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I know most of you are getting tired of hearing about the Ural, but at this time of year it's the only thing I can ride... and it's the only thing that helps me maintain a toehold on reality. So bear with me if all I can yatter about over the next few winter months is my Russian rig.

Anyway, just got back from a 40km jaunt to my parents place. Their power went out earlier this morning but Dad has a backup generator so they still had heat and enough power to light a couple lamps. They had no water, however, and although that was only a matter of unplugging the lamps and plugging in the pump I took it upon myself to do a "rescue" mission anyway. I loaded Hector in the chair and went to the gas station, where I refueled the rig and bought some 1 litre bottles of water, then headed off to my parent's place. By the time I got there the power was back on, but they were impressed nonetheless with the water delivery. I'm such a good son. I arrived just in time for lunch and a documentary about Fawlty Towers on the public broadcasting station, so things worked out pretty good for me. Watched some classic John Cleese while munching on White Stilton, crackers and pate and butternut squash soup before heading back home.

I was dressed a little different this time, as there were very strong winds and blowing snow with a windchill factor of -15C. I had two pairs of socks, thermal long johns, track pants, ballistic nylon riding pants (with much appreciated armour pads in the knee areas), long sleeved shirt, electric vest, sweatshirt, rain jacket (for wind protection), parka, new winter boots and gloves, neckwarmer, facemask and full face helmet. Hector, as usual, had his Doggles on but this time he had some outer wear - one of my old Triumph heavy t-shirts. I needed something to help keep the wind off him and this seemed like a good idea; it actually fit him pretty well. I forgot to take pics but will try to remember next time I dress him up this way for a ride.

The trip to my parent's place had me riding directly into the 54kmh wind gusts. I haven't put the knobby tire on the rear of the bike yet, but after today's ride I think I'll install it soon. The winds had blown snowdrifts across the road in many places and although the Ural plowed through them I could feel it getting tossed about as wind overcame traction. A couple of times I felt the front end lose contact with the road - a very scary sensation but easily dealt with by keeping the front end pointed straight ahead and backing off the throttle very slowly until steering was restored. Despite the brutal winds I didn't need to switch on the electric vest, as my parka and rain jacket did a great job of keeping the cold out. Too great of a job, as it turned out because by the time I got to Mom and Dad's I was sweating - my shirt was totally soaked because the rain jacket wouldn't "vent" my body heat. Lesson learned; nect time I'll use another layer of clothing like a flannel shirt instead.

On the way home I stuffed the rain jacket in the trunk and took the back roads. Had to switch on the vest this time but I was still very comfy, the only complaint was with the ballistic pants which were just no match for the cold winds. Because it was tailwinds now, my legshields were of no use and my calves were starting to get pretty chilled by the time we made it back into town. Hector stayed low in the sidecar, but he wasn't shivering or curled up into a ball so I think the shirt was doing a fine job of keeping him comfy.

Had to make a side trip to The Beer Store, of course, for another re-stocking of my beloved Keith's brand. Hector stayed out in the chair waiting and it wasn't more than two minutes before I looked out the window to see him surrounded by FOUR women, oohing and aahing all over him. That dog has all the luck. I went back outside with my beer and answered the usual questions about the dog to the women and the usual questions about the bike to their husbands/boyfriends and then we left for home.

Tomorrow we have a brunch with our Southern Cruiser Chapter in Brockville, 54km away. Angie will be taking her car but I think I'll take the Ural... just to p*ss off my fellow riders.

Oh, and I got an email from my Ural dealer the other day. Says he's sold 6 more rigs since the Bike Show in Toronto. I might have to form a Canadian Ural Owners Club soon if this keeps up.

Woke up early this morning and headed out to the garage to install my new knobby tire onto the rear of the bike. It was a good thing I did this, because the original pusher tire only had about 1/16" tread left! It only had 4,100km on it so obviously I'll need to check the tires more often. I've emailed Ken Beach and he's told me that 5-8k is normal for a pusher tire, so with my heavy lard-butt and drag-inducing windshield making the rig work harder the wear is accelerated a bit and nothing to be concerned about. Good thing the Russian tires only cost around $90 each because it looks like I'll be wearing out a lot of them what with the miles I tend to rack up on my bikes.

There was one bald spot about 2" in diameter and I think this was the source of a mild "whump, whump" sensation I felt right from the first ride. It was not strong enough to comment on then but as the tire wore down it became more noticeable; I think the tire itself was out of round. Anyway, I did the tire change and shortly afterwards Angie and I headed out to our brunch meet with the Southern Cruisers. Angie elected to follow me in her car, as the -1C temp and 3cm of fresh snow on the roads were not compatible with her riding interests. She's the smart one in our relationship.

The roads were pretty slushy the first few km's out of town but soon changed to snow-covered surfaces with only the ruts from traffic to ride in and strong 40kmh wind gusts trying to blow the rig off course. I was immediately impressed with the traction and handling of the knobby tire, it cut through slush and snow without any sliding or spinning and I was able to maintain a steady 80kmh cruising speed without any hairy incidents. About 30km into the trip I noticed the bike was getting sluggish on the hills and thought maybe I'd adjusted the rear brake too tight, causing it to overheat. But when I pulled up to a stop sign I noticed the bike wouldn't idle and was sputtering and coughing, so I pulled into the gas station just down the road to have a look. I couldn't find anything obviously wrong, although the carbs looked like they were frosting over so I bought some gasline antifreeze and poured a bit into the tank. It seemed to run fine after a couple minutes, so we carried on to the brunch.

I was the only member who had ridden to the meeting and "crazy b*stard" was one of the nicer comments I received when we walked in. I could feel the camaraderie. We had brekkie while chatting and laughing with our friends before suiting up to head home an hour or so later. One of the members had commented he was thinking of buying a Ural, so I made sure he got one of the factory brochures - and Ken Beach's business card - before I left.

By now the snow was coming down pretty strong and the roads were a mess but the Ural just chugged along like a tractor, totally unaffected by it all. Because I was now heading into the wind my visor kept fogging over and icing up every few seconds; the only way to maintain visibility was to ride with it fully open. This meant I was getting a lot of snow and road spray tossed in my face with each passing car but the full ski mask I wore underneath the helmet did a good job of keeping my face warm. I lost Angie a few times and had to pull over to the side and wait for her; I was doing 70-80kmh but she was only driving at 50-60kmh because the road conditions were bad. I didn't have any problems, the bike was stable throughout the trip and seemingly unaffected by wind gusts and snowdrifts now that the rear was shod with knobby tread. I did notice that the front brake was pretty much useless above 20kmh, as it tended to lock up the front wheel if applied in anything but a straight line. Winter weather riding on a Ural is best accomplished by using the rear and sidecar brakes, so I made it a point to give myself lots of room between cars and to slow down well in advance of turns and intersections.

I got a lot of astonished looks from cagers and many waves from pedestrians and the occasional snowmobile rider out on the Parkway. It seems that no matter what the weather is like, the Ural brings out the happy thoughts in people.

We be famous! I got an email the other day from one of the head honchos at Ural North America. They wanted to use one of my stories on their website, so naturally I said yes. So my First Winter Ride story is now posted on their "My Ural And Me" page here.

I had the Ural out again on Saturday and Sunday for more winter riding adventures. We had another 20cm of fresh snow with mild temps of around 0C and I managed to put on another 110km total. I'm really starting to get the hang of it now and am tackling deeper and more challenging off-road routes as I get more confident in the rig's abilities. Just to be safe, though, I bought a folding shovel from Canadian Tire and stored it in the truck of the hack. Ya never know, right?

Got an email yesterday from one of my SCRC chapter officers. Seems they're thinking of doing a mid-winter story in January for the local newspaper to stir up some interest in the club; they want Hector and I to show up on the Ural at our next brunch to be interviewed by the media.

Congratulations! You deserve it. Cycle World did a big show in Seattle a couple of weeks ago - I went and sat on some Urals and talked to a rep they had there and I asked him if he'd seen your posts. He hadn't so I gave him the URL and I told him he ought to go read your blog. Maybe he called the boss ! However they found you, you earned it. If I worked for those guys I'd hook you up with a free service or at least a few t-shirts and coffee mugs.

cb360 wrote:Congratulations! You deserve it.

Thank you! And thanks for passing on my website.

Attention Canadian Ural and Dnepr owners!!!

I'm thinking of firing up an internet-based owners group for Russkie bike ridin' Canucks. Before I create a webpage and stuff, I need to know if there's enough interest first. Please drop me a line with your thoughts at: mike at gummiente dot ca

Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous New Year to all!!! Went on a 52km round trip on the Ural this morning and stopped by my parent's place, for a visit.

It truly sounds like you are having a blast with your Ural.

It's been weeks since I got to ride. The temperatures here are very mild right now, but the rain is torrential. Even the early snowfall on the local mountains is washing away.

Finally got around to washing the Ural today, it was a balmy 0C and I didn't want to waste the opportunity. Had to wait until late afternoon, though, as I was feeling pretty sick this morning and spent most of the day in bed. BUT all is better now, I'm still a bit woozy but the worst of it seems to be over.

The Ural wasn't in as bad shape as I'd initially feared, there were many rust spots on the chromed surfaces and some pitting on the cast aluminum engine parts but everything scrubbed up nicely and the rig is gleaming again. Not bad for a bike that's been sloshing around in deep snow and heavily salted streets since November.

I have a long weekend starting tomorrow - four days off - and the weather forecast looks promising for the entire period, so stay tuned for more ride reports and pics!

Updates made to my Ural Blog! View them on my website here.