We are coming off the rainiest April on record here in Oregon. It’s been somewhat of a pain in the ass if I may be so blunt about it. Heck we even had snow earlier in the month that messed things up for a few days.

I’ve been squeezing in rides outside when I can and riding way too much indoors on the trainer (aka the torture machine). Commuting by bike took a downward trend during April. I even started to jog a bit here and there just to change things up (and I kinda hate running at this point in my life).

The other thing that we’ve been doing is prepping for Rhodes Trip 2022. Not long now until we head out to visit family and friends. Along with the electrical system for Clifford I have also installed a table purchased from Wayfarer Vans and a bug net from The Bug Wall to keep the creepy crawlies and blood sucking bastards out too.

I had priced out building my own table. I came up with a number about 60% of the cost of the table that we purchased from Wayfarer Vans. I know for a fact though that with my mediocre woodworking skills that it wouldn’t have looked this nice. Would it have been functional? Yes, definitely. Just probably a bit ugly if I am honest. I know where my skills are (and aren’t).

The install on The Bug Wall video makes the whole process look simple. While not impossible and definitely rather straightforward it was a bit more of a headache/hassle than I was hoping for. I believe my first mistake was not buying clips strong enough to pinch the netting and weather stripping. All in all I would say it took me about 1:45. Hopefully it holds! We’ll definitely find out on the trip.

All campgrounds and other lodging have been booked. I’ve started mapping out a few “must see” things along the way too. My personal goal is to avoid highways when we can and take the more scenic routes. There will be a few days when we have to make some big miles for the day and will have to do highway but I hope that is kept to a minimum.

My other constant debate is which bike to bring. We can only bring one each. At first it was going to be the Ritchey Outback because it can do pavement, dirt roads and even light singletrack. But then I was researching Marquette, Michigan where we will be for a day and a half and realized I was going to have access to some very sweet singletrack. I will also be able to ride some of the trails and stuff from my old stomping grounds. So now I am leaning more towards the hardtail instead. Still not sure which bike Mia wants to bring.

Thanks for reading,

-Pete