Well, on August 1st, I became an uncle to Sonja Grace! Thats, by far, the most exciting news I have from the last couple weeks.
I’ve still just been hanging out in Minnesota and Iowa, visiting some family and friends before I head to Europe, and now I feel like I can leave happily, since I’ve been able to spend some time with Sonja.  I got to do a little boating and fishing, which I’ve missed since moving to Colorado.

In my downtime here, I’ve also gotten to do a little bit more work on the bike. I just replaced the upper bolt on the rear shock. The stock bolt is known to be a little bit soft, so hopefully the harder bolt I swapped in will have less chance or breaking or bending.
Also, a couple weeks ago, I made a little storage tube out of PVC pipe. It works perfectly for holding a can of WD40, chain lube, and a chain cleaning brush. It’ll be nice to have that stuff in it’s own spot, so I don’t have to worry about anything leaking and getting all over the rest of my stuff.  The tube is mounted just inside the right side pannier, so it’s not in the way of anything else.

It’s been good to spend time back home and not feel too rushed, but at the same time, I’m really ready to hit the road.  I’ll be in Chicago in two days, Toronto two days after that, and then I land in Scotland on the 15th!