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

"You have that look. What did you do?" My bride of 25 years knew "that look". She wasn't giving me grief when she said it. She knew that I'd been on the hunt for a Ural Gear Up for a while. She saw the change in mood that I was trying to hide while I figured out how I was going to tell her.
"I found a Gobi Gear Up. I just made the deal."
"Where is it?' was a logical enough question that came next.
"Seattle."
"How much is it going to cost to ship?" was next.
"I'm not shipping it." Now that might not be too bad if you lived in Portland or SanFrancisco. We live in Upstate NY.

This was 115 long days ago while the wind and snow blew outside the window. It was 115 days of spending way too much time on ADVRider, Pashnit, and SovietSteeds. It was two trips to AAA for maps, too many ride reports read for ideas, questions to forum members, and off road maps ordered for far off states.

During that time she decided that I needed supervision. Actually I asked her to come. We have put together plans for a trip like I'd never imagined I would ever do. Yesterday we flew into Seattle. We stopped at our hotel and while Julie checked out Pike Place I continued on to to see the bike that I'd purchased from a stranger 115 days ago. He simply was working too many hours for him to justify his new purchase. I had the sent a few boxes of gear and supplies for the trip and the bike ahead of us. It was all waiting along with the bike. The bike had barely been ridden since he bought it. It was better than advertised and well farkled. I was thrilled.
We went over the bike, said our goodbyes, and I was off. Since I was so close to Ural headquarters in Redmond, WA, I had to stop by their new building. Again I met some of the nicest people.
Not much for ride report pictures at this point, but stick around for the next month or so and we'll go over passes in Washington with 15-20 feet of snow on each side, down the Columbia River Gorge, ride down the west coast, see Big Sur, maybe Yosemite, Death Valley, the Mojave, Moki Dugway, Arches, Bryce, Zion, Moab, upper New Mexico, the Smokies, Blue Ridge Parkway, and who knows what else in between. No plans are set in stone here. The weather might dictate some changes along the way.
I have a SPOT2 locator. Friends, family, and some forum members have asked that we put up a shared link, so here it is:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0UBFq0lQCRFebElvEc38Hnt9BuyqHuMCY
The first couple hits are from the airports.

Here's the place that brings these odd machines over from Russia.


With a little luck I can post some more pictures tomorrow and every now and then as we work our way home.

On my first ever posting on ADV may i be the first to wish you all the best for your trip. Thats the way to shake down a new bike! Good luck, have fun!

Glad to heat that everything is going as planned, big brother!
How does Julie enjoy the new bike?


Say hi to Ol' Piney for me!

I didn't realize they came into Redmond. I was just in Redmond last night...
Good luck on your trip.

Thanks for the well wishes Nik.
Hey there, hi there, ho there Kiwi Paddler! Thanks for the email with details for today's ride. Looks like it should be great.
Julie was plenty comfortable in the old Ural and this is just the same except we have it loaded down pretty well. We are both impressed with how this little 750 can pull it all. I'll get a picture of all our stuff on the hotel cart later. I don't think I could fit it all in a small car.
Scott, Seattle seems to be the epicenter of Uralistas. You should get to a dealer just to try one out. I never considered one until a year ago and now I'm on my second one and having a blast. It's not very much like riding a motorcycle, but it sure is fun. Besides, it's nice to have your loved one comfortable on a long ride. Julie says that none of our previous Goldwings could compare. (1200,1500,and 1800)
Let's see where today brings us...

Julie even got into the ADV spirit of things and posted a food shot! I was impressed.
This was just before we loaded up to leave Pike Place.



A couple tourist shots of Seattle. The Warwick Hotel was a pretty nice place with good parking and a great view of the Space Needle.

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.

As the Burl Ive's snowman would say, "Tell me when it's over!"

Nothing like a well farkled machine.

It looks like you're having a great time already- I'm jealous; makes me miss my own trip! Keep the photos coming.- especially the ones of Mom in the sidecar.

Love you guys!

<PS> I love Mom's plaid blanket- so dignified! She still needs goggles, a flap hat and a plaid scarf, though.

You sir sure scored on a real beauty. Hang on to that one & treat it w/ max respect. Hope the two of you have many wonderful miles. If you get into NM, & want a break, my BRO's Ural is in Truth or Consequences. He has been know to share the home made Sangria. If interested PM me for his #.
Oh yeah, neat Ural too.

I am enjoying your ride report already, Did you find a good place to stay last nite? Julie looks quite comfortable in the sidecar, does she hand you sandwiches as motor down the road?-p/k

Panzer, you of all people should know that it's "sammiches" on ADVRider. Yesterday was beautiful. It started to rain lightly around dinnertime and we could see it was coming down much harder ahead. We had just passed a little town with a crummy looking motel for $95. Instead I pulled into the Skamania Lodge. It is incredible and cost $128. We are a few miles from Bridge of the Gods now. The real beauty of the Columbia river gorge lies ahead. Pictures soon.

N!

A small example of the most excellent breakfast here at Skamania Lodge. I ate much more than this:

Covered parking for Urals only:

One of the extras that came with the bike. I love it.

One state down, who knows how many to go. Oregon comes shortly.

The view out the window of the main room at the lodge:

I cannot believe they let a schmoe like me in a place like this. Actually, the young man that saw us come in and gave us the rate also rides. He'll be riding to Albany NY this summer. I wonder what he might have started with letting me in. Just wait until some fellow inmates start showing up.

Well said!

Damn I'm impressed, that IS a nice place you scored! Love the bike, love the "Russian" sickle/piston combo.

How many days do you guys have planned for this little excursion? It's certainly a good time of the year to see many parts of the country, especially since you shouldn't have too many problems in the snow.

Have a great trip!

(PM sent)

I'm thinking that I'll be on the road about a month. Our daughter's family has moved into our house to watch things and the pets. They can't stay for the entire time so Julie will likey fly home after we explore Utah. (I can't believe she wants to miss Oklahoma.:huh)
I just went to check on the bike. Oil is up to the top of the dipstick and still looks new. Now it's raining. Can't say that I'm surprised but so far we have two rainfree days behind us. Time to pack.

You scored indeed a nice looking bike there. The journey is going to be a long one that the two of you will for sure remember for years to come. Keep safe guys and keep us posted.

Later
John