Here we are again (still?). Ending another week of hands down the strangest time of my whole life. Oregon is still seeing cases of the virus but at least no new deaths in the past 24 hours. Plans are also taking shape for the opening of businesses again. It’s easy to see that people are getting antsy too, we’ve been in the mid 80’s all weekend and people are everywhere. Mia and I spent almost 30 minutes in line just to get into Home Depot on Saturday. You can definitely put that one in the category of things I never thought would happen in my life.

For me personally work is still busy and riding is still cranking along (see what I did there?). I got out for a bit of an adventure today as I headed over into the valleys and back roads of Yamhill County.

The goal was around three hours today. There is only so much water I can carry and it was going to be in the low 80’s by the time I was wrapping it all up. I’m still loathe to use convenience stores for resupply and I wasn’t sure of water sources for filtering. I also needed to carry some food, there is of course the typical ride food like Honey Stinger waffles (one of Mia and my favorites). Lately though I’ve been making a pretty simple and very tasty treat with just a few ingredients.

I find that when doing longer rides it is important to want to eat the food you brought with you. The gels, drink mixes, bars and such can get old quick. So bringing things that you want to eat makes a huge difference.

Tanner Creek Road just dead ends at a timber company’s gate. There are numerous signs that say “No Motorized Vehicles”, “Foot Traffic Only” and the most important one “Gates may be locked at any time”. So as I hop the gate to start some exploring I come across two SUVs. Apparently when they came up this way the gate was wide open and unlocked. They proceeded to totally ignore the signs about no motorized vehicles. Then they eventually ran into another closed and locked gate further out so turned around. Eventually, when they got back to the entrance, it had been closed and locked. They were now stuck behind the gate with no way out, no cell service and no idea who to contact. I won’t lie, I found it kind of funny….as in, it is definitely funny when it isn’t you. They admitted to seeing the signs but decided to ignore them anyways. So they paid the consequences. Live and learn I guess.

And finally, it’s the weekend so I might as well keep the Rhodes COVID Kitchen rolling.

This weekend I opted for another “Old man dessert” as Mia likes to call them. I found this chocolate pecan pie recipe on allrecipes.com. I’m a big fan of a good pecan pie. This one is damn good. The inside is almost like an under cooked brownie batter. I’ll definitely make this one again.

Well that is about it for now. Hope everyone is doing well and I hope you are all doing what you can to pass the time. Please remember to be kind to one another.

Thanks for reading,
-Pete