For the January issue of Air Canada's enRoute, I ate my way around Rio de Janeiro, trying to keep up with an Olympian training diet.
The story, "Rio on 8,000 Calories a Day" – my traveling companion, Joao Canziani, bagged a bright shiny cover shot, and I may never see my byline under a more bang-on title for as long as I live – is a story about eating, sweating, and two brothers chatting across continents via WhatsApp.
http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/articles/sport-travel-in-rio-de-janeiro
At the time I traveled to Rio, in late 2014, my brother Michael was training with Rowing Canada and hoping to qualify for his second Summer Olympics in 2016 in Rio. Being the helpful older brother that I naturally am, I scouted the city's athletic venues and also did due-diligence on its, er, post-race opportunities. And being the unpredictable younger brother that he is, Michael chose THE EXACT SAME MONTH MY ODE TO HIM WAS PUBLISHED as the right moment to retire from international rowing competition.
I guess the motto of the story is that you can lead a younger brother to feijoada, but you can't make him eat. Still, it's heartening to know that the boy calls his own shots in life. Way to go, my Olympian.