The Amazing Race is amazing television

I’m not normally one for sitting at home watching TV when there’s a whole world of things to do (like travelling!!) but tonight is an exception. The nine time Emmy award-winning The Amazing Race returns tonight for what promises to be another season of thrill, chills, dips, highs and lows across this planet we call Earth. All delivered right to your door step. Yup, Phil Keoghan and the crew are back – it’s The Amazing Race Season 19!

In this day of sedentary lifestyles, violent TV shows and movies, terrorism and other evils and otherwise gloomy issues that affect our health and understanding of the world and our place in it, that’s great news.

The Amazing Race is amazing television. More than that, it’s a chance to break out of our solipsistic shells and travel with these sometimes likable (and sometimes very unlikable) teams of Americans as they venture across the planet and discover that, yes, there are other cultures beyond our borders, each with their own joys and challenges. And for a brief moment, we’re part of them.

The Amazing Race is amazing television. Straight up. And I, for one, believe that it brings this planet closer together.

Adrenaline junkies in BC have reason to feel hardcore once again. Raid the North Extreme, a 500 km wilderness race held every year in Canada is coming to the Kootenays in September. The race comprises of teams of four and takes teams across some of Canada’s toughest wilderness by kayak, canoe, fixed rope, mountain bike and on foot. Or to put it another way for us city folks, it’s like The Amazing Race in the boonies. This is not a race for the Sheraton crowd!