there is no finish line...enjoy the ride...

6 Rules that will Increase the Quality of your Life

Over the weekend I participated in the Gran Fondo Rockies 170km cycling “race”.  Well, they say it’s not a race, but hey, they give you a number, a time and the top 5 male and female finishers were awarded prize money.  So as far as I can tell, it had all the characteristics of a race. 

Training for a 170km bike race, or just trying to increase the basic quality of your life requires 6 key criteria. If you follow these 6 basic rules, you will enjoy increased energy levels (at any age). 

1. Eat Healthy, (Most of the Time):  I have to admit, I have a sweet tooth and I love French Fries and Onion Rings.  That said, I rarely eat this stuff because over the years, I’ve made small changes to my diet whereby I don’t crave it.  When grocery shopping, stick to the outside aisles, because that’s where you’ll find the healthy whole food and avoid the inside aisles where they stock the processed foods that are accountable for the health crisis in North America.  Over time, increase your fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, whole grains and lean meats, to the point where this becomes the majority of your calories consumed and junk food is the exception.  Finally, watch your portions.  North Americans eat way too much and generally have no idea what a healthy portion looks like.
2. Keep Moving & Move More:  I’m often asked how many times a week should one exercise for optimal health.  The answer is 7 days a week for a minimum of an hour.  If you live a sedentary life, start walking.  Instead of plopping your butt in front of the TV with a bag of chips and a beer, or wine and cheese.  Get moving and go for a brisk walk.  It’s easy, free of cost and you will feel better when you’re done.  If you’re already active, try switching up your routine, or increase the training intensity.  As the ad goes, “Just Do It”.
3. Sleep:  This is one of my areas where I can certainly improve.  Sleep is critical for the body to recover, especially for those of us that are active.  I’ve written on this topic before and I have two suggestions, 1) go to bed this week 30 to 60 minutes earlier, and 2) get into a pre-bed routine that reduces the exposure to TV, Computers, and work e-mails.  Making these two changes will increase the quantity and quality of your sleep, thereby increasing your body’s ability to recover and be energized for the next day.
4. De-stress Your Life:  I look at stress as being both negative and positive.  The stress that you place upon yourself to improve and drive yourself to new levels is positive.  By its very nature, healthy stress is a motivator.  It makes us better people.  Having just watched the Olympics for the past 17 days, we witnessed incredible performances that were the result of positive stress.  While at the same time these very same athletes do everything in their power to eliminate all negative stress from their lives.  If you have issues at work, or within your family that are causing internal turmoil, deal with it, because the stress is unhealthy and will affect your ability to sleep, exercise and eat properly.  The good thing about negative stress, it’s usually within your power to control, or eliminate.  But like most things pertaining to health, it requires action on your part to make it happen. 
5. Drink H2O:  With all the exotic drinks that are available these days, there’s still nothing better than good old fashion water (even our tap water).  Water is the ultimate energy drink and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.  If you eat a healthy diet, there’s no need for vitamin water, energy drinks, sports drink, electrolyte replacement drinks, etc, etc.  And if there’s just one thing you take away from this post that will make a huge change in your energy levels, stop drinking soda pop.  Just remember, the majority of the human body is water and it needs approximately 2 litres (67 oz) every day, and more depending on the intensity of your exercise.  If you want to turn you water into a more exotic drink, slice up a lemon, lime or orange for some flavour.  Finally a word on alcohol; if you’re female, more than 1 drink a day is considered unhealthy and 2 drinks a day for men.  Many of our chronic diseases are directly attributed to the increase in social drinking habits, especially amongst women.
6. Find and Fuel Your Passion:  Anyone that's met me for more than 5 minutes will know my passion is cycling.  Living your passion fuels your spirit.  Finding and living your passion is a key criterion for living a quality life.   If you don’t know what your passion is, list the things you used to love doing and start doing them again until one emerges.  People often lose their way when they live without something they love to do that defines who they are.  If you know what your passion is, but aren’t doing it, now’s the time to stop procrastinating and make it happen.  You’re body and soul will thank you.

I placed 2^nd overall in that Gran Fondo and after 170km of hard racing, it came down to a sprint finish between three of us and I was edged out by a wheel at the line by the guy in the front of this picture.  This picture was taken after 160km of racing with only 10km to go and by this point, we were all sufferring. 

After we finished the other two guys I sprinted with were surprised that a 56 year old guy could compete with guys that were 15 to 25 years younger.  The answer was simple and contained in the 6 points listed above. 

For the most part, I eat well (most of the time), I train every day (a day off is the exception), maybe if I got a little more sleep, I could have beaten the other guy to the line (note to self, go to bed 30 minutes earlier, starting this week), I drink approximately 4 litres of water every day to fuel my body, I deal with all stressors in my life and eliminate the negative ones that affect my wellness and finally, I know my passion and enjoy doing it every day.

Implementing these 6 basic rules will certainly increase the quality of your life.

Enjoy the Ride...Rob

Action Flicks the Switch - an inspirational story

I’ve often said the intent of writing my blog is to provide people with information that when put into action will improve the quality of their life.  Except for the number comments and emails I receive from time to time, I really don’t know the personal impact I have on the thousands of people that tune in from time to time....that is until this past year!

The saying, “Knowledge is Power, but Action Flicks the Switch” is epitomized by Peter LeClair.   Let me introduce you to Peter.  Last summer, Peter weighed an unhealthy 245lbs (a BMI of 33.5 or considered obese) and at the age of 53, this kind of weight carries all kinds of health risks that I’ve discussed in numerous posts. 

Even at this weight, Peter is an avid cyclist and through a chance guided bike ride through the South of France with my step-brother (Gerry Patterson), I was introduced to Peter.  You see, Peter had a dream of competing in a bike race held every year in conjunction with the Tour de France.  The race is called Etape du Tour  and there are two events; Act 1 - held in the French Alps and Act 2 - held in the French Pyrenees.  Peter elected to participate in Act 2, the longer and more difficult of the two races.  Act 2 is a grueling 201km trek over four monster mountain passes unlike anything we see on this side of the North American side of the ocean and will be ridden by the pro riders in the Tour de France a few days after he rides it.  Every year, the Etape du Tour attracts approximately 9000 cyclists participate and this year was no exception.

When I first spoke to Peter, he told me about this dream and was looking for a little training advice, while at the same time telling me he was a “little” overweight.   You could imagine my reaction when his actual weight was revealed, because Etape du Tour is for the most seriously fit cyclists and although Peter was motivated, he wasn’t in any condition to attempt such a ride.  In fact, I told him his first order of business was to focus on his health. 

Every few years, I personally coach a few people; sometimes it’s an athlete wanting to improve their athletic performance; other times it’s to assist someone determined to transform their lifestyle.  With Peter, I did both. 

Since I don’t charge fees for my services, my only reward is to see someone like Peter transform their life while watching their physical and psychological changes.  I only have four criteria before working with someone, because if I’m going to invest my time I need to know they are equally motivated and driven by a larger purpose than just vanity.  These include:

1. 100% support from their significant other (it's almost impossible to make this kind of lifestyle transformation if the other people in the home aren't on the same page)
2. Committed to a long term (as in decades) purpose to why they’re making this change (short term goals like just losing weight won’t get you through the tough days)
3. Commitment to my suggested dietary and exercise changes (it took years to become unhealthy, it’s tough to replace bad habits with new healthy ones)
4. Take responsibility and agree that you alone are responsible for your health (good or bad)

Peter met my criteria in spades and we started working together in early October last year (10 months ago). 

Peter was initially focussed on wanting to weigh less than 200lbs in preparation for Etape, while I just wanted him to focus on his health.  To set the appropriate weight expectation, I asked Peter what he weighed in his final year of High School, and he said around 170lbs.  I said, “Well that’s the weight you will be next summer”.  Peter thought I was nuts, as a 75lb weight loss seemed unrealistic. I simply said, “Stop worrying about weight, because if you live a healthy lifestyle, your weight will take care of itself.”  There’s no reason why anyone should gain weight throughout their life if they eat properly, limit alcohol consumption and exercise regularly.  Most excuses I hear why someone gains weight throughout their life are simply that, excuses for a lazy and unhealthy lifestyle.

I won’t take you through the detail of Peter’s transformation program, other than to say, I provided him with a daily workout schedule and a dietary plan with general concepts and rules and Peter followed the program to the letter.  Again, knowledge may be key, but more important was Peter's dedication to turn this knowledge into action.

Peter’s journey just to get him to the Etape de Tour starting line is a great success story, as he had to lose approximately 1/3 of his body weight in addition to train hard enough to be sufficiently prepared to endure over 200km of the toughest cycling conditions that would make the most seasoned pro cyclist lose sleep with anxiety.  Peter not only met his goal, but surpassed it, as he transformed his lifestyle and attitude towards his personal health and as a side benefit he ultimately weighed in at a healthy 165lbs on race day.  A loss of 80lbs in 10 months.

Below is the transformed Peter, sporting his great riding form in his size MEDIUM cycling kit.

Providing Peter the information to make his transformation possible was important, but as the saying goes, “Information is Power, but Action Flicks the Switch.  And Peter flicked that switch.  He switched his dietary practices and for the most part followed my guidelines and rules.

And when it came to training, Peter rarely missed a scheuled workout (many in his basement as pictured above during the cold Canadian winter months), even when he felt like taking a day off.  And believe me it was a tough program, which had to be proportional to the event he was perparing for.  Peter demonstrated the kind of determination, commitment and never ending positive attitude that’s usually reserved for Olympic champions.  

The day before Peter competed in Etape, I emailed and told him regardless of how he performed in the race, he was already and winner.  Below, Peter standing in front of a motivational poster the day before the big race. 

Race day was this past Saturday (July 14) and I’m delighted to report that both Peter and my step-brother Gerry (who also raced Etape du Tour - Act 1 the previous weekend) completed the Etape du Tour - Act 2 in what were horrific wet and cold conditions.  I’m hoping Peter will provide a guest blog describing his journey back to health as his story is one of inspiration, determination and what it's like to live in the world of the possibility. 

Peter in full flight living his dream of health and competing in 2012 Etape du Tour. 

Enjoy the Ride ... Rob

Ride to Conquer Cancer

A week ago I participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer with seven of my work colleagues.   We joined over 1800 cyclists from across the province of Alberta as they rode over 230km over a weekend.  Collectively our team raised over $43,000, adding to the over $8,000,000 this single event raised in the fight against cancer. 

It’s said a picture is worth a thousand words, than I guess a video must be worth a million words.  Below is a short 10 minute video I produced to capture the event’s highlights.  Enjoy. 

  

My Observations:

The majority of the people riding in this event were your everyday person and I couldn’t find a single person that hasn’t somehow been personally affected by cancer, either personally or through a close friend or relative. 

I write this blog with the intent to increase the quality of life through providing readers information about diet, exercise and general healthy lifestyle choices.  During the weekend, I listened to the many stories about people that had cancer and lost the fight, and those that won the fight.  But as I listened, I found myself making a mental tally how many cases were the result of “bad cards” vs how many were because of “bad habits”.  It didn’t take long to realize the majority were the result of poor lifestyle choices.  Obviously, this is not a scientific study, but the point I’m trying to make, is that many people contract cancer because they have adopted unhealthy habits from their parents, or friends and without even knowing it they find themselves running directly towards a serious cancer event. 

Too many of these cases is simply a lack of education regarding the risk factors beyond genetics.  For example, eating a diet that’s high in acid, is a breeding ground for cancer (the typical North American diet, especially soft drinks and alcohol are very acidic), or not eating foods that are high in antioxidants, that remove free radicals that cause oxidative stress, which may lead to cancer.  In the absence of information, people will do what others do with little consideration to the consequences.

The other comment I heard over and over again during the weekend was how cancer caught the person by surprise.  Cancer is generally a disease that takes years or decades to develop to the point of crisis.  Except for the people that were given “bad cards”, cancer should never come as a surprise.  If you are overweight (BMI greater than 24.8, which is now over 55% of all Canadians), or you smoke (21% of Canadians), or you drink more than the safe limit of alcohol (one drink a day for women, two for men), or if you don’t exercise daily, etc. etc. then don’t be surprised if one day cancer knocks on your door.  The decisions you make today about your health will affect you decades from now.

Regardless of how or why a person contracts cancer, this disease affects more than that individual, and events such as the Ride to Conquer Cancer raise much needed awareness in addition to the funding needed for scientific research that hopeful brings a day when we live in a cancer free world.  Until that time comes, take it upon yourself and make healthy lifestyle choices for you and your loved ones.

Enjoy the Ride.....Rob

Prevention Is Thy Cure

I don’t talk much about my day job, but let me start off by saying, I love what I do.  I get to work in an area that aligns with my passion for health by marketing solutions that improve the quality of life by leveraging technology.  Whether it’s Personal Health Records that enable citizens to monitor their own health and wellness, and that of their loved ones, or Remote Patient Monitoring thereby empowering individuals to self monitor their condition(s) and become more aware of their own health recovery.  All the solutions I sell to government and health institutions are designed to increase health quality, while reducing overall costs. 

I’m always surprised where I get the inspiration for my blog content.  The great thing about blogging is there is no preselected topic or a schedule to maintain.  I just write when something catches my attention and aligns with the purpose and theme of my site that I think you may be interested in reading.  And today, my inspiration came while meeting a healthcare executive that’s about to embark on an impressive transformational initiative that reminded me of an article I read in the Globe and Mail at the beginning of the year.  The title of the article was “Wellness Model Emphasizes Illness Prevention”.   (I’ve also copied the article below for your convenience)

I’ve often said the majority of North Americans don’t care about their health until they’re faced with a health crisis that forces them to care.  I’m often challenge when I say this, but how can you argue the fact that 50% of Canadian’s don’t meet the minimum physical activity and healthy eating recommendations, or 55% of Canadians and over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese.  Approximately 20% of Canadians still smoke (and amazingly, male smoking is back on the rise) and alcohol consumption has increased to the point that many no longer know or choose to care what is consider unhealthy.  The Heart and Stroke Foundation published a study conducted in 2010 that an amazing 9 out of 10 Canadians are jeopardizing the quality and length of their lives by ignoring these and other risk factors that they’re in complete control of.

In Canada, over 40% of your tax dollars feed an ever ravenous healthcare system, but did you know that the use of the system you pay into is wildly disproportionate.  People with one or more of the five major chronic illnesses consume over 66% of our health services.  If Canadian’s attitudes towards their personal health and illness prevention continue, the statistics above will surely worsen (and take note, the situation in the USA is even worse).  Healthcare institutions throughout North America and around the world are continually exploring options and solutions to keep up with the demand for health services, while at the same time the people that complain most about the quality of care are the same people that take little or no interest in their lifestyle choices that directly affect their health.   

Besides being a health advocate that is concerned about the quality of health of individuals and the greater population, I’m also a businessman that is witness to a healthcare system that has the potential of either bankrupting our country if current spending trends continue, or my larger concern is that the quality of life for so many will be compromised when governments and health institutions have the difficult decision of selecting which programs are to receive funding and which ones will not because of a lack of funding. 

So the day of waiting for the crisis has arrived at our door step.  The question is what can you do about it?  The answer has been under our noises for decades.  The cure to prevent many chronic illnesses and recover our critically ill healthcare system is one in the same....PREVENTION through healthy lifestyle choices. 

I’m not sure if we’re actually seeing more marketing and media push in the area of illness prevention, or if it’s just that I have a heightened sense of awareness given my passion for the topic and the career I’ve chosen.  Regardless, there seems to be more and more information available and the article below from the Globe and Mail is just one of many examples I’ve read or seen on television. 

I’ve often said, “If you don’t take time for your health today, you will have lots of time to be sick in the future”.  I’m not so sure this statement is entirely  true, because if things go unchanged and the health of North Americans continues to deteriorate at its current rate, we will run out of money to treat the volume of people with chronic illnesses and the expanding services they demand, and you may not have as much time to be sick in the future as you once thought. 

Make your health and the health of others a lifelong priority so you can “Enjoy the Ride”....Rob

CHRONIC DISEASE

Wellness model emphasizes illness prevention

The Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Nov. 24 2011, 2:28 PM EST

Dr. John Haggie is a strong proponent of the adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

As a surgeon practising in Gander, Nfld., he has first-hand experience with serious medical conditions that could be prevented with early intervention.

Among his examples, Dr. Haggie points to a patient who is about to lose her leg due to complications of type 2 diabetes. “This outcome could have been avoided at any number of points,” he says. “Better childhood nutrition and fitness could have prevented the obesity that led to the development of this woman’s diabetes. Better drug coverage could have improved her blood glucose management. Even something as simple as having her feet checked by a nurse, which costs about $20, could have saved this woman’s leg and tens of thousands of dollars to the health care system.”

As president of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Haggie is promoting a transformation of the health care system that will focus on illness prevention and health promotion. “The current acute disease model of health care is 20 years out of date. Today, the biggest burden on the system comes from largely preventable chronic diseases and their complications,” he says, noting part of the challenge in promoting health is that many highly effective interventions are based in the community, not in hospital or doctors’ offices (for example, programs to encourage youth fitness and smoking cessation initiatives). As a result, they are not funded by medicare.

“We have to convince the government to invest in primary and secondary prevention initiatives. The evidence shows that an upfront investment more than pays for itself down the road,” says Michael Cloutier, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Diabetes Association. He notes that just a two per cent reduction in diabetes prevalence rates would result in a nine per cent reduction in direct health care costs.

Unfortunately, the tools and medications that promote health are not accessible to all Canadians. Almost two-thirds of people with diabetes report that they cannot afford to comply with their prescribed therapy to effectively manage their disease. “A lot of people have to choose between paying for their rent or for their medications. Many more – especially those in remote and lower income communities – cannot afford healthy food. The result is more diabetes-related complications, poorer quality of life for these individuals and an increasing strain on our health care system,” says Mr. Cloutier. “We need to create a standard of care for chronic disease management across Canada.”

The Canadian Medical Association is advocating for co-ordinated investments in health promotion and disease prevention that will eliminate these gaps.

“Our goal is to ensure that by the end of the end of the next Health Care Accord, Canadians will have the best health in the world,” says Dr. Haggie.

“There is no reason why we can’t do that. By emphasizing health promotion now, we will see results by 2020.”

Common Sense Isn’t So Common Anymore!

I just finished my annual two week cycling training camp at my place in Arizona.  It's a place where the weather is more conducive to early season cycling, unlike my home town of Calgary where you can still get caught in a freak snow storm in the middle of a 100km ride.  My feelings about Calgary weather are another topic and not what I’m writing about today. 

As I was returning home and waiting for my plane in the Phoenix Sky Harbour airport, I stopped at the bookstore to get something to read for the 3 hours flight back to Calgary, so I picked up the current issue of Bicycling Magazine when I came across an article that I just have to share with you.  The title of the article is: “Why Johnny Can’t Ride” and I’d like to hear from you on this one.  I hope I’m not the only one that thinks the “Nanny State” filled with “Helicopter Parents” has gone too far.

I wrote a post a while back titled, "Childhood Fitness, Where Did It Go".  The topic was about the absence of kids playing in the streets and parks because of many factors including, over-protective parents that can’t let their kids out of their sight for more than a nano-second, and the fact that today’s children are addicted to video games and monitors (TV, Computers, etc), which are both contributing to the probability if a child is under the age 16 they will live a shorter and less healthy life than their parents (if that can even be possible, judging by the current health of North Americans adults today). 

The more I read this article about Adam's situation, the more piss-off I got.  It’s a long article so let me give you the “Cole’s Notes Version”.

This is a story about a seventh-grader at Maple Avenue Middle School in Saratoga Springs, New York.  His name is Adam Mario and he’s getting a firsthand lesson in civil disobedience. The 12-year-old and his mother, Janette Marino, are defying Saratoga Springs school policy by riding his bike to school; yes, you read that correctly, for biking to school.  Something we as kids took for granted and were encouraged; in fact, we had two ways to get to school back then; you either walked, or rode your bike.  Adam rides about 4 miles (6.4km), each way to school and his mother rides with him to ensure his safety.   By the way, this is something my mother at that age would never do, nor would I want her because I enjoyed the confidence my parents had in me, not to mention the feeling of independence.  So when Adam and his mother arrived at his school, they were met by school officials and a State Trooper who informed them that such an act was extremely dangerous, strictly prohibited and she would have to come back to the school and pick up his bike.  They went on further to say the only two modes of transportation to and from the school were bus or car.

Janette Marino believes they didn’t do anything wrong and that it’s none of the state or school’s business what form of transportation she uses to get their son to school, as long as he gets there on time.  Besides, Adam would be one less child why the school has to buy another polluting bus, or idling car that sits in front of the school during pick up and drop off time.  The Marino’s  are part of a small, but growing number of parents challenging the sedentary habits of today's youths and what they view as overanxious "helicopter parenting”, where “Free Range” children is considered irresponsible parenting.  To these modern day parents, the thought of sending their children out the door to participate in unsupervised play, or to let them walk to school themselves is simply unthinkable.  So the Marino's basically said to hell with you; try and stop us.

Riding his 21-speed Giant mountain bike to school benefits Adam Marino's health and the environment, but state and school believe that biking and walking (which is also banded, believe me, I can’t make this stuff up) are too dangerous for middle school aged children to handle, although no walking or bike accidents have ever been reported on the school’s road.

So that’s the summary of this story; read the full story to fill in the gaps and I’m sure you will shake your head like my wife and I did.  There are many social issues one can comment on a story like this, especially given the health of the typical North American.  Given the theme of my blog I will focus on two that I believe are contributing negatively to the health of our children:

1)      Helicopter Parenting

2)      Health is Not a Priority

Helicopter Parenting:  I’m not sure when it happened, but over the decades since I was a kid, parents have become so protective of their children, it’s now affecting their health.  And for the most part, they fear something that’s not real and only in their mind.  This fear is further manifested when they hear about the one or two child abduction cases that are sensationalized by the media.  They fear if their children play too out of their sight that bad shit will happen to them, when in fact this kind of smothering is one of the causes why we have so many obese children.

My father who’s now 87 told me a great when he was a young lad of 7 or 8 years old, growing up in Scotland.  He and his best friend set out to ride their bikes from Edinburgh Scotland to Blackpool England a distance of 320km (one way) with no parent supervision.  They had a map, (which they could read and understand), a few shillings in their pockets to buy some food and shelter, and good health to get them there and back!  Remember, I’m talking about two 7 year old boys and the only thing my Grandmother said to him as he set off, was to ride safe (oh yea, and they weren't wearing helmets).  This could never happen in today’s culture, because every stranger is considered a potential kidnapper, or worse and what would happen if their little sweethearts fell.  Not to mention, most children are so out of shape they could never physically consider such a trip.  Finally, today's children are driven to all their activities, so they have no idea how to navigate much further than a few hundred meters from their front door.  If today’s Child Services ever caught wind of such parental freedom for their children, they would have locked my Grandmother up for being an irresponsible parent.  (By the way, the two lads only made it as far as Carlisle in Northern England, because they realized they would run out of money.   Even still, they rode a total distance of 320km and spent a couple nights on their own staying at youth hostels!) 

This story is so extreme by today’s standards, were “Free Range” play for children is such a rarity.  Except for organized hockey where my father was the coach, we never participated in any organized play, however we were always playing sports in the fields, climbing trees, riding our bikes, playing touch football and scrub baseball.  And there was never a parent watching over our shoulder.  This unnatural act that parents have developed prevents their children to roam free and play naturally.  By restricting the movement’s like we see today, says to children that their parents can’t trust them to be responsible for their decisions and actions.  No wonder children are so rebelious today.  And when combined with the Nintendo Culture of sitting their little fat behinds in front of a monitor for 5 to 6 hours a day you have a major contributor to the obesity epidemic we find in our young people today.

Health is Not a Priority: the fact that the majority of North Americans are not healthy means that health is no longer a priority in many people’s lives.  The statistics don’t lie and the costs to our healthcare system are out of control as a direct outcome.  If health isn’t a priority for the parents, it’s certainly not going to be a priority for their children’s.  Children emulate the actions of their parents, not their words.  So if they see dad sitting on his fat ass all weekend watching sports on TV, while eating junk food and drinking beer, instead of actually participating in a sport, they will do the same.  If the family eats highly processed, or  fast food from one of the many unhealthy convenient fast food restaurants, because mom or dad are too lazy to prepare something healthy, well this sets in motion a lifestyle of poor eating habits, which leads to all kinds of degenerative diseases. 

So as I read this article about Adam Marino and the Nanny State at the Maple Avenue Middle School in Saratoga Springs, I realize what a bizarre world we live in.  A world that’s so up-side-down, that something as healthy and natural as walking or riding a bike to school is considered dangerous to your health and should be prohibited. 

If you’re of a certain age, leave a comment and tell my readers about a story of “free range” play you used to do as a kid before the helicopter parents and the nanny state stepped in and ruined the fun we used to enjoy and take for granted as we explored our neighbourhoods and beyond.

Enjoy the Ride.....Rob