The original version of the website for Long Road North used Flash and although it worked well we all know that flash is finally part of the internet past, so I created this version to be able to share the film online.

Long Road North is the film produced following my Journey from Ushuaia in Patagonia to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories by bicycle over 18 months.

Why do this?

• I set out because I worked in an office without any windows, and the world beckoned. I’d recently tasted the appeal of shorter cycle-touring trips and wanted to do more, a lot more.
• I was and still am fascinated by the relationship we have with cities and their connection to their surroundings. I thought that travelling by bicycle would reveal something as I moved from cities to hinterland and beyond into wilderness, all the time connecting with people who live and work all along that thread.

I currently live in Vancouver and now have two children. This journey set my life on a new course and has shaped my worldview and the way I make decisions. I hope that by watching this film you will also find a window into the journey and how it transformed me and the people who shared it with me.

Ian is an experienced filmmaker and friend who saw something in this project that I may not have even known was in me.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.