Training for the Great Plains

Jay and I have always been pretty permissive parents.  We did not spank our kids, and try to be mindful of their thoughts and feelings.  However, with a little over a month to go until we leave for our trip, and way too little time actually riding bikes, we decided this weekend to make the kids ride their bikes. To give them a feel for what it would be like on the trip, we made them carry twenty pounds of weight with them while they were biking.

The ride with Jonathon went well, we even found a new bike path by our house.  Jay has already written about the first ride with Catey.  On the second day of training, Catey did not want to take the same route that she had the day earlier.  She was complaining that it was "too hilly."

Jay responded, "Well, you know there are a lot of big hills in Oregon."

"I am going to train for the Great Plains!" Catey retorted.

So, the flat route it was.  She will be well prepared for the Great Plains.  The hills will teach her soon enough, why should we burst her bubble?

It's time to diet!

Well, we have spent the night looking for tents and I have walked away with one conclusion.  It is time to lose some weight.

There is a nice tent on Amazon which is the Apex Vertex 2, and it is a very budget friendly $150.  It is rated five stars.  But, everyone tells us that we should go as light as possible and this tent weighs 6 pounds. "Fortunately," there are some good ultralight weight tents on sale.  For about $260, we can buy a Nemo Meta 2P tent, which weighs a little over 2 pounds.

Here is what I am wondering: is four pounds really worth $110?  I mean couldn't we all just eat a little less and lose a pound a week?  Five pounds each, four people that is 20 pounds and would more than make up for a little extra tent weight, right?