25 Feb 06: It's been an unusually mild winter with many above zero days, which means there hasn't been much snow to romp around in. We had a few good storms (as seen in my "First Winter Ride 05" story) over the last few months, but none of the snow hung around; within a few days it would all melt away and I'd be riding on sand covered pavement again. Until today - woke up this morning to -14C windchill temps, 30kmh winds from the North, 5cm of fresh stuff on the ground and a heavy snowfall warning for the region... in other words, prime Ural riding weather!

 Douk fired up first try (now that I'm familiar with the cold weather start routine) and I gave the motor a few minutes to warm up before motoring off. Our first stop was The Beer Store to return a few cases of empty Keith's. I was glad I never got around to swapping the knobby rear tire for the normal "all season" one, as the roads were icy underneath all that snow and the extra traction came in handy. After offloading the empties, I headed back through town and turned North to take the long route to Kingston. I wanted to check in on my Harley at Motosport Plus and figured that the back roads would be less traveled and a little safer despite the snow.

It was miserable out, worse than I'd thought, but I was comfy despite the crosswind and the electric vest kept me toasty as I cruised along at 60-70kmh. At one point I caught up with a snowplow, so I slowed a bit and followed him at a cautious distance. But suddenly the wind changed and blew the discharge from his plow right back onto the road, creating a total whiteout. 24 years in the saddle have given me a healthy sixth sense and I immediately slowed down and pulled as far to the right as I could. A few seconds later an oncoming car emerged from the snow, windshield wipers on full and rear end sliding loose, with its driver obviously disoriented from the momentary loss of vision - and way over the centerline. He missed me, barely, and I saw the shocked look on his face as he went by. Had I stayed in my original lane position, well, it would have been a nasty end to the day right then and there.

I crossed over the 401 HWY at one point and just had to take this photo. This is the main artery from the Quebec border through to Toronto and it sees literally thousands of vehicles every day, normally moving along at a blistering pace well in excess of the Ural's top speed. But today I could have been riding with the big semis and SUV's, as traffic was reduced to one lane each way and they were moving slow. I was sorely tempted to take the next on ramp, just to say I had been on Ontario's Autobahn, but I decided not to risk my life any more than necessary - judging by some of the looks I'd received so far from the cagers it was bad enough I was out riding on a day like today anywise.

I arrived at Motosport Plus and noted that mine was the only bike in the parking lot. J The staff were not quite as surprised to see me as they had been the first few times I showed up in a snowstorm, but I was the star of the show nonetheless and cemented my status as one of their most hardassed customers. My Harley was up on the lift and the mech was in the process of relocating the wiring for the ignition switch bracket I had made. If you own an '06 FXDI Superglide, you'll want to check out the details on my Red Oktober page. Anyway, after lots of bike talk and wandering about the aisles looking at all the shiny bits, I suited up and headed out. Next stop was at the Sunoco station down the road for some 94 octane, a rare treat for Douk who normally only gets 91 (the highest available in my town).

Next stop was to be at my parent's place, as I had promised to check on their house while they were away this weekend. Along the way I caught up with an interesting and unique four wheeled Russian vehicle that was as rare as my Ural in these parts - a Lada Niva! I flagged him down at the next stop and he was delighted to see me. Turns out he grew up in the Ural mountain region and was very familiar with the bikes that are built there. He was quite interested in mine, especially after learning of all the recent improvements and the 2 year unlimited miles warranty. I gave him a brochure and Ken Beach's card and we talked for a bit before heading our separate ways. Just before parting, he said something profound - "You know, normally you and I we are the slowest ones on the road. But today, today my friend, we are the fastest!". How true, how very true.

I was heading into the wind now and was having problems with my full-face helmet faceshield; if I opened it too far, snow flowed into my face and I couldn't see. If I closed it, it fogged up and I couldn't see. I tried to keep it open just a crack to find a balance between snow and fog, but the wind would blow it all the way shut, it would fog up and I couldn't see. By the time I pulled into my parent's driveway, my face was getting numb from the cold and there was ice on the inside of the visor. I went inside to warm up and dry out my facemask and helmet, then did a security check before heading back outside. The snow was a pretty thick layer on the ground by now and I again felt relieved that I hadn't changed out the knobby rear tire.

I headed back towards Gananoque and the warmth of home. The wind had really picked up by now and traffic on HWY 2 was moving slow; in no time I caught up to a daisy chain crawling along at 60kmh. I smiled as I thought of that guy in the Lada Niva and what he had said about us being the fastest ones out there today, wondering if he was stuck in traffic now, too. I amused myself by watching the looks of disbelief from the passing cagers as I putted along, wondering if I was doing more harm than good to the image of motorcyclists in their eyes. When I finally arrived back in town, I remembered that I needed some items from the local Canadian Tire and headed over there to get them. I had another UDF session in the parking lot then finally headed for home - and a driveway that needed shoveling.

I realised today that this bike has taught me more about all weather riding in the six months I've owned it than what I've learned in the last 24 years on any of my other bikes, including the Sportster/Velorex combo I rode in the late 80's. It has sharpened and refined my maintenance/repair skills, taught me the importance of things like gasline antifreeze in the tank and WD-40 on all the linkages, re-introduced me to the joy of exploring roads less traveled, strengthened my road survival skills, and through the numerous UDF sessions has introduced me to many people I'd normally never have met on my other bikes. Things are different on a Harley, that is so true... and I love my Harley dearly, but you haven't lived until you've ridden a Ural and "joined the adventure"!