Welcome to www.joeoblenis.com

   Been a busy start so far to 2010. I never dreamed I'd be so busy at this time of year. A few noteworthy things from the last few weeks include receiving issue #18 of Ocean Paddler Magazine, my first issue of this fine U.K. magazine. This one was of particular interest to me due to the awesome piece they did reviewing a trio of Greenland Paddles, one of which was one of mine! Needless to say I was pretty excited when the magazine arrived and I got to look it over. The Greenland Paddle piece was great but what really got me was the overall quality and content of the magazine. Very nicely done guys! I'll be planning on reading through every issue, cover to cover from here on. And what's really great is the special subscription offer they have in place right now. With a 12 issue subscription, you get a free copy of the new DVD, Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown! Sounds good to me!

   When not busy building up paddles and Rolling Sticks I've been getting out XC skiing a bit lately. The photo below is from a few kilometers upstream along the river that is 100 meters from our front door. Not bad at all. Paddle it in the spring, summer and fall, ski or snowshoe it in the winter.  

I've also been doing a fair bit of winter cycling on the studded ice tire equipped mountain bike. 

   I also recently picked up a "Bob Ibex" cycling trailer, complete with adjustable suspension. The perfect thing for bicycle touring as well as commuting. With the studded tires, it rides great on the snowy and icy roads. Hoping for the right conditions to take it for a ride on Lake Superior one of these days and, potentially, do the crossing to Pie Island. The recent warm spell has put doubts on that however.

   Another item I'm excited about is my new Paddle One -"C" canoe training machine, due to arrive anyday now! It'll come in handty for indoor training as I ramp things up for this Junes expedition to reclaim the speed record for circumnavigating BC's Vancouver Island. The bad thing about doing the Island again is that I'll likely have to pass on racing in this years Yukon River Quest again. Hopefully next year I can get back to the Yukon once again.

   That being said, the only way I'm going to be able to do all of this is if I get my butt in gear and get back to work on building some more paddles and getting some orders shipped off....so it is time to save this entry, grab the spokeshave and head into the shop for a couple of hours.

Cheers...Joe O'