Getting to know Catherine Bruhwiler

Catherine is a professional surfer, mother of two and co-owner of a family business: Bruhwiler Surf School in Tofino, BC and owns her own stand up paddle board school called SUP Tofino, yep she’s a busy lady.

Catherine grew up in Tofino and began surfing as a child on a piece of plywood, and at that time was one of the very few female surfers in the waves. Since then, she has championed the female Canadian surf world and travelled the world to compete and play.

We sat down with her on the west coast of Canada and asked her the IPOS questionairre…

Full name? Catherine Bruhwiler

Occupation? Full time Surf and SUP instructor

Where are you right now? At home, just got out of the shower after a surf. My daughter is playing the fiddle for me and my son is packing for a camping surf trip tonight.

What woke you up this morning? My alarm clock at 7 am. Good thing you didn’t ask me yesterday, I got up at 4:15 for a sunrise tour.

What’s stoking your fire today? Remote surf camp with outward bound kids tomorrow and camping with my kids

What scares you? My kids in danger, that’s it

What sound do you love? Waves and silence too

What sound do you hate? Arguing people,especially my own kids

Who or what is outstanding in your eyes? Humble generous and talented humans

If heaven exists, what would you like God to say to you as you arrive at the pearly gates? You can get lots of sleep here 🙂

A thousand miles and smiles

Two wheels held in a frame one behind the other, propelled by pedals, steered with handlebars and powered by trail mix and water (mostly).

We have just hit 1,253 miles, not including side trips and wrong turns. Our last day on the road before we take a short break saw us climb 72 miles over 1,200ft of brutal hills, in 42°C (107°F). We ran out of water and a front tyre exploded in the heat flying down a screaming decent – only puncture number two. Thankfully by 7pm we were celebrating our arrival at Campovida paradise with a cool beer, doughnuts, ice creams, Pringles, and buckets of cold water.

Tomorrow we will head to San Francisco to watch a Giants game, get a hair cut, and hit the thrift stores for shorts, sunnies and swimwear. We are moving to live in Costa Rica this November, so to prepare us for a year in Central America, this weekend we are flying down for a six week rekki. We will then return to Campovida where our bikes will have been patiently waiting for us, to continue the ride south to the Mexican border.

Jungle and beachside blogging coming soon.

Tail winds, state parks and a giant plastic seagull

We have had such a blast whizzing along on the wide shoulders of the 101. There has been a steady northerly wind on our backs blowing us to the border and tomorrow we will be crossing into California.

Last night we stopped the night in a little town called Bandon after seeing a 12ft seal made of plastic marine litter. It just so happened that there was an exhibit and workshop of the seals friends (turtles, jelly fish, whales, and other ocean themed displays on show). The works of art belonged to the Washed Ashore project who are touring the US with the exhibit to educate huge coastal and inland communities about the catastrophic amounts of litter washing up on the shore lines. The project was founded by artist Angela Hazeltine Pozzi who was from Brandon, and all of the features are made by volunteers with plastics found on Oregon beaches. We thought their project was pretty outstanding to say the least and were also impressed by their retail section where you could buy biodegradable cornstarch buckets and spades, flipflop jewellery and thought provoking postcards. Check out http://www.washedashore.org for more info.

We have been in Oregon for seven days and six of those nights were spent in some absolutely awesome Oregon State Parks where we camped in our wonderful little tent in the hiker/biker site. This is an area ranging in size and comfort dedicated to people like us cycling/walking the coast, so they become a hub of connectivity and stories as people chat around campfires about the trials and tribulations of life on the road. They only cost $5.00 US per person (about three quid) and in all the Oregon state parks the hot showers are free which is a rarity here in the US and welcomed after a day in the saddle.

Enjoy some of our favourite photos of the last week and we will write soon from Northern California!

Adios amigos

Getting to know Fergal Smith

If you have seen the front page of a surf magazine in the last two years there is a good chance you have caught a glimpse of Fergal Smith. Fergal digs big waves, waves that, quite frankly scare the shit out of most people. We met Fergal at The Do Lectures in April and were blown away by how humble, unassuming, and passionate he was for creating change in the world.

You see, Fergal totally digs planet Earth. Literally and figuratively. He is on a full out path to do his bit to reconnect people to the thing we have lost sight of, nature.

We sent Fergal a few questions and are stoked to share the first of many exciting and exclusive interviews with you.

Full name?
Fergal Peter Smith

Occupation?
Luckily I am still getting paid to go surfing, but I see my hard work going into the land as that’s what feels most important.

Where are you right now?
In my rented house on a hill called Lackamore. It’s on the west coast of Ireland in a county called Clare near the Cliffs of Moher.

What woke you this morning?
Wind and rain! ha ha!

What’s stoking your fire right now?
Rest. The weather has been amazing the past week and with the long summer days I had been going from 6am till after midnight every day sailing, surfing, gardening etc. So my body is buzzing on the break and the time to reflect on what an amazing week I was so lucky to experience.

What scares you?
I try not get too scared about the scary stuff and keep positive and hopeful for the future. But what we have done to our perfect home is so sad and scary and many don’t seem to care. It is very clear that our money hungry attitude is destroying the world in which we are all living. Yet the powers that be seem more concerned about keeping the money dream alive than keep us alive! I do believe the majority of people want to do good and hopefully it wont be too long until the old attitudes are behind us and the earth can start to cleanse herself.

What sound or noise do you love?
Silence

What sound or noise do you hate?
Noise

Who or what in your life are outstanding right now?
Wow, there are so many outstanding things and people I would have to write a book! First off what you guys (Alice and Ross) are doing, cycling down the whole west coast of America working on organic farms and basically spreading the word of the future. To me that is outstanding!!! On another outstanding note, how great is it that the earth keeps providing us with food for nothing in return…

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say as you arrive at the pearly gates?
I would love a big hug from the big guy and that is it. If I could have helped the world in anyway that would be great but I wouldn’t want any praise or anything. I am having a great time on earth at the moment and I feel lucky enough just to be here, so I would be thanking him for the fun times.

http://www.fergalsmith.com/

Back on the saddle in search of waves

Our time at the farm came to an end on Friday last week. It was sad to say goodbye to Noah, Elisabeth, Finn Bond and our two fellow WWOOFers Faye and Annais, but as much as we enjoyed having our hands in the dirt we were both missing having our toes in the sand.

So we are on a little ferry cruising down a narrow inlet heading for the Pacific Ocean; looking left and right for bears on the waters edge, drinking average ferry coffee, eating a carrot muffin and enjoying the sun on our faces. Some may call this ferry business cheating as we float our way over two thirds of the width of Vancouver Island. We don’t see it that way because this trip is definitely not all about the bike, sure, pushing pedals is a lush way to travel; stay fit, go slow and breathe the wild air but this particular stretch of road from Port Alberni through to Ucluelet/Tofino is one mean, treacherous son of a bitch and over a dozen people warned us, with stern faces and serious eyes not to cycle this bit due to the numerous deaths, crashes and near misses, so we listened. Plus this ferry ride is stunning.

Fingers crossed there are waves and good times on the west coast. We have got a few interviews, which we hope to be outstanding, lined up with the mayor, and a few local people doing good stuff. We will keep you in the

“Look!!! There’s three orcas on the left! Breathtaking!”…

Like we said… we will keep you in the loop!

Hugs

Ross and Alice

Things we learnt on the farm

Permaculture, Goats and Golden Eagles…

We are loving being outdoors, tucked away in a forest on an Island that’s 9km x 9km with goats, chickens, carrots, pigs, beetroot, golden and bald eagles, all sharing the same space and flourishing in one of the most magnificent environments we’ve ever experienced. We’ve been working around five hours a day and in exchange have enjoyed three exquisite organic meals from the garden each day, a warm shower and a comfortable bed. We’ve done everything from putting up greenhouses, milking goats, weeding, to transplanting and potting in the permaculture beds.

The farm is run by an awesome couple; Noah and Elizabeth, who are super passionate about real farming, real food and real people. They have a vision to become a totally self sustaining island and are setting an example for other communities to do the same. Saturday is the first pick up day of the year where members of their CSA scheme will collect their box of delicious, tasty, seasonal veg.

We chose to come to Jollity Farm for three reasons. We were looking for somewhere to relax, absorb new ideas and to plan the rest of our pursuit. That we’ve done. Surprisingly, we have stumbled upon our first glimpse of outstanding. : – )

More ideas and learning from the farm to follow.

http://www.jollityfarm.ca/

http://www.wwoof.ca/

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What a send off

We stood at the back of the room on Friday night as the sun set over Whitesands and thought how incredibly lucky we were to have so many amazing people come to wish us well on our journey. The love and warmth in that room blew us away. We’ll miss our friends and family so much, but now we are on the road, we know the journey ahead is the right one, our hearts are leading the way. There’s been laughter and tears so far and we know there’s more to come before we hop on the big bird tomorrow morning. Bags and bikes are packed, we’ll enjoy our first wedding anniversary at The Hilton tonight and awake like a child on Christmas morning tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for all your support and love.

And so the story starts

On the 19th May 2012 we got married in St Davids Cathedral and on the 19th May 2013 we will be embarking on the next chapter of our lives. We are going ‘In Pursuit of Outstanding’ to create a better world for ourselves and future generations. As our world leaders aren’t taking action, it is up to us and others to find new ways of collaborating to create a world we want to live in.

The long and the short of it is this: the fundamental systems that allow humans to live on planet earth are under enormous pressure from the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and ineffective resource use, and a lack of care and compassion for the world around us.

Wales was the cradle of the industrial revolution that changed the face of the world; our natural resources were used to power the businesses that reached to all corners. With nearly all of the coal mines closed and only a couple of steelworks left, Wales has the opportunity to embrace the green revolution and lead the way in one planet living; our pursuit is to find inspiration and practical examples from the individuals and organisations around the World who are leading the way.

We are taking two years to volunteer, intern and work our way around the world’s coastlines, traveling by bicycle with a trailer for our surfboards and camping gear. We start our journey in Vancouver on Monday 20th May 2013 and will

cycle 2000 miles south to Los Angeles.

4 days and counting.

PS – this blog is not just a diary for the next few years but also a great way for friends, family and anyone else who is reading to share, comment and engage in our journey so feel free and post away!