We arrived at Cam's house about 45 minutes later only to learn that he was on his way out the door to an appointment in the city, so after a brief chat about Russkie bikes I pulled out of his driveway and continued on in search of roads less traveled.

By now Hector had been patiently sitting in the chair for well over an hour, so I found a nice open farmer's field to stop and let him run about.

He was one happy puppy; bounding and leaping about in the grass, running here and there and p*ssing on anything he wanted to. So much more fun than the restrictive rules inside our house! I eventually collared and persuaded him back into the sidecar and we carried on our merry way.

About 20km later we found ourselves exploring a new road alongside Loughbrough Lake. Hector's ears perked up and his nose went into overtime as he smelled the water, so a brief stop for a swim seemed like a good idea.

What was supposed to be a five minute splash turned into a fifteen minute romp through the shallow waters of the boat launch. Hector, although blind, still insists on me throwing rocks out into the water so he can chase them. He never recovers any but he sure has a fun time lunging towards the sound of the splashes the rocks make when they hit the surface.

After a few good shakes, he hopped back into the chair and away we went once again. A few more gravel roads and some 25km later, we stopped in to see our friends Ken and Martha near the hamlet of Inverary. Their dog Chelsea is one of Hector's longtime girlfriends and the two of them looked so good together I made them pose for this shot.

Martha was enthralled by the Ural, having only seen pictures of it and secondhand accounts up until today. She's the cutest thing that has graced the rider's seat so far and I would have been remiss not to get a gratuitous babe shot before we rode off.

I wanted to try out my cornering skills on a twisty road, so I took a route that hooked me up with one of my all time faves - Burnt Hills Road. Normally, it is a paved surface with lots of hills and blind corners but obviously it had been slated for resurfacing and most of it was now gravel. Not a bad thing, though, as I got to practice more powerslides and get more familiar with riding on soft surfaces.

One of the neat things about Burnt Hills Road is that part of it crosses the Rideau Canal via this old wooden swing bridge. It's a pretty rickety structure and you can hear the boards flapping about underneath as you ride across.

The wind was beginning to pick up as the forecasted storm approached, so I decided it was time to start heading for home.

We made a short pit stop at the booze store in the small town of Seeley's Bay so I could restock my supply of Keith's. The lady behind the counter was so enthralled with Hector that she came out and gave him a doggy treat just before we left. Hector was still munching on it when I took this pic.

By now we were heading south towards home and a glance to the west showed that the storm was getting closer. We made it onto Cty Rd 32 and made a dash for home. The winds were so strong by now that with the throttle pegged we could only manage 90kmh - and the rig kept getting pushed over towards the oncoming lane, which made for a few hairy moments.

By the time we reached Gananoque the skies above were black and the wind was brutal. I decided not to stop for gas, which turned out to be a good idea - just as I pulled up in front of our garage and opened the door, the sky opened up and the rain came POURING down. Talk about perfect timing!

We rode a little over 120km and had a great time. I learned more about the Ural's capabilities and Hector got to do some of his favourite activities - running, swimming and eating doggy treats - while I visited some friends and restocked my beer supply. Now that's what I call a good ride!