it's the ride that counts
We were recently gifted a number of original paintings by my forever girlfriends’ father. They are all large format, around 32 x 44 and on masonite. Very few had frames, so this has been focus of late. The frame in the image above is walnut recycled from a bed frame I built, then replaced with a white oak version.
1. Build a boat
2. Build a bike trailer for the boat
3. Put the bike and trailer and supplies in the boat
4. Float the boat with the bike down the river for 30-40 miles, camp along the way
5. Exit the river, put the boat on the trailer and attach it to the bike
6. Tow the boat back through the desert behind the bike for 35-40 miles, camp along the way
7. Eat a burger at Ray’s
Took a three-day bikepacking weekend and did a late-season ride in southern Utah. I’ve wanted to do this ride for a couple of years- was worth the wait. High 30’s to low 40’s at night, mid 60’s during the day. Short days meant starting at sunset the first day and riding on a moonless night for ten miles. Lights on I crawled up the Reef to camp at 6000 feet. Windy, cold but made for a stunning view in the morning. A true Slope Oak start to the day.
We took a break from bikepacking and me and the youngest went for a two-day boatpacking and camping paddle in our homebuilt tandem kayak on Flaming Gorge. This is a huge reservoir near the Utah/Wyoming border, set in some truly stunning scenery.
A poem, some greenery, great friends and a nice Prosecco come together to name her Serenity.
A sprig of honeysuckle to ensure safe returns
For any future builders of this boat, here’s the task list I put together for the Hybrid build based on the manual and my own additions. I left in my approximate build times- for reference this is my first boat and I’m an IT guy so not a lot of transferable skills from my day job (except this spreadsheet).
With the heavy cloud cover and light rain, it was a perfect day for a Viking funeral. Unfortunately, the boat floats fine, so we’ll be throwing her back on top of the car after a nice paddle.
ESI Grips custom Chunky silicone MTB grips cover my homemade grab loops. Look Ma, no knots!
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