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Gummiente · Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:22 pm

Yeah, baby! Another great weekend of riding, put a little over 160km on and had yet another great time. Will probably have to do the 5,000km service by next weekend at the rate I'm going. Details on my website on the Ural Blog here:
http://www.gummiente.ca/Bikes/Ural/Blog/pg3.htm

(Rather than cut and paste the same info on two sites I figured I'd just put a link to it. Getting lazy in my old age...)

Gummiente · Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:59 pm

I got bragging rights! I'm the first one this year who rode to work! It was an unseasonable +7C yesterday afternoon with an overnight low of only -1C, so I had no choice but to take the bike to work on the afternoon shift. Despite the warm weather and resultant melting snow, the roads were pretty dry and I didn't get anywhere near as dirty as I'd feared. Had to endure the usual "you crazy b*stard" comments from all my co-workers, but it was obvious they were all just jealous. Well, a few of them really were questioning my sanity but they were non-riders so their opinions don't count. Tammy, a Sportster riding sweetie, made a special trip down to the machine shop just to call me "crazy" and to talk about bikes, which made my night. The only downer was that I had to park with all the mouth-breathing cagers, as the motorcycle parking area had been dismantled back in December for the winter season. Looked kind of bizarre to see the Ural wedged in amongst all those cars but for some reason it gave me a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

The ride home at 10:30pm was spectacular; it was cool in the low lying areas and warm on the hilltops so I was riding through fog patches all the way home under a starlit sky. The slight breeze off the St Lawrence River was intoxicating, fresh and pure - if I could figure out a way to bottle that scent I'd make a fortune! The weather forecast is calling for +9C under sunny skies today and a mild +4C overnight, so I'm tempted to take the Ural again tonight. There is a chance of rain late in the evening but if the temp remains above freezing I'll risk getting a bit wet just to get another ride in.

This morning wil be spent doing the 5,000km service, which consists of an oil change, air filter cleaning and oiling plus a few other minor tasks. Shouldn't take me more than a couple hours, but I'm going to head out to the garage in a few minutes to get an early start on it.

Gummiente · Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:56 am

-10C and sunny when I fired up the bike this morning. Had another great ride; went to our Southern Cruisers chapter monthly brunch and got my pic taken by a reporter from a local paper they had invited to the meeting. Full details - and the latest Ural technical glitch - on the Ural blog at my website.

Gummiente · Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:26 pm

More winter ride-to-work adventures today - details, as usual, on the Ural blog at my website.

You know, maybe I should just shut down this TMW blog... ?

Gummiente · Sat Jan 28, 2006 1:43 am

Well, I rode to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week - it's been an unseasonably mild winter so far and I've been taking full advantage of it (read all about it in my updated Ural Blog). Today's ride should be a memorable one, I'll be taking Angie in the sidecar out for brekkie and then over to visit our bikes at Motosport Plus. My friend Cam is going to meet us there on his '05 Ural Patrol and the two rigs are going to explore the country roads all day. Naturally I'll be taking the camera, so I'll post a ride report later tonight or tomorrow.

Gummiente · Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:51 am

New ride report added to my website - check out "Urals, Harleys and Llamas" on the "Rides" section of my webpage: Gummiente's Roadhouse.

Gummiente · Thu Feb 02, 2006 2:18 pm

More updates posted on my Ural blog. Great ride into work today, it was around +7C on the way home under sunny skies this afternoon. Angie and I went to the Harley dealer after work and while I took measurements for the ignition switch relocation project for my Superglide, Angie was busy working out the final details of her new bike purchase. Looks like it'll be in Kingston next Wednesday, so you know we'll be going there for the unveiling. She is still bouncy happy about buying the bike and already has a number of accessories picked out for it. Makes my birthday and Christmas shopping a lot easier.

Gummiente · Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:32 am

It's official - all Canadian owners of Ural, Dnepr or any other Soviet made motorcycle now have our own website. We're called CURD (Canadian Ural/Dnepr Riders Group) and you can visit us here.

Gummiente · Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:54 pm

Well, the Ural is off the road for awhile thanks to a leaking final drive input seal and the wrong one sent as a replacement.

Pics and story on my Ural Blog.

Tonight should be fun- we're off to the Harley dealer to look at Angie's new '06 Softail Deluxe. It was due in late last night and she can hardly wait to see it. I'll be taking the camera and will post some pics later on.

Gummiente · Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:45 pm

We showed up at Motosort Plus a little after 5pm yesterday and true to their word, Angie's bike was there waiting for her. The accessories (windshield, saddlebags) had been installed and the bike polished up and her new Softail Deluxe was one fine looking machine! To say that Angie was happy was an understatement. She was glowing. The long wait for spring has begun for Angie.