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John Thomson  

Here and there

Two partners Mike Raffan and John Tietzen, both Keg Steak house alumni
are owners of the Township7 Vineyards & Winery in Penticton and Langley.

The winery was honored during the Queen's visit to Canada to be one of the featured items at the federal government's dinner for the Royal couple. Their winery's 2007 Township7 Chardonnay was a choice for the dinner.

John Tietzen is the man behind the thirteen year Dreamlift for Kids at Wendy’s every year. John holds the master franchise for Wendy’s in the Interior.

It is quite an honor for the local winery.

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What is Street Strider?

Street Strider is a mobile elliptical (or elliptical on wheels) that combines fun and the excitement of being outdoors with a proven high calorie burn rate. StreetStriding they tell me is a low impact exercise that is easy on your joints.

The StreetStrider mobile trainer features a stable three-wheeled platform, quality components, arms levers that move forward and backward, and foot platforms that move in an elliptical path, similar to jogging.

While StreetStriding, you get a full body weight bearing aerobic exercise similar to cross-country skiing, one of the best overall exercises for humans. I watched the first demo of this machine in the Coast Capri parking lot and couldn’t believe how fine it really is and so well made. As Linda Abbott–Simons one of the founders of the Canadian organization distributing the unit, “It is a blast to ride.”

Because it is human powered, the StreetStrider mobile trainer is a new form of green transportation. You can use the StreetStrider to run errands or commute to work. Instead of getting your exercise before you go to work or after you get home, stride to the office and get a great aerobic workout on the way there and back.

If the weather is bad, you can use the optional trainer stand to turn your StreetStrider into a stationary elliptical cross trainer and stride in the comfort of your own home.

You can stride in your neighborhood. You can fold it in half, put it in or on top of your car and take it to a park or bike trail.

You can also ride indoors if the weather isn’t so nice, you can simply hookup your StreetStrider to the optional trainer stand and stride in the comfort of your own home. The StreetStrider mobile elliptical machine can be enjoyed outdoors or indoors.

“Outdoor Recreation, Weight Loss, Fitness, Environmentally Friendly transportation all in one. As a runner I am excited to be using it as a cross trainer, it is great for active recover days or hard training days with low impact!” said Linda Abbott-Simons. Her partner is husband Mike Simons. They saw this machine on their trip south this past winter and couldn’t believe it and followed it till they got a chance to talk to the owner. This led to a contact with the company who make the equipment and they secured the rights to Canada for the unit. Sales have been quite spectacular for the couple and their new venture.

Contact them at ([email protected]) or call 250-861-5730.

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Cam Hutchinson writes a very funny column every Saturday in the Vancouver Sun called The Lighter Side and this item caught my eye.

“Fourteen CFL games will be shown on the NFL network this season. By my estimation, that’s about 300 million more people for Rod Black (TSN) to annoy.”
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I have known master chef Georg Rieder for twenty-four years since he came over from Cranbrook. Georg was in my office back then looking for sponsorship for his entry into a world competition. He founded the Guisachan House restaurant in 1990 and has been at that site for twenty years. Boy those years go by fast.

Georg suffered through that awful fire at the restaurant and it took two years to rebuild the place exactly as it was. The heritage building and grounds has become a landmark for Kelowna. The food is spectacular, the service outstanding and the view is what you are looking for to break up that busy day. The restaurant is located at 1060 Cameron Avenue. It is open for noon hours from 11am through to 2pm. (Phone: 250-862-9368)

The Guisachan House Restaurant is a heritage building - one of Kelowna's first mansions - that was converted into a very special restaurant. It is most popular with weddings for its all-inclusive, one-stop wedding packages. Nestled among horticultural gardens that are always in bloom during the summer, it is an oasis in the middle of a bustling city. Georg and his staff are specialists in wedding planning and presentation.

It is such a beautiful and relaxing place to spend time and enjoy some excellent food. We enjoy it very much.


More John Thomson articles

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About the Author

John Thomson is the Okanagan's pre-eminent business columnist writing his column, Rumours and Things, for over 24 years. Plugged in to the valley's who's who, John keeps his readers coming back for more with his straight talk and optimistic perspective on where we are headed next.

When John is not writing his column, he runs a sixteen year old think tank called the Executive Roundtable and holds his popular "Thomson Presents" quarterly business speaker seminars.

Have a comment, question, or tip for John? 

E-mail John at
[email protected]
or send him a fax at 250-764-8255.

 



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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