profession
If you're
interested in learning about the brain activity analysis
(brain scans) or eye-tracking
research that I do, defintely explore the links below. I'm in
the process of making this my livelihood so if you know of anyone
who is looking for someone with my skills, pass my name
along.
* My Expertise
* My Company (Applied
Brain and Vision Sciences)
* Recent Media Campaign 1: Brain and
Vision
* Recent Media Campaign 2: Spatial
Brain
Eco-Racing
In 2004 I did a foot race called "The Great
Walk". It's a 63.5 Km distance along logging roads on
Vancouver Island between Tasis and Gold River. This was my
first big foot race and it is something I hope to do again in the
future. For the distance, my time was approximatly 8.5
hours. Through the course, drinks, cookies, and sandwiches
were provided to support people like myself who were travelling as
light as possible. When I completed the course, I walked
around for a bit to watch other people completing the race. However,
after about 2 hours, I fell asleep on the floor of a gymnasium
provided to shelter racers after finishing the race. I awoke
the next day about about 7:30 am wondering where everyone had
gone.
A pipe dream of mine (that will probably one
day come true) is to do the Gobi Desert March http://www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/.
I have heard quite a bit about people in Victoria training for this
race and I have to admint that I am
intrigued....
|
Climb Kilimanjaro September 2011
Approximately 6 months ago I was invited to
join some other men on a trip to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro
and my immediate response was, "hell ya!". At the time and had
no idea how I would manage my prior commitments but my gut told
me that to not go given this opportunity landing in my lap would be
a tragedy. How could
I pass up the opportunity to travel the highest altitude I've ever experienced with
two feet on the ground?
I've since come to know the other men who
will be on this expedition. We make up a bit of a motley crew:
myself a scientist and designer, a well-seasons sales person (Rick
Armor), an auto mechanic (Mike
Bocsik), an investment and real estate specialist (Gord Knox), and a genius in
his own right (Michael MacDonald).
We have created a Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/gMXFb7
The company we have booked with is: http://climbmountkilimanjaro.com/
Currently, I'm in preparation for a
high-altitude experience: cardio exercise including running and
cycling, swiming, and yoga. In theory, I shall be in very good
physical condition for this journey.
I have started a new blog at the site: http://philipmichaelzeman.blogspot.com
Eye-Care Work in Belize
I was recently given the opportunity to travel to Belize with a group of optometrists
and others associated with the Lion's Club to provide
both eye-health services and vision correction services to the local
people. While there are already organizations that provide
vision-related services, Belize
is a
developing country and they can use all the help, education, and
incentive that other countries and organizations can provide. (There are of
course other philosophies and politics around this. Our objective was
simply to provide people who can't see, with vision, and prevent vision
loss where possible.) We were fed and housed by the Lion's Club and
looked after by officials in the Belizean government. Each day we
were visited by approximately 170 people. We provided services in
both Punta Gorda
(in our first week) and in Belize
city
(in our second week). This was an incredibly rewarding
trip and I enjoyed everyone we encountered: the people from Canada
with whom we worked, the patients themselves, and the
supporters of the cause in Belize. I
want to thank everyone involved and say that I wish to continue this sort
of work in the future.
Office Space
While the first part of the development of MOST-EEG for analyzing
brain activity and our eye-tracking work was conducted at the
University of Victoria, continued development has been taking place
in an office space in down-town Victoria. I want to
acknowledge Ross Dunn and his Web Marketing Company www.Stepforth.com for providing
this to me in-kind. The relationship has actually be very
benificial as we have been given the opportunity to work together
and learn from each other. They have given me advice for
marketing this web site (which I haven't entirely followed due to my
own time constraints) and I have provided them with insight into new
types of web site behavioral analysis and web site Behavioral Interactoin
Optimization.
Sailing
It is easy to learn to sail in
Victoria. About 10 years ago I started showing up at Royal
Victoria Yacht Club on Wednesday nights to see if anyone needed any
extra crew for those days where the wind was extra strong or the
standard crew didn't show up. (On Wednesday nights, the club
does their yacht races.) Fortunately, this happended
frequently enough that I was eventually taken on as a
'regular'. The best part is that if you have the nerves to
face the cold and a cursing skipper, you can essentially learn to
sail for free.
After some time spent as 'movable ballast',
hanging my legs off the windward side of the boat, I eventually
moved up to a position on the foredeck. My job entailed
changing sails, managing the pole, flying the 'chute', and dealing
with the occasional emergency that I would sometimes inadvertently
create.
Since then, I've become a litte more
seasoned on the boat and I have taken more of a leadership role in
sailing. During my bicycle trip across Canada in the Summer of
2008, I had the fantastic experience of having complete control of
the helm and sails of a boat on lake Huron. Myself and
the friend with whom I was traveling set up our camp
for the evening at a yacht club in Blind River,
Ontario. At this yacht club we met a gentleman
who recently purchased and restored a sailboat but who had
little experience sailing. Seizing the opportunity, I suggested that I could provide
some tips and help rigg the boat up properly. That evening we
spent crusing the lake at about 7 knots, close-hauled, in the red-orange light of a
setting
sun.
This fall (October 2009) I joined the crew of
a Martin 244 called "Le Cinq". Le Cinq sails from the 'Jib
Set Victoria' sailing club out of West Bay Marine
Village, Victoria B.C.. Le Cinq's skipper is Yves Chartrand, a very
experience retired navy officer who now races, and provides a
variety of boat-related services in his spare time http://www.bonvoyageboating.ca/. This
fall we're participating in the standard weekend sailboat racing
series in Victoria. We will be trying to
sail with CFSA and also Turkey Head Sailing Association
in the new year. I'm hoping to become part of a crew
to do the next Vancouver Island 360 race and the coming Victoria
to Maui yacht race http://www.vicmaui.org/
.
|