URAL Buddies: Sunday Mystery Tour

Too steep for me

Our initial destination was Cranberry Lane, a secondary road 37.5 kilometres south of Campbell River. We didn’t make it there. The shortcut route had a creepy grade. The sandy hill was too steep for my liking.

“I’m not going up that dumb thing,” I said.

“Aw come on, Honey, we can do it,” Frank said.

I scrunched up my face at him and shook my head no. He laughed and pointed to the hill that now had a doe and her two sweet fawns scrabbling down it. The loose terrain put their skills to the test.

Pig ornament basking in the sun

We motored down a paved road and stopped in a few places to take photos and enjoy the funky features of driveways. We were called over by a rancher who was keenly interested in the Ural. Frank explained the cool features of the bike including its two-wheel drive capability and the reverse feature. The Harley-Davidson owner confessed that he would never consider going on any of the logging roads on his solo bike.

“The Ural's made for logging roads and more. I call it a street-legal ATV,” Frank said.

We motored along and found an exquisite river running under a wooden bridge. It's called the Authur Mayse Side Channel. We dismounted and enjoyed our packed lunch perched on an outcropping of boulders. Kids and dogs swimming in the water entertained us. We spotted an otter scrambling through the rocks and took pleasure in the rumble of slow traffic passing over the bridge. Afterward, we strolled down a walking path and came out the other side at Cottage Lane. When we returned to our bike, we were greeted by folks interested in its history. Everyone loves the Ural.

We love it when our plans don’t come together. It's a ♫ Magical Mystery Tour ♫.