At age 80, I’m finally getting started
Most of my working years I spent as an editor in newspapers and magazines and a publisher of magazines. But what I always wanted to do is freelance as a writer. Now that I’m turning 80, it might be time to get to it.
My first step has been to launch On the Road, Across the Sea and offer a weekly newsletter to readers via Substack for free. Yup, it won’t cost you a penny to subscribe, at least not in the foreseeable future.
Why subscribe
If travel, adventures on the road, boating inland and across the sea, and good eating interest you, subscribe right now. Just click on SUBSCRIBE in the upper right and enter your email address.
Every post will be delivered to your email inbox as soon as it’s published and you’ll have full access to the archives on the Substack website.
You’ll be able to comment, provide feedback and ideas, and share the newsletter with friends and on your social channels.
Your subscription will mean a lot to me as I start out on this new chapter of my life.
On the road to Canada’s iconic places
The long-term goal is to dip wheels into the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, exploring Canada in all three directions, sampling the culture and cuisine of Canada in all its regions, camping all the way.
The immediate goal is the Canadian Rockies where we’re headed in 2022.
Our 2012 Subaru Outback has run its first 100,000 kilometres. Suba Duba, as we affectionately call the Outback, is nicely broken in and ready to start traveling—to Canada’s three coasts from our home near Toronto, exploring Canada’s iconic destinations.
Did we mention that we love to cook on our camp stove and grill on our barbecue? We’ll seek out the freshest seafood, best cuts of meat and tastiest seasonal produce as we travel. We’ll also find the best restaurants for sampling local fare.
Did we mention we have a passion for artisan cheese? We’ll visit with cheesemakers across the land.
Did we mention we travel with bicycles, a kayak and well-worn hiking boots? We won’t shy from adventure!
The “we” is me and the love of my life, henceforth identified as Mrs. K. We’ve been happily together for more than four decades. I drive and write, she navigates and takes photos.
About me
I’m a lifelong journalist—with experience in magazines, newspapers and social media.
A few years ago, I was editor and publisher of two special-interest magazines that I founded:
In the 1990s, I was publisher of Up Here magazine in Yellowknife, in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Around Cape Horn in record time
In 1989, I sailed into the Guinness Book of Records by racing from New York City to San Francisco via Cape Horn with my trimaran Great American quicker than anyone else in 135 years. Click here to watch the documentary.
In the 1970s, I founded and edited two motorcycle magazines that still dominate the field today, Cycle Canada and Moto Journal.
In the 1960s, I was night editor at The Canadian Press and reporter, city editor and managing editor at The Review in Niagara Falls.
Cheese, cheese and more cheese
Most recently, with Mrs. K at my side, I’ve indulged in my passion for Canadian artisan cheese:
By maintaining the popular cheese blog, CheeseLover.ca.
By being active on social channels:
By organizing the biggest artisan cheese festival in North America and the biggest cheese judging and competition in Canada
Strictly Cheese is my YouTube channel.
What’s the plan going forward?
In short, it’s Gros Morne to the Rockies to Haida Gwaii to Tuk and points in between. Over the next few years, God willing.
We’ve already explored Quebec, the Atlantic provinces and Newfoundland and dipped Suba Duba’s wheels in the Atlantic Ocean.
This year, we’ll be headed across Canada to spend time in the Rockies. There are plans for walleye fishing and bison on the barbecue on our way out west.
In the future, Haida Gwaii and the Pacific will be our destination. Then, north to the N.W.T, Yukon, Tuk and the Arctic Ocean.
After that, who knows? The bucket has no bottom.
Thank you for your support!
The first step in my new career has been to launch On the Road, Across the Sea and offer a newsletter to readers via Substack for free. Yup, it won’t cost you a penny to subscribe (in the upper right of the page), at least not in the foreseeable future. Eventually, there will be an option added for paid subscriptions with additional benefits.
If you’re keen to show your support in a tangible manner right away, take a look at the wish list I’ve compiled on Amazon. Many of the items would make camping across Canada more enjoyable, others would help us capture better images in the Rockies and elsewhere for sharing with you. (OK, OK, we could live without the kayak!)
Your support and encouragement will be much appreciated, any way you can provide it.
Thank you!
—Georgs Kolesnikovs
