A bunch of stuff happened since birth. I don’t think you’re here for that bit. Instead, I think you might want to know that I love travel and adventure. That I have travelled to over 30 countries. Mostly for months at a time.

After 28 years working for the same employer, I took early retirement shortly after a colleague was diagnosed with a terminal brain cancer two months before he and his wife were to start travelling the world on their retirement. It made me realize how fragile and short life could be.

The day my own retirement, I started a 36,000 mile journey from a small town on the east coast of Canada, across the USA to California, through Mexico and Central America, into Colombia, and down through South America, all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina, the most southern city in the world. Then I rode back. That epic trip took nine months on a big heavy 1200cc motorcycle. I have never looked back. That adventure changed the direction in my life. And if I was to do the trip again, it would take me much longer as I’d take more time getting to know better the different cultures.

In 2014 I did something similar. I rode the length of Vietnam on a classic-styled 110cc Honda Super Cub over 5 months, and had just as much fun. Maybe even more. Bigger is not always better.

I’ve also owned and travelled in a VW camper (fun but not reliable) and a truck camper (heavy), and I have spent months visiting Cuba, Thailand, Cambodia, India, the USA, and other places.

Today, I’m using my experiences to build a revolutionary travel and adventure company.

I’m a perpetual student and read a lot. I sometimes point to and comment about the things I see. Even foolish things. I don’t read comic books. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I’m over 6 feet tall, but I like small vehicles. I still drive a first generation 1993 Mazda Miata MX5. She puts a smile on my face almost every time I take her out for a spin. Some years ago I owned a Triumph Spitfire. That was fun too. But she wasn’t reliable. I prefer things (and people) I can rely on.

I’m a big fan of technology that works. I’m not tied to any particular computer brand or operating system. I am, for example, still trying to make my iPad Pro work as a laptop replacement. Most of the time it doesn’t. Apple products might look nicer, but they aren’t necessarily better tools. Often they are the wrong tool.

I’m a big motorsport fan, particularly Formula 1. In my younger days I raced an open wheel Formula Ford, and a 4-wheel drive Subaru in the Canadian Rally Championship. In my much younger days I dreamed of racing Gilles Villeneuve.

I like to live a healthy lifestyle. I try to be conscious of what I consume. I’ve run seven marathons, including the famous Boston Marathon on a couple of occasions. My personal best time was in Philadelphia. I stood on the Rocky Steps afterwards, but I didn’t raise my arms. That’s not my style. I still dream of running a marathon in under 3 hours. My PB is a few minutes shy.

I own a hyperactive Cairn Terrier. I have had four Labrador Retrievers. They have all been much easier to train than this spunky, determined, playful, independent, scruffy, sturdy, scrappy, wilfully stubborn, barking beast I’ve lovingly named Skye.

I’m a licensed ham radio operator, though I haven’t turned on the radios much in the past few years. I am changing that and rediscover this wonderful hobby.

I’m also a sailor and would like to live aboard and sail a small boat across the Atlantic some day.

I was born and grew up in Montreal. That makes me Canadian. And I’m very proud of that. I think we have a wonderful country. True North – Strong and Free. I know how lucky that makes me and I don’t take that for granted. But I also consider myself a world citizen with a Canadian passport.

I think we all should be a little kinder. We are living in an unusual time. We hide behind our devices, checking the social feeds of friends we have never met, while ignoring the people around us. We aspire to travel like stay with the locals In search of an authentic experience but we don’t take the time to get to know our own neighbours. Too often, we are fearful of what we don’t know and understand.

We all live on the same blue marble and have more in common than most of us realize. The world is a better place when we get to know each other, when we are a little less strange to each other. That’s one of the ways travel makes us grow.

My first language was French. I was educated in English. I also speak some Spanish.

I have visited the ten Canadian provinces and lived in half of them. I want to see more of them. I am also planning to visit our three northern Territories. That will be another epic road trip!

There’s a whole lot more to this story. But I don’t have a more detailed résumé elsewhere. If you want to know something, ask me.