Ural Update

Just a short post with more pictures from the trip.

Irbit MotorWorks of America, aka Ural IMWA, aka Ural USA has a monthly newsletter, the Irbit Informer.  Novembers was published yesterday and a photo of John’s Bondi & my Yamal in front of our dad’s shop at the conclusion of our trip was selected as the Photo of the Month.  They also linked to the blog, and I see that I am getting quite a few visitors as a result, so I thought it would be a good time to post a few more photos.

You can check out the Irbit Informer by clicking the link: Irbit Informer

I really do intend to get back into the blog swing of things someday, just not sure when that day will be here.

Oh, as an aside, if you are still reading this post, I want you to know that you are the first to be told my promotion has officially been recorded.  I received my orders yesterday and as of 1 NOV 13, I am a Colonel in the US Army – hooah!

Take care & thanks for reading.

Dan

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Day 6 – 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Please start here: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Day 6

Superior Entry Lighthouse

in the snow near Park Rapids, MN

pictures on the sewall

crossing the Mississippi River

Lake Superior seawall

Superior Entry Lighthouse

in the snow near Park Rapids, MN

Sunrise over Lake Superior

Lake Superior sunrise silhouette

ending mileage

Home

Lake Superior sunrise

in the snow near Park Rapids, MN

The skies were clear, the temperature was a cold 25 degrees and the bikes were wearing a thick blanket of frost.  We packed up and got back on the road before sunrise.  Our destination was the harbor point in Superior for a quick Lake Superior photo shoot.

As we approached Superior there was a sudden rise in temperature, you could feel it was warmer and the frost quickly melted off the windscreen.  As we entered town, we saw a bank sign displaying the temperature as a balmy 33 degrees.  It surprised me how much warmer that 7 degree difference felt.

We quickly found the Wisconsin Point Road and followed it to the end to scout out a good location for photos.  We arrived before sunrise and John thought it would be nice to get some shots with the Superior Entry Lighthouse and the sunrise as a backdrop.  We backtracked down the road a short way to the area near the lighthouse.

We rolled the bikes down the concrete seawall and carefully positioned them to get some great pictures of the bikes with Lake Superior, the lighthouse and the sunrise.  I would say it was the best location we had found.  The sands of Lake Huron were more fun, but this provided better pictures.

It wasn’t long and we got back on the road headed west, the final leg of our trip, with our expectation to reach home before noon, just a few hours behind our goal.  We were headed into snow, but we weren’t sure where we would find it and if we would have to drive through rain to get to it.

The snow arrived while stopped for gas in Floodwood, MN, about 45 miles west of Superior.  We were thankful that it was not preceded by rain, as is often the case with early season snow.  That just makes things even messier.

As we moved west, the trees and ground were beginning to show their blanket of snow, making for a beautiful ride.  However, the beauty of the scenery was tempered by the fact that my gloves and boots were fast becoming saturated from all of the rain & snow over the past two days and my hands and feet were getting really cold.  I had fashioned a field expedient wind guard for my right hand out of a plastic bag, which helped with that hand, but my other three appendages were not so happy.

We made a quick stop as we crossed the Mississippi River for some pictures and then it was back on the road. We soon arrived in Walker, MN stopping for gas and for me to change my socks and boots.  There was little hope for my hands except to add a dry pair of glove liners (which were soaked within a few minutes).  We also replaced the plastic bag on my right hand with a handlebar muff John had bought.  We had determined early on that they were too small for the Urals, but we made it fit and it worked better than the plastic bag.  While I was inside changing, John was outside extolling the virtues of the Urals to those interested.

The snow continued to fall as we got back on the road.  It had accumulated several inches deep in the ditches and on the trees.  The road was wet, but there was no accumulation as it was melting off the pavement as fast as it fell.  I felt much better and was able to enjoy the scenery along the way.  We decided to take a short excursion into the woods to see how the Urals liked playing in the snow and to get a few pictures.  They handled the snow-covered trail with ease and John captured a short video of me driving the Yamal a short way down the trail. Back on the road, the snow stopped a few miles east of Detroit Lakes.  We made our final gas stop, as we were only about 50 miles from home.

That last stretch of the ride was uneventful as we pulled into the driveway about 1400.  The odometers read a few kilometers shy of 3000.  We had traveled 1861 miles, visiting 8 states, 1 province, the 5 Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mississippi River and Niagara Falls since arriving in Boxborough 6 days before. It was a great trip. The bikes performed flawlessly, the stock seats were surprisingly comfortable and neither of us had any complaints or soreness from the ride.  The Yamal seemed to have a little bit more power/speed than the Bondi, but the Bondi got better gas mileage, usually requiring 0.2-0.3 gallons less at each stop.

I will do a final wrap-up with additional thoughts at a later date. We plan to use our Urals year round, so you can also expect updates as winter progresses.  In the meantime, I welcome any suggestions for winterizing the bikes – what tires work best in snow?  Should I get ‘Hippo Hands’ or heated grips?  What other modifications, if any should I look to make.

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Day 5 – 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Please start here: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Through the window of the restaurant in Kennebunkport

Lake Michigan with the ferry just entering the harbor in the background

Lake Ontario

Brattleboro, VT

Lake Ontario

First meeting at Ural of New Englnad

The view from our first stop

Lake Michigan

Niagara Falls

Lake Huron

Waiting for the ferry

Lake Michigan

Kennebunkport

Day 5

Yesterday we covered more than 500 miles, so we thought it may be possible to do that again today, putting us in Duluth, about 240 miles from home.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t start driving at a decent time because the ferry doesn’t leave until 1015, which gave us several hours to kick back and wait.  We decided not to go for an early morning ride because it was cold and raining and looking at the forecast, we would get plenty of that today.

We went to the ferry terminal at 0830 to ensure we could get on the boat.  With our tickets purchased, we had about an hour to head to the water’s edge to get our Lake Michigan pictures.  We couldn’t get down to the water, but we did find a nice sandy spot to get some photos.  Timing was good as I was able to get some with the ferry in the background entering the harbor.

We arrived back at the ferry terminal with just a few minutes to spare to get the bikes loaded and tied down.  Neither of us particularly enjoyed the choppy ride across Lake Michigan, but it allowed us to avoid the loop around the lake and driving through Chicago, which saved several hours.

With the weather forecast looking like we would be heading into snow, John decided it would be best to update his gear and get some heavier gloves.  Google found us what appeared to be a large cycle shop close to the route in Wisconsin, so that was our first destination after unloading. Our stop there turned out to be an even better bargain than we had realized at the time.  John found some nice, overpriced gloves, but had no choice but to purchase them.  Then we discovered a rack of 50% off clothes and each upgraded our winter, wet weather pants on the cheap…very, very good idea.

We stopped at a local hamburger shop for grub and then pointed the bikes northwest on the back roads of Wisconsin.  At this point getting to Duluth was looking a little iffy, but possible.  We had gotten some rain and the temps were a little cool, but our gear was holding out.  Things went well until about 1800.  It was then we came to a detour that sent us off in the wrong direction and by the time we were to the end of the detour had added nearly 50 miles to the route. If we had been using a GPS (which we left at home) we could have created our own detour, using the Interstate that would have actually shortened our trip…I think the small towns along the detour must have bribed Wisconsin DOT to bring traffic to their towns.

Because of the hour + wasted travel time, the thought of making it to Duluth in the cold, dark, rain was fading fast.  The temps were going to only get colder and there was an 80% chance of snow, so we thought we should be dried out and rested for that portion of the trip.  We looked at options at our gas stop and decided Spooner would be the place to spend the night.  We would arrive before 2200 and it would leave us about 75 miles from Duluth.  With that plan, we figured we would make it home by Noon on Sunday.

The rain had stopped by the time we pulled up to the little run-down mom & pop motel that had vacancy in this little tourist town.  For the price we paid, we should have had a pool and continental breakfast, but the reality is it was an over-priced, rundown little dive that had that familiar old, musty cabin smell.  The room was small, the beds were lumpy, and the shower was disgusting, but what the hell, we would only be here for about 6 hours or so…

…to be continued…

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Day 4 – 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Please start here: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Day 4

Niagara Fall

Lake Huron

Lake Ontario

Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Niagara Falls

Lake Erie

Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake Erie

Because of our poor progress west yesterday, we were determined to make up time today – still shooting to make it home by late Saturday night/early Sunday morning.  We left Rochester before sunrise. The roads were still wet from the overnight rain, but the skies were clear and the temperature was in the upper 40’s.

We had decided one of the goals was to visit each of the Great Lakes on our journey west.  Lake Eire would be the first stop. It wasn’t long before we arrived in Buffalo and headed to La Salle Park so we could do our Lake Erie photo shoot.  We drove through the park and John spotted a grassy knoll that would allow us to have a nice shot of the lake in the background.  We exited the road for the short excursion to the top of the little hill and waited for the sunrise.

Photos completed, we mounted up and headed north, planning to stop for a few quick photos at Niagara Falls before crossing Ontario on our way west.  We couldn’t find a suitable area for pictures on the US side, so to Canada we went.  While crossing the bridge we immediately spotted a great location, a riverside sidewalk with several viewing areas.  We drove down and pulled our bikes onto the sidewalk, dismounted and walked them into position.  The Urals are very easily pulled around by the fender bale on the front fender.  It feels like you are leading a horse.

While there a park maintenance truck pulled up with two ladies in it.  I pointed to the camera and waved; they waved back and went on their way. A short time later a police officer came by on foot to tell us vehicles were not allowed down there.  I explained we had walked them down for photos and would walk them back out.  He said, ok and went on his way.  However, it wasn’t long before two more officers came driving down the sidewalk in their SUV.  They got out of their vehicle, chests fully inflated with self-importance and the one began a smart-assy lecture about us driving on the sidewalk.  I interrupted him to let him know we had walked them down; the park department folks seemed ok with it as well as another police officer not long before.  He hesitated, unsure what to say, before mumbling something about watching for pedestrians as he got back in the vehicle to drive quickly down the sidewalk.  I thought it best not to point out if pedestrian safety was such a concern, he probably should have parked on the street and walked the 100 feet over to us…

As we had come to expect, our 15 minute photo shoot became a 60 minute stop answering questions about Urals.  We were prepared with two sets of Ural Emissary brochures, but were rapidly running low.

Back on the road we decided to fill up before we left town, then grab a quick bite from the Burger King across from the gas station – woohoo, bonus – they serve burgers before 1000!  While eating our burgers a guy came inside looking for information on the bikes.  He saw them while driving by and turned around to find us.  I think there is a good chance we sold another Ural…

We hadn’t gone too far before we spotted a nice opportunity for Lake Ontario pictures in the marina behind a Ramada Inn along the QEW.  That complete, it was back on the road to cross Ontario.  The QEW was our first significant stretch of 4-lane divided. It wasn’t long before we were wishing we were back on the winding 2 lane roads we had been driving on.  We also quickly discovered the huge benefit of drafting the trucks to help pull the bikes down the highway.

Our trip on the highway was uneventful and we soon found ourselves on the outskirts of Sarnia.  We left the highway to find Lake Huron. It was nice to get back on a 2-lane road and enjoy the scenery.  We followed the lake into town to Canatara Park for pictures.

We found the old beach access and I left the pavement and headed towards the water.  The sand was soft and deep and the Yamal quickly sunk in. I had visions of us spending hours trying to get back out, but it only took a few minutes to get into 2-wheel drive and back to firm ground.  John put the Bondi in 2-wheel drive and circled around with ease. He was sure he could get to the water’s edge and despite my pessimism, he headed there. As I predicted, the Bondi quickly sunk up to the axles in the soft sand.  We spent a few minutes trying to push, pull, and drive it out without much success. John then tried ‘driving’ it out by pushing alongside as I pushed from behind. That worked as the bike climbed out of its sand trap and back up to firm ground.

We got some nice pictures with sailboats in the background and we did a few more small sand excursions before heading for the bridge to the US.  Going through Customs was a breeze and then we resumed our trek west; with the goal of reaching Muskegon that night so we could board the ferry at 1015.  We found a nice 2-lane route that would take us the whole way there and away we went.  Things went well, but as darkness approached, the temps began to drop and we had a few intermittent showers.

We reached Muskegon around 2100, stopping to fill up before going to the hotel.  Of course we had Ural sales opportunities with several interested individuals.  I think at least one will be visiting a Ural dealer soon.

At this point it doesn’t appear we will meet our 5-day goal, but we should get home by our 0900 Sunday deadline…time will tell.

…to be continued…

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Day 3 – 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Please start here: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Day 3

alittle shop in New York

A view from the highway

In the woods of Vermont

The Yamal & the pumpkin

Scenic overlook

me taking a picture of Mike with his camera

Our plan for Day 3 was to head northwest; with the thought we should be able to make it to London, ON or possibly Sarnia, ON. A fairly aggressive schedule for sure, but doable and it would make up for the abbreviated Day 2 travel.

Things were looking good as we left the hotel, the weather was nice and Brattleboro and the surrounding area was gorgeous. We filled up as we were driving through town and noticed we had a slight drop in our fuel mileage.  We had been getting 30-32mpg, with John’s Bondi doing a bit better than the Yamal.  On this tank we were down to 27-29 mpg…maybe all the hills?  No worries, it is what it is.

On the far edge of town we spotted a restored covered bridge and decided to stop for some pictures.  Keep in mind we are 15 minutes and 3 miles into our trip.  We positioned the bikes and took a few photos.  We were right off the highway at the edge of town and were attracting a lot of attention from the morning commuters.  As I was setting up the camera to take a shot of us with the bikes, a gentleman (Mike) pulled up on a bicycle.  He offered to take the picture for us and then proceeded to ask about the Urals and soon was taking pictures of our bikes with his own camera.  He was from Colorado, on a cross country trip to the Atlantic Ocean.  He left Colorado mid-September, the day after his 40^th birthday.

Before we knew it, our short 5 minute picture shoot had turned into a nearly 90 minute stop talking about the Urals and adventure travel.  It was a great visiting with him; however, taking 90 minutes to travel 3 miles was not a great way to start the day.  I am sure he was thinking the same thing in regards to his own travel plans as he left.

We headed down the highway out of town and up the mountains.  The scenery was amazing, the fall colors were spectacular.  We soon came to a small area to pull over to take advantage of a scenic overlook.  This was a short 10 minute stop and we were back on the road.  It wasn’t long before we came upon a giant pumpkin, made out of an old buoy, near the highway.  I thought that would be a great picture so we turned around for a quick picture or two.

Five minutes later we were back on the road.  We passed by a forest trail and thought it would be fun to see where it led. We turned around and trekked down the leaf covered gravel trail.  After a few miles the trail became a worn path before terminating to a single track foot path several miles into the Vermont woods.  We stopped and took some pictures and enjoyed the beautiful, quiet solitude of the forested mountain.  Before we knew it, another hour of travel time had slipped away. It was close to 1000 and we had traveled about 100km in 3.5 hours.  At that pace it would take a month to get home.

We got back on the road and started making decent time.  Just across the New York border was an interesting little tourist trap shop with amusing billboards and we decided to make a quick stop to get something to drink.  Another 10 minute turned to 30 minutes due to the Urals ability to grab attention.

Once we got back on the road, it wasn’t long before we needed gas.  We filled up and had a lot of people asking us about the Urals.  There was one couple in particular that were very interested.  They had been looking at buying a Can-Am Spyder, but did not like the ‘feel’ of it.  Our gas stop soon became a 60 minute discussion on the merits of the Ural.  I would be very surprised if they do not buy one.

Back on the road, but not for long.  Our next delay happened because there was a nice BMW dealer along the highway and I had to stop and take a quick look at an orange 800 sitting in the lot near the road.  We spent the better part of an hour discussing the Urals with several people. One of the guys that works there had owned a Dnepr.  I soon learned he had 47 bikes at home and he drives them all.  He said his favorite bike that he uses as his little around town errand running was his ’71 CL175.  I am envious…

Back on the road, we realized we were not making much progress on our trip and determined we need to focus on riding rather than stopping and talking.  That worked until our next gas stop…

After that stop we decided we should probably stop in Rochester because the sky was clouding up and it would be about 2000 or so when we got there.  We ran into rain as we were coming into town and spent about the last 20 minutes riding in a fairly substantial rain shower.  It didn’t take long to get checked in and as we settled in for the night were surprised we had spent over 12 hours going 300 miles…

…to be continued…

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Day 2 – 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Please start here: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Day 2

John with Ted on his orientation ride

Ted on the back of the Yamal giving me instructions

Meeting our bike for the first time at Ural of New England

The Yamal & Bondi at our first stop

Sights along the way

Outside the restaurant in Kennebunkport

A gorgeous custom Retro

A view from the tub

John selling a Ural to Matt

That was a very short night.  It was after 0300 when we got to bed & we were up before 0700, getting ready for a few hours at Ural of New England before pointing the Urals west towards home.

The first order of business was to return the rental car and secure a ride to the shop.  We had rented from Avis because they had a return desk at the hotel.  I asked the lady behind the desk if she could pick the car up from UralNE, and as expected she said no.  The hotel staff reluctantly agreed to give us a shuttle ride to UralNE, although it was well outside their normal shuttle range.

We waited about 45 minutes for the shuttle ride, leaving the hotel a bit after 0800, arriving at UralNE around 0830.  We went to the garage and Ted was busily working on John’s bike.  After a very short time, Ted politely kicked us out of the garage explaining that he couldn’t get anything done with us talking to him while he worked.  Ted’s English is a lot better than my Russian, but still not so good – but I think that is what he said. We went out to the showroom to make the final preparations for our trip west: installing our helmet headsets, buying a few spare parts, repacking the bags and ogling Dmitry’s beautiful Urals.

The Bondi was done by 1030 and Ted started on the Yamal, telling us we should be ready to go by 1300. After a short time Dmitry came to deliver some not so good news.  Ted had discovered a slight oil seepage around the alternator and they felt it would be best to replace the seals since we were planning a cross-country trip.  It would delay us an hour or two, but it was the best choice.

With this unexpected delay we decided we should go to lunch.  Dmitry declined to let me borrow one of his bikes – insurance issues – so we took the Bondi, with John riding in the hack.  Yes, it is his bike, but he broke his left hand in a motorcycle accident a few weeks ago and wanted to give it a little rest.  I didn’t really notice a lot of difference in handling between the empty and the full sidecar.  We returned to the shop and patiently waited for the Yamal to be finished.

We had a great time waiting at UralNE, I am pretty sure we sold at least one bike while we were there.  Since we have been on the road, I think we have sold at least one other person on buying a Ural and have had strong interest by many more.  Especially in New England, our stops were never shorter than 30 minutes and several times we ended up talking to people for an hour or more – John has the gift of gab…

As 1600 approached and still no Yamal, we decided that day’s traveling would be cut pretty short and made hotel reservations in Brattleboro, VT, about 110 miles away.  Ted drove up with the Yamal shortly thereafter and we loaded the bikes, said our good-byes and headed down the road.

Our plan for the trip home is to stay off the interstates for several reasons; we need to break-in the bikes properly, we want to see beautiful scenery and the Urals are most comfortable driving less than 65.  We began by heading north to Bedford, NH as I had found a sidecar windshield and bench seat for sale on Craigslist at a bargain basement price.  John needed the sidecar windshield and I thought it may be nice to have the ability to use the bench seat if I ever wanted to.  So we drove to Bedford and loaded them into John’s tub and headed west across New Hampshire to Brattleboro.

The ride was spectacular; the winding two-lane roads keep your speeds well below 50mph, allowing you to soak in the gorgeous scenery, from the beautiful old homes to the brightly colored fall leaves.  It was a great ride.  We arrived at the hotel about 3 hours after leaving UralNE…yes it took us 3 hours to go 110 miles…we unloaded the bikes, and went to eat the best pizza in Brattleboro and spent at least 30 minutes in the parking lot sharing the Ural story to those drawn to the bikes like a moth to a flame.

On our way back to the hotel, John  took a little ride through a grassy meadow to check out how they felt cross-country and it gave him a chance to use two-wheel drive.

…to be continued…

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Day 1, Part 2: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Please start here: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Day 1, Part 2:

Our plan was to drive around the area to put 500 km’s on the bikes on Tuesday, dropping them back off at the dealer that night so they could be serviced first thing Wednesday morning, then hit the road no later than noon Wednesday.

It was about 1530 by the time we finally left the Ural of New England parking lot.  Our first stop was the nearby Radio Shack so I could buy a cigarette lighter USB plug so I could charge my long dead phone.  That completed, we stopped to top off the tanks and then began our maiden ride.  We didn’t have a planned itinerary or maps but we had talked about heading northeast towards Kennebunkport for the break-in ride.  So we left Boxborough on a road going northeast.

Ted, Dmitry’s lead mechanic, had given us specific guidance on what we could and couldn’t do with the bikes during our break-in period.  We kept the speeds under 50, which was easy to do as there are no straight roads in Massachusetts or New Hampshire, and made frequent stops to give them a little rest.  As we had both expected, the bikes proved to be very simple and comfortable to operate.  Also as expected, a pair Urals, bright orange and bright yellow, attracted a lot of attention.  We received a lot of honks and waves on the road and at each of our road-side stops we attracted people who wanted to learn about the bikes, which always turned an intended 10 minute stop into a 30 minute stop.

We were prepared for the conversation as Irbit MotorWorks of America (http://www.imz-ural.com/) had provided us with Ural Emissary kits, allowing us to easily share information about Urals.  Very few people had heard of Urals before and most were surprised they were new bikes.  We did our best to share the Ural story.

We continued our journey northeast on the back roads of New Hampshire and Maine, eventually arriving in Kennebunkport around 1930 or so.  We found a nice local restaurant known for their lobster rolls and enjoyed a nice meal in this quiet seaside town. By 2030 we were topping off the tanks and following a coastal road southwest.  The weather was perfect and although the temps were a little cool (lower 50’s) the Ural fairings kept us very comfortable in lightweight summer riding gear.

We took the long way back to Boxborough so we would arrive at the shop with 500km’s on the bikes. It was nearly 0230 by the time we arrived – about 24 hours since we had left Moorhead.  We parked the bikes in the open bay garage out back, put our keys in the drop-box and jumped into the rental car for the hotel down the road.  It was well after 0300 by the time we were finally able to lay down for some much needed sleep.  Day 2 would begin in a few short hours as we wanted to be back at the shop by 0800 so we could watch Ted do the break-in maintenance and learn what we could from him.

…to be continued…

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Day 1, Part 1: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Please start here: 8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

Brattleboro, VT

Background:  After ruminating about purchasing a Ural for close to 10 years, I finally made the leap and bought the ‘perfect’ one.  Unfortunately that motorcycle was located in Boxborough, MA, a good 1600+ miles from home.  After much cajoling by me, my brother John also made the leap, also purchasing his ‘perfect’ Ural from the same guy – Dmitry the owner of Ural of New England.  We decided we would do a fly and drive to get them home.  The only issue being we didn’t have a lot of time, we would need to go mid-October and the Urals require break-in service at 500kms…so, the adventure begins…

Day 1, Part 1:

We left Moorhead at 0130 on Tuesday, 15 OCT13, bound for the Minneapolis airport, arriving at a bit before 0530.  We had a 0710 flight to Boston on Sun Country Airlines, which meant flying out of the Humphrey Terminal.  That is a wonderful thing because it is lightly traveled; meaning getting checked in and through security is never more than a few minute process.

Within 15 minutes of arrival, we were sitting down near our departure gate.  We nearly missed our flight because I had picked a spot close to the gate, but not in the line of site because I needed to charge up my phone and these were the closest outlets.  At about 0645 a lady stopped by our table to comment on how much we looked alike and asked us where we were headed.  When I said Boston, she said she thought that plane had already boarded.  I checked my watch and said I am sure they will not be boarding for a few more minutes, but I would double-check.  I walked around the corner to the gate and the waiting area was full and it didn’t look like the gate was open, so I returned to our table.

Within moments of me sitting back down the overhead announcement came on with ‘will the Bohmer party of 2 report to the gate immediately, the gates are about to close’.  We jumped up, grabbed our stuff and hurried back to the gate – crisis averted.

We landed in Boston a bit before 1100 local and made our way to the rental car agency and quickly hit the road, and headed to Ural of New England to meet our bikes. We made it to Boxborough in just under an hour.  After a few minutes of greetings all around, Dmitry lead us out back to the bikes and gave us a quick orientation before turning us over to Ted for detailed instructions.  Ted meticulously went over the bikes with us and then took each of us separately on a few orientation laps of the parking lot.

As luck would have it, Tuesday was Olga’s (Dmitry’s wife) birthday and they had a small lunch time party for her.  They insisted we join them, so we sat down for some great food and conversation in celebration of Olga’s birthday.  After that it was off to sign the papers and even more time standing around talking.  Before we knew it, it was after 1500 and we still had to put 500kms on the bikes before morning, because in order to meet our stated goal of being home by Sunday morning, we had to get on the road as early as possible on Wednesday.

Hmmm…this was going to be interesting…

…to be continued…

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8 States, 6 Wheels, 5 Days, 2 Brothers, 1 Adventure

John with Ted on his orientation ride

My first drive around the parking lot

The Yamal & Bondi at our first stop

The view from our first stop

Ted on the back of the Yamal giving me instructions

Through the window of the restaurant in Kennebunkport

Outside the restaurant in Kennebunkport

Meeting our bike for the first time at Ural of New England

A view from the tub

My brother John and I are in the midst of an epic adventure from Moorhead, MN to Boston and back to Moorhead in five days.  I will write all about it in the coming days, but for now here are a few pictures

Midwest Regional Emmy Nomination

Midwest Regional Emmy Nomination.