Canoe and Kayak magazine correspondent Pete Marshall recently finished a grueling 2,600-mile canoeing trip across Canada’s northern territories with three others in an attempt to raise awareness about the environment and forge new paddling routes. “As the trip progressed, I realized that these people were absolutely right in thinking we might not be able to make it. And the closer the four of us came to reaching our goal, the more anxious I became,” Marshall wrote. “It was more than the threat of snow, or of a blizzard, or just strong winds coming off of the Bay; it was the fact that we were in polar bear territory. Half-ton land carnivores roamed the area, and since the pack ice has been melting quicker and forming later in recent years, the bears have not been able to eat enough seals during the winter to sustain them through the summer months, and so hungry bears have been paying more attention to humans. We had been told encounters with bears in the area have become much more frequent.” To read the full story, find out whether he met any bears, and view a gallery of some of the stunning scenery from the adventure, click here.

Photo courtesy Canoe and Kayak, Marshall

If you’re unfamiliar with Kelly Slater, then you must have been living in the Krubera Cave for the past 20 years. Indeed, if you don’t know Slater for his stint on television phenomenon “Baywatch” in the early 1990s as the handsome Jimmy Slade, then you surely know him for his total and utter dominance of surfing’s ASP World Tour–a dominance that started in 1992, when he won his first of 11 world titles, and continues to this day. He recently won the Hurley Pro in Lower Trestles, California, which marked his 50th World Tour event title. Of course, Surfer magazine was there to document the win, and you can view a gallery of the contest by clicking here. The win means he’s currently ranked No. 3 in the world behind Australians Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson. The next tour stop is the Quiksilver Pro in the south of France on Sept. 28, and the world title will be decided in December at Hawaii’s Pipeline surf break.

Photo of Slater with his Trestles trophy courtesy Surfer, Glaser

Dirt Rider magazine‘s Dr. Dirt is your go-to source on how to keep your motorcycle running smoothly, and this week he offers some tips on how to change and bleed your brake fluid. “How often do you think the brake fluid on a professional race bike gets changed and bled? If you answered every race, you would be correct. How often do you change and bleed the brake fluid on your bike? If you haven’t serviced your brakes in the last year, you are overdue,” Dr. Dirt wrote. “Brake fluid goes bad because it attracts water, gets contaminated, or overheats. Fresh brake fluid is light in color and, like gasoline, it becomes darker when it begins to go bad.” To get all the dirt, click here.

Photo courtesy Dirt Rider