Ural Wins 1st Prize

Ural Wins 1st Prize

Our green 2007 Patrol won first prize in the sidecar category at the 5^th Annual Cumberland Motorcycle Roundup.

On Saturday, August 10, we travelled south from Campbell River 55 kilometres to Cumberland. The village was celebrating bikes, the people who ride them and admire them. The evening before, Frank had buffed up the Ural with a light wiping of its most dominant parts. We paid ten dollars to register for the Show & Shine and were surprised to be awarded the 1^st place ribbon.

“I’ve never won anything,” Frank said.

“Let’s take this ticket over to the raffle table and see if it’s a winner,” I said.

We won a helmet.

Bike with matte finish

That morning we arrived at 9:30 a.m. and enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee and conversation at The Wandering Moose Café. Frank stayed with the bike as I explored up and down the main street set up as the exclusive domain of motorbikes and vendors. The most prominent bike was the Harley-Davidson while the least well known was our Ural. There were bikes covered in spectacular air-brushed paint, matte finish, leather and duct tape. There were people of all shapes, sizes and ages covered with tattoos. The atmosphere was electric with fun-loving energy. The bright sun set up every bike as a showpiece.

Friendly, chatty chap

As I meandered through the bikes, I stopped at one of the Hells Angels booths. The young man behind the table explained he was working toward getting his first patch and so he was doing community service.

“I’m looking after this booth all weekend and then I hand in my hours,” he said.

“Is the Hells Angels like a gang, where you have to kill somebody to get in?” I asked.

“No! It’s not like that. We’re an organization like any other. There are rules like any other club. Like, you have to have a valid driver’s license and own a motorcycle,” he said.

I looked over the merchandise he was offering but couldn’t see myself wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a Hells Angels cartoon graphic.

Sweet pink ride

I had many conversations that day, all about bikes. I told as many ladies as I met that another way to enjoy the road was as a monkey in a sidecar. The ladies who owned their own solo bikes nodded their head politely. Bikers like the thrill of controlling the speed, destination and conditions of the ride.

Bikers will spend thousands of dollars on decorating their ride. There were several custom air-brushed bikes, one was covered in leather, lots decorated with skulls and women’s body parts and some just plain and simple.

Please enjoy the video and let me know if it was worth the wait.

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 ♫.

My Sidecar View

For the Love of Bridges

Walk-about Trail

Cottage Lane

Go Fly a Kite!

Kite flying is great fun. We purchased several while we were in China and had an old-timer there show us the ropes. Running and pulling on your kite is over. You stand in one position, hoist the kite into the air and voila, it’s airborne.

Families and friends attended the kite-flying event in Parksville, BC. We arrived in our Ural and grabbed more attention than usual because Frank wore his kilt under his chaps. He loves the freedom of the kilt and will go through most lengths to wear it.

In the field, we flipped our kites into the air and set them on the wind currents. I have a little one that looks like a penguin and Frank’s is a large red squid. We’ve invested in long cords and can send our kites so high that they are nearly unrecognizable.

Back at the bike, we answered questions about its origin, mileage, maintenance and overall enjoyment. I encouraged the ladies to talk to their husbands about giving up their solo bike so that they can enjoy the comfort of a well-padded seat and the open expanse.

Ural riders have a style of their own.

The red dot is Frank's red squid.

Ready for lift off.

Sand Castles and More

Our destination on Monday, July 15, 2013 was Parksville, British Columbia. It’s a 120-kilometre ride south from our hometown of Campbell River. Every summer, from July 13 to August 18, Parksville Beach is the place where worldwide sculptors gather to create masterpieces from sand and water.

Along the way, we stopped beachside in Qualicum Bay to enjoy the salt-scented breeze from the ocean, the squawk of seagulls, the rhythmic roll of white-capped waves and the homemade taste of our granola bars.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Frank said.

“I don’t know how it can,” I said.

We mounted our Ural steed and plowed through the soft beach sand to connect with Highway 19A. We arrived at Parksville Beach and were overwhelmed with the magnificent details of the sand sculptures. We sauntered about and met other admirers from around the world.

Back at the parking lot, two other motorcyclists who wanted to know about our green Patrol greeted us. Frank answered all their questions with pride. You need to factor in the curiosity of others when you ride a Ural.

Sand Structures at Parksville Beach

Beauty and the Beach

Everyone Loves the Ural

Ural Loves the Load

Urals Love Camping

 It wouldn’t surprise us if you could stack one Ural on top of another and the bronco would love the load. We packed our camping gear behind Frank, the driver, and me, the passenger. I climbed in and sat comfortably with my legs stretched out while Frank mounted the steed. We didn’t even hear a creaking sound. The charger stood firm and moved forward with solid confidence in its capability. Our excursion that time was without incident. I felt pride in our bike’s capacity.

Back at home, the lumber companies and small engine repair shopkeepers get a kick out of the bike’s ability to haul a lawnmower on its back, lengths of lumber and plywood and large pieces of furniture. Frank is a sailor and there’s a secure knot for every load.

Last month, we headed up the road to our garden plot and brought along a load of lumber, a roll of chicken wire, two rakes, a shovel and a large bag of planting potatoes. We thought nothing of piling the Ural with all that stuff. When we arrived, the other gardeners stood around the bike and commented on its uniqueness.

Indeed, the Ural is unique as are most of its owners. What a pleasure.

At our garden plot

What we built with lumber and chicken wire

Thrill Ride To Stella Lake

Western Skunk Cabbage

 The pungent stench of skunk cabbage made a huge impact on my nostrils that day. It faded away gradually as we drove further down the logging road where I was treated to the bouquet of tree bark, blossoming leaves, budding flowers and the distinct smell of dust thrown at us by passing trucks. Our destination was Stella Lake.

Initially, we had turned east off Highway 19 north onto the Elk Bay forest service road. Its teeth rattling potholed condition and the crackle of shattered glass-like gravel under our knobby tires was our first inkling that our trek would be a grand adventure.

Logging trucks, regular trucks and vehicles hauling boats shared the network of graveled roads with us on this Vancouver Island excursion. Our Ural was no match for a massive load of felled trees on the back of a truck or the speed of a 4-wheel drive got-to-get-there-fast vehicle. The dust they kicked up clogged our senses and the flying rocks pecked and rattled our windshields. We ducked into a ditch and waited for the monster trucks to pass.

Stella Lake Serenity

 Even over the roar of the bike engine I could hear the screech of birds calling to one another from the treetops warning each other of our approach. As I looked up into the sky to watch the frantic birds swooping to protect their nests, I was thrilled with the dynamic sketches made by the trail of smoke from fast moving jets. I glanced forward and watched as Frank forced our steed down a steep twenty percent narrow rock covered grade. Our reward at its end was Stella Lake. We picnicked there and then headed for home.

Road east off Highway 19 North

Adventurous Road Conditions

It's a logging road

Two In The Sidecar

 Our 56-kilometre excursion from Campbell River to Comox Lake in Cumberland, BC included picking up an extra passenger in Courtenay to pack in the sidecar. The riding rule in British Columbia, Canada, is that a sidecar passenger must wear a certified Department of Transportation helmet and be seated properly.

Seated correctly means that our six-year-old grandson’s feet must touch the floor. I pinched my legs together and pulled him onto my lap so that his feet could reach on either side. I wrapped my arms around his slight frame and our driver, Grandpa, surged the bike forward. It was an exciting first ride for the boy. He told us later that he really liked the bike because you can see everything on the road and in the ditch. That’s the very reason I love it also.

At Comox Lake we examined and collected driftwood on the rocky shore, threw rocks into the water, and stood to watch boaters back their vessels into the water and roar off. On the ride back we stopped at a cabin once occupied by Chinese and Japanese coalmine workers. If you plan to travel on Vancouver Island be sure to stop at Cumberland. Let us know you're coming and we'll meet you there.

http://cumberlandbc.org/

We love water

Exploring Perseverance Creek