Hmm.  No woodworking here, and I've yet to start any sewing projects since our move.  I've done a bit of photo editing and sorting, but until very recently the weather hasn't been conducive to staying inside.  The fall rains have finally started, though, so ski season should (I hope) follow.

Here's a few pics of a bike-related sewing project I made during the pandemic.  I haven't used it on a trip yet as I have plenty of room in my panniers if not camping and don't want to give up my bottle cages if I don't have to.

However, to assist my desire to do two offshore tours per year, I've started a couple of jobs:  my first ever retail position, working for a new Valhalla Pure Outfitters shop (BC-based chain of outdoor gear and clothing stores) and trying not to acquire more gear, plus designing routes for a corporate Vancouver-to-Northern Ontario cycle relay for next summer.  Strangely, only the BC stages interest me and even so, I'd rather ride in Europe.

Those bags are pretty slick looking. Well done!

You mentioned a tour ending in northern Ontario. In my part of Northern Ontario? I am along highway 11 in Cochrane, ON, which is about 750 km straight north of Toronto.

Highway 11 but not as far east as Cochrane!  Not sure how public this is, but it's to celebrate the opening of a new mine.  I think it was the company chairman or some other high-up who came up with the idea of a cycle relay from head office to the new mine.  The person tasked with this is a friend of one of my cycling buddies who passed on my name.

Luckily, riding the route myself isn't part of the requirement.  I used to think I'd like to ride across Canada someday but working out a route across the prairies and northern Ontario (within the requested requirements) made me sure that that isn't a way I'd want to spend my touring time budget.

Not to mention that the TransCanada highway in my area (hwy 11) is not great for cycling. Very narrow margin, and many trucks. 

And no alternative routes! I was hooked on European cycling from the first time I experienced it. 

Agreed. I cant get enough of euro cycling. 

This winter I'm dealing with not quite equal but largely opposite forces:

1. Two (3 and 1.5 yo) grandkids are now a source of amusement, time demand and a form of physical exertion that doesn't help pedaling fitness much.
2. I (mostly) retired at the end of October 2023 and now have much more time available for rides/tours in 2024.

Another couple wanted to do a supported tour next year, so we'll be doing a week long Wisconsin tour with them with an extension before/after to Door County that might just be my wife and I.

A snowbird friend (Venice FL) and I are looking at a February trans-Florida ride checking out the progress on the Florida Coast to Coast connection of trails.

Re-planning with a friend a Ohio to Erie Trail multiday ride in the May time frame, a ride that got shortened by flooding a few years ago.

I'm thinking force #1 might win out more than you think!

Patrick had an ortleib bag cut and deepened so that he can carry two cameras one with a wide angle lens and one with a telephoto.

Nicely done.

One of my winter projects will be to make a small box / partition as an insert for my handlebar bag, to contain my camera and keep the other contents of the bag away from it.  I've got some nice stiff foam to line the bottom for shock absorption; might also put a layer around the sides to keep the camera from lateral jostling.