I’m not a runner — but have defaulted to running as daily fitness for hundres of days this lifetime.
Do it anywhere. Anytime. Little gear.
Ideally running up and down stairs. I can do enough in 15 minutes.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
If stairs aren’t convenient, I normally do a leisurely run for about 30 minutes. SOON I’ll be in Zagreb, Croatia, running around town sightseeing.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Pro tip ➙ ONLY cycle downhill.
Alternatively, an electric bike is NOT cheating, so long as you pretend to pedal while the motor does most of the work. 😀
In seriousness, I don’t mind the occasional push up the hill. It’s rest and recovery from cycling.
But there are times it’s called hike-a-bike: “pushing, carrying, or shouldering a bicycle over terrain that is too steep, rocky, or muddy to ride“.
Awkward and sometimes agonizing.
I try to minimize these situations.
That photo is from a terrific post on the subject by MILES ARBOUR:
Bikepacking.com – THE ART OF BIKE-PUSHING
Due to Trump’s idiotic Epstein Distraction Forever War, I decided to stay closer to home this Spring.
Made a PLAN … that mostly worked out. 😀
The Skiing was excellent. My best year ever. 12 days at Sunshine.
Hiking great. 17 days in the tent, walking deserts in California and Nevada.
Cycling was the most problematic. But I still made it 11 days on the Trans Canada Great Trail, starting in Vernon and ending up in Fernie (with a busted bike).
What’s next?
Still considering my options.
The only thing fixed for sure is World Gymnastics Championships in Netherlands Oct. 2026.
Due to Trump’s idiotic war, I decided to stay closer to home this Spring.
Made a PLAN … that didn’t exactly work out. 😀
The Skiing was excellent. My best year ever. 12 days at Sunshine.
Hiking great. 17 days in the tent, walking deserts in California and Nevada.
NEXT is visiting friends in Kelowna and Vernon. Most probably cycling back to Calgary on the Great Trans Canada Trail.
Check out my GEAR for the trip. Everything but the kitchen sink. 😀
For years I’ve been coming to Banff in the shoulder season SPRING for skiing and hiking.
Never a bad day in Banff. Note they moved this sign.
FINALLY in 2026, I bought a Spring Ski Pass – Midweek.
Cost CAD $584.85 for unlimited skiing at Sunshine Monday through Thursday.
Enjoy unlimited access Monday through Thursday to Canada’s Best Spring Skiing starting March 8th all the way until Slush Cup Monday May 18th with a Banff Sunshine Midweek Spring Pass.
I got my money’s worth in 2026 with 12 days on the hill.
Luckily for me Banff Sunshine Village had a historic season with 812 cm (26 feet) of total season snow.
I usually follow the same sequence of lifts if the snow is good:
These days my goal is NOT to fall and get hurt, so I stay mostly on Blues and easy Black Diamond.
I try not to have my skis leave the ground. 😀
Happily, I had only one fall in 12 days. No injuries.
When picking up my pass at Sunshine Village, I noticed there is a Senior (age 65+) year long pass that’s even cheaper if you buy it mid-season, and good every day of the week. (It’s no longer advertised this late in the season — but I might buy that one instead next year.)
If I was 45 years younger, with an Aussie accent, I’d fit right in with the real ski bums & snow bunnies spending their winter in Banff.
There are 3 hostels in Banff, by far the least expensive accommodation.
I usually stay at Samesun Banff, about CAD $200 for 3 nights in a 6 bed dorm. With breakfast.
Free ski bus picks up and drops off on the same block. So convenient.
Spring is a fantastic time to be in Banff. It’s so beautiful — without the crowds.
One highlight for me is watching Elk wander town.
When I’m not skiing, I’m HIKING. Spring hiking can be magical.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Hey. On April 16, 2026, Banff Sunshine was named the “Best Overall Ski Resort” for the 2025/2026 ski season by users of OnTheSnow, the world’s most visited snow sports website.
“Man plans, and God laughs”
I’m staying closer to home due to Trump’s stupid, unnecessary war.
Starting my 4th week of skiing out of Banff.
I have a permit to backpack a couple of weeks on the world’s best long thru hike – the Pacific Crest Trail. Starting May 26th out of Palm Springs, California.
AND I want to get back to Banff by June 12th (or shortly after) to start the Tour Divide – the world’s most famed long distance cycling route Canada to Mexico.
I won’t be trying for Mexico.
From Missoula, Montana I’ll divert to Idaho. And on to Kelowna, B.C. for a reunion with lifelong friends.
Here’s my cycling itinerary.
What could go wrong? 😀
… I’d say the odds of everything going to plan are about 25%. BUT that’s why it’s adventure.
Wish me luck.
For years I refused to wear a watch because TIME AIN’T THE BOSS OF ME.
Then — in 2017 — I saw James make phone calls and answer business texts while drinking wine, soaking in a rooftop hot tub — on his Apple Watch.
I was sold.
I’m now addicted.
I’ve had several over the years. Currently the less expensive Apple Watch SE (3rd Gen, 2025).
I like the Modular watch face with Camera Remote, Compass, Weather as complications.
There are many other features I use occasionally, but not often.
I control audio with EarPods, not the watch.
Cost was CAD $329 from Apple Canada. That’s with the GPS only, 40mm Midnight Aluminium Case with Midnight Sport Band. Second generation.
From the Apple Store on Amazon.ca it was CAD $280.
The local BestBuy store was $280, as well, where I picked mine up. In stock.
related – David Pogue – What Do You Do with the Apple Watch?
October 2025 I had my 3rd ever episode of Vertigo.
Happily, it only lasted about 10 minutes. The previous two, over a decade ago, lasted much longer. This time I was able to resist vomiting.
Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. …
It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspiration, or difficulties walking. …
Vertigo accounts for about 2–3% of emergency department visits in the developed world. …
In fact, the first time a police woman called the ambulance. And I underwent a half dozen tests at the hospital.
It was concluded that I had normal Vertigo, requiring no follow-up medications or treatment.
Here’s one physical treatment that I have tried. I can’t claim it works, however.
I do suffer motion sickness, as well — but only on amusement park rides.
6-7 is oh so last year.
I turned 68-years-young today.
I’m finally old enough to join the Old Fart Adventure Travel TikTok Crew. 😀
On the road in Singapore.
I’ve had many birthdays on the backpacker trail.
Tam and Les bought me birthday lunch in Little India. We had a robot waiter — though it was too uncoordinated to actually make it to our table. A waiter brought it the last mile.
For decades already I’ve been the oldest person in most hostels. I’ve grown used to the distinction.
Mostly, the kids treat me as a bit of a novelty: How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?
Life is short ➙ If you want to travel, travel.
Surprisingly, I’d never read the Hugo Award winner for Best Novel 1977.
It’s original and excellent. Far ahead of its time.
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is a science fiction novel by American writer Kate Wilhelm,
The collapse of civilization around the world has resulted from massive environmental changes and global disease, which were attributed to large-scale pollution.
… one large family founds an isolated community in an attempt to survive the still-developing global disasters.
As the death toll rises, mainly to disease and nuclear warfare, they discover that the human population left on earth is almost universally infertile.
From cloning experiments … the scientists in the small community theorize that the infertility might be reversed after multiple generations of cloning, and the family begins cloning themselves in an effort to survive.
The assumption is that after a few generations of cloning, the people will be able to revert to traditional biological reproduction. …
What could go wrong?
… only “naturally” produced human in the community, Mark, seeks his own solution to the problem, and by force he leads a group of fertile women and children to abandon the community and start over …
The title of the book is a quotation from William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73.
Christine Sandquist REVIEW.
Rick McCharles 