The Ramblings of a Uralogist- A cross country ADVenture on three wheels

[zeeede]

Originally Posted by madeouttaglass

A few shots of the Dragon. Yes, I admit it. I got out of the lane just to get the chair up. No oncoming traffic, so please spare me the flames.

http://129slayer.photoreflect.com/st...9&g=1WPV009M05

Killboy liked your rig too.

Featured on his blog:
http://killboy.blogspot.com/2012/05/that-poor-tire.html



How I tracked you down...
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=789908

Awesome ride report

[ZaethDekar]

You may think I am crazy but I am the guy that checked you in at SKamania Lodge, riding to Albany in the fall (If all goes well for school)


My last day of work at Skamania was April 18th... so I have a summer job I will be doing for two months then going from there. It was awesome talking to you and I am glad to see your trip went well!

[madeouttaglass]

Originally Posted by ZaethDekar

You may think I am crazy but I am the guy that checked you in at SKamania Lodge, riding to Albany in the fall (If all goes well for school)


My last day of work at Skamania was April 18th... so I have a summer job I will be doing for two months then going from there. It was awesome talking to you and I am glad to see your trip went well!

Hey!, Great to see that you posted here. Thanks so much for that rate at the lodge. It was a helluva way to start our time on the road. It gave us a great feeling about the trip and that never stopped.
I hope you have a little time to spend on your ride across the country. Meeting many fine folks like yourself was the best part of the trip. Riding cross country (especially a loaded Ural) brought people out of the woodwork. I found the best part was answering their questions, then quickly turning it around and asking them their stories. We met a whole bunch of nice and interesting people like yourself. If you can spare 30-60 minutes at the end of the day, I'd recommend you do a ride report also. It really made me review the day and remember details that would have been lost. It also let me connect with more interesting people and keep a connection to others that made the ride that much better for us.
Let me know if you come for a ride in the Finger Lakes. Julie and I would love to have you over for lunch and hear about your trip.
Tom

[Eagletalon]

Finally got all caught up with your RR. Amazing trip and I think that having your wife along for most of it had to be an amazing experience the two of you will never forget. I think my wife would be willing to ride with me if i have something like a ural or just a hack in general. Can we get a review from your wife on the sidecar?

Later
John

[#1Farkle]

I guess a few of you would like to hear more from the quieter half of our Ural adventure saga. I guess a little background would help. First off I've only ever been a passenger on any of our bikes, and there have been quite a few. I've been a good sport and put miles on everything from an antique BMW to hanging off the back of dirt bikes, and usually had a great time doing it. Most of our road trips have been on Goldwings, though. The first thing I ever bought my hubbie, then boyfriend was a 1985 Goldwing Limited that someone had crashed. We brought it home in crates and boxes and reassembled it together in our dining room over the course of several months. Well I'm not as young as I use to be, and although we still have a Goldwing that I love, I seem to get a little stiff and uncomfortable after a couple of hours. My suspicion is that trying a Ural was partially curiosity on my husbands part, and part that he thought I would be more comfortable. Turns out I am. I haven't ridden in any other sidecars, but the Ural is very comfortable. It's easy to get in and out of, and you sit up and have support so your back doesn't get tired. Your legs aren't splayed so your hips don't get tired either. Also when you hit a bump it doesn't smack your spine like on the back of a bike. The only thing I could find a problem with was that the engine is right next to your head, and the droning gets old after a while. I wore earplugs and a full face helmet that helped tremendously. It was coincidence that we went down the PC1 so that the view was on my side, and so were almost all of the attractions we went to, but obviously you only see out one side well. You can see out the other side but not well.(Particularly when you have it packed as high as we did). When it got cold I nestled in a sleeping bag and still had tons of leg room. Mind you I am only 5'3", though. All in all it was a wonderful way to travel, and we were blessed with great weather almost the whole way. We have had Goldwing trips in steady rain and 50 and that is not fun. I can see having lots more fun riding next to Tom on the Ural for a good long time. However you choose to travel, though, it's making the memories together that's the important part. Hope I answered some questions some had. If I can help any more please let me know, and again thanks to everyone for being sooo kind.

[Patrick46]

Originally Posted by #1Farkle

However you choose to travel, though, it's making the memories together that's the important part.

Wonderful summary Julie! You nailed it!

[Thermos]

Just found this. Shows me how out of touch I am.

Great ride report!

-T

[100mpg]

Originally Posted by #1Farkle

... The first thing I ever bought my hubbie, then boyfriend was a 1985 Goldwing Limited that someone had crashed. We brought it home in crates and boxes and reassembled it together in our dining room over the course of several months. .

Madeoutttaglass, she is a keeper!

[TK-LA]

Originally Posted by madeouttaglass

Here's Julie in the beast! All loaded up and ready to see some mountains. Windmill gave me a scenic route to follow. Little did we know or understand what "The pass is clear." meant.

She knows how to travel. The blanket makes it even better. Now, a nice book and a cup of hot cocoa and she's all set!

[Patrick46]

Originally Posted by TK-LA

She knows how to travel. The blanket makes it even better. Now, a nice book and a cup of hot cocoa and she's all set!

don't forget some good old fashioned ear muffs too!!

[Red Menace]

I was not invited? Well that's probably a good thing wouldnt want to hit the Panzir's Great Pumpkin, Or run off the road into a tree. LOL Looks like you had a good time :)

[madeouttaglass]

MIKE! Our buddy! I assumed you knew. I bet Panzir would hve loved to have you come along. I certainly would have. Gotta get Katie to try out the sidecar. Good thing you took her on our Wing last year. I'm meetiing the new owner of it at the airport tomorrow. I guess that speaks a bit to which bike we like better. Panzir just left here. He trucked the TW200 over and we just did 100 miles of seasonal roads today.
Hope to see you soon,
Tom

[madeouttaglass]

Got the mug in the mail yesterday.

[NJ-Bill]

I did the Spruce Goose tour in the 1990s. At that time, it was in Long Beach, CA. It is hard to imagine transporting that monstrous plane without flying it - LINK. Nice ride report.

Originally Posted by madeouttaglass

A month ago someone mentioned that I'd be in the area of the Spruce Goose. I thought "What the hell, that would be cool."
I had NO IDEA what the Evergreen Museum was like. I can't begin to describe it. It was as good as the Smithsonian in DC.
Here are a few shots from inside their airplane building.
Yes, they even had a couple Urals!!

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/flatglass/DSC01541.jpg[/IMG






The next two are inside the Spruce Goose.



The beach balls were ordered by Howard Hughes as extra floatation.

[Tessitori]

A fantastic RR, thanks for taking me along in the journey!