Ural'ers R Good Peeps

I just have to add one thing...Ural'ers are very supportive people. There seems to be this wonderful code of help between fellow Ural owners.

Case-in-point, Kevin a Ural owner in Minnesota read, about my whole gas episode and is giving me a brand new, spare Ural gas tank! Wow, thanks Kevin!

The Last Day!

Started in: Wadena, MN
Ended in: Wadena, MN
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

Today is going to be the last day of this trip. I made it to each of my family members' houses (at least once).

Grandpa and I cleaned up Pandora. I didn't realize how much weight was in her -- almost 200 lbs including Gage -- wow!

Tonight I took my Grandma out on a date. We had a great time. We both dressed up. I borrowed some good clothes from my Grandpa. Some how, I think I ended up looking like a pimp :-( When I told Grandma what I thought, she laughed, and then said, "Yes you do."

Making route 66 be my destination (at least for a while) was wonderful. While I was driving on the route, I was not thinking about my endpoint, because I was already where I was trying to be. It was easy to look around and enjoy where I was because I was not thinking about being anyplace else:

When I wasn't worried about where I would end up, it was easier to enjoy where I was.

Here are some final observations:

• Dead armadillos look freaky.
• Everyone should get stranded on the side of the road at least once a year.
• Old motorcycles attract old men, cute dogs attract women.
• I think everyone should spend at least one night on a beach with a special person.
• Ridding a motorcycle in the cold, at night, is lonely.

Long Cool Ride

Started in: Ankeny, IA
Ended in: Wadena, MN
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a very dirty kitten.

I made it to my Grandmas!

It was cold -- 40 degrees F when I arrived in Wadena.

Shifting My Ural

Started in: Wellington, KS
Ended in: Ankeny, IA
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a very dirty kitten.

It has taken me a while to find a grinding free way of shifting Pandora. Thought some of your other Ural'ers might be interested:

1. Release the throttle (must be before squeezing the clutch)
2. Squeeze the clutch
3. Wait one second
4. Shift

I have found Pandora likes it best when I shift at these speeds:

• Shift into 2nd at 15 mph
• Shift into 3rd at 25 mph
• Shift into 4th at 38 mph

Pandora Update

Started in: Wellington, KS
Ended in: Ankeny, IA
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a very dirty kitten.

This is for my fellow Ural'ers...

Pandora is a 2005 Ural Tourist. I bought her from Dave's Cycle in Spring Valley, Minnesota in August of 2005. Pandora is all stock, except for a pair of coolers I had installed.

I have found riding Pandora the best way to see the country -- I will gladly take her on another long-range trip! My cruising speed is 50 to 55 mph. I have ridden well on both four-lane and two-lane. When I am on four-lanes, I just stay in the rightmost lane.

I had a few initial problems, and they were all fixed under warranty. Those problems were:

• incorrectly installed wrist pin -- both heads were rebuilt
• faulty ignition module
• cracking fuel lines
• incorrectly installed rear axle (it was too loose)

Other than these problems, Pandora is running great, and seems to be very reliable.

Under advice from Derek in Albuquerque, I switched my spark plug gap from .040 to .030. Pandora has run a lot smother since then and Her plugs are toasty brown. When I was at .040, there was a frequent amount of arc-ing going on in the timing box when I would accelerate.
I use synthetic oil in both the engine and transmission. I noticed a very big change when I switched the transmission to synthetic. Pandora was much quieter and seemed to run smoother to me. I have not noticed any more seeping than normal.

I adjust my valves to a gap of .005. Initially I was adjusting them to .004 and found that they would sometimes tighten up on me. With a gap of .005 Pandora ticks along in a very pleasing way!

My first rear tire (the original from Ural) held up for 8,000 km.

I have the following minor problems that I will have fixed under warranty once I get back to Minnesota:

• the horn is having problems (its not very horny)
• the rubber engine mount washer under the gas tank is splitting
• replacement wheel for the one that was damaged from the loose axle
• The plastic starter cover needs to be replaced

A Quiet Day

Started in: Clinton, OK
Ended in: Wellington, KS
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a very dirty kitten.

Today was a very warm day. I rode on route 66 all the way to Oklahoma City. At Oklahoma City I left route 66 and merged onto Interstate 35, North towards Minnesota. I decided not to stop ridding until I reached Kansas.

Maybe someday I will complete the route to Chicago on route 66. It would have been fun to find a drive-in movie theatre to watch with Gage and Pandora.

I changed both Pandora's engine and transmission oil today. She liked it!

Route 66 Got Me Again

Started in: Hereford, TX
Ended in: Clinton, OK
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a very dirty kitten.

Today was a great travel day. It was warm and sunny!

I'm tenting at a KOA. Its $17 for one night and includes wireless Internet!

Early this morning I crossed paths with route 66 and couldn't resist joining it again. I am really glad that I did because in Western Oklahoma, I found an original segment of route 66! I even drove on it for a while. It was wonderful and I felt calmly connected to the past again, like I did before, in the past :-))

Shuffle Dance

Started in: Roswell, NM
Ended in: Hereford, TX (beef capital of the world)
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

(The towns near Hereford are Bovine and Clovis...)

I spent a little of town ridding in light rain. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. The rain gear I wear is pretty effective, so all-in-all the rain does not impact me that much.

I am happy because I finally found some full synthetic 20-50 oil for Pandora in Clovis!

Roswell is kinda neat, and I did stop at an Alien museum for a few minutes. I spent my time in their gift shop -- that had some cool alien-type stuff. They even gave Gage a few alien toy (they let Gage come in when they saw him looking sad out in the rain).

When I arrived in Hereford, I noticed a wedding party hanging around one of the bars. After I was all setup for the night, I went to that bar. They let me in, and I was able to be a minor participant in a Mexican style wedding dance (I just watched).

At one point, the highlight of the night, the music from the live band became very fast. The bride was out in the middle of the dance floor with the best men in a circle around her. When the fast music started the men began to dance around the bride in a strange feet shuffling, hip swaying, shoulder swaggering type of dance. Thee bride stood in the middle turning slowly around swaying her hips in conjunction with the hip swaying of the men.

Each man took his turn of breaking from the circle and slowly moving towards the bride. Once they connected, they danced for a little while before then the man shuffled back out to the ring. It was wonderful and loud and full of cheering and whistling. I couldn't help but smile the whole time.

I have found Texas to be a very friendly state.

I slept wonderfully last night, and I am in very good spirits today!

Change of Plans

Started in: Roswell, NM
Ended in: ?
Pandora’s Status: Running good and covered in gas residue.

I was a little depressed last night, is really sucks getting drenched in gas.

I am also starting to feeling like I should be getting back to the Cities. I will be leaving in 23 days, and I still have a lot to do before flying out. I have decided to abandon route 66 and begin a more direct route back to the Cities. I am still far away, and their are a lot things that could happen along the way...

Gas, Gas, Everywhere

Started in: Albuquerque, NM
Ended in: 30 miles North of Roswell, NM
Pandora’s Status: Out of gas.

Its a weird feeling to realize you have enough gas to drive for 20 minutes but don't have enough gas to go back to where you came from, or enough to get to where you are headed.

I ran out of gas headed to Roswell. There just were not enough gas stations on the way. I would have needed an extra container of gas with me to make it. I now know that I can go 100 miles on a tank of gas.

I was pushing my bike down the road (because I did not know what else to do) when another biker stopped to help me. I tried to syphon some gas out of his bike using a hose taken off of my bike. The house was not long enough, and all that I accomplished was getting some gas in my mouth. If you ever want to learn how to spit, just put a little gas in your mouth.

I continued pushing my bike and spitting, thinking that it really sucks to get gas in your mouth. Little did I know, this was merely foreshadowing...

I had pushed my bike about 2 miles when the small fuel tanker truck stopped to help. The driver unrolled his 4" diameter fuel hose, and attached a gas station like nozzle to it. He told me he had to turn the flow on all full bore because of the way his trucked worked.

Let it be known, Ural gas tanks have a weird fill area that is very constricted, and most nozzles only fit in a little ways.

Every time I tried to fill the tank, I small geyser would erupt from the gas tank and drench poor Pandora in fresh gas. We stopped and thought -- the driver found a large, long, narrow funnel we could insert into my tank. He opened his trucks gas valve and I proceeded to fill the tank

I squeezed the trigger on the nozzle as slowly as I could, and out gushed a powerful flow of gas.

The funnel had an unexpected effect -- it launched a wave of gas directly back at me. My head, face, and chest were completely drenched. I had clamped my eyes shut just before the gas hit me. Now I was fumbling through my sidecar, eyes still closed, face burning, trying to find a water bottle to pour over my face.

The driver found his eyewash and used it on me (it felt like heaven).

We were eventually able to fill Pandora's tank using a water bottle held low to the ground. We could then slowly fill it with the run-off from the fuel truck.

Derek

Started in: Albuquerque, NM
Ended in: ?
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten that loves me!

There is only one reason Pandora is running today (and running the best she ever has) -- one extremely helpful person, Derek.

This is what Derek did to help me:

• Took the ignition module off of his Ural Solo and loaned it it to me
• Loaned me his extra final drive parts
• Rebuilt my final drive
• Brought me to his house for supper
• Adjusted the lean on Pandora (how much she tilts out from the sidecar)
• Checked the alignment of Pandora's sidecar wheel
• Adjusted and balanced both of Pandora's carburetors
• Tightened all of Pandora's key fasteners
• Adjusted Pandora's timming
• Bought me breakfast

Vindicated

Started in: Albuquerque, NM
Ended in: Albuquerque, NM
Pandora’s Status: Apart at one shop.

Further inspection of Pandora showed that the final drive problem (damaged splines) was not caused by me! The original wheel was not installed correctly (it was a little loose and slowly damaged the splines). This means the repairs are covered under the warrantee :-)

Just Kindness

Started in: Albuquerque, NM
Ended in: Albuquerque, NM
Pandora’s Status: Apart at two shops.

I am flabbergasted.

The man I mentioned in a previous post, the man with the ignition module, is going to extra-ordinary means to help me out. He is literally spending hours on my behalf. He is the most helpful person I have yet to meet on my trip. He is working very closely with the Ural dealer to get on the road as soon as possible -- maybe even today.

It is a wonderful and strange thing to be helped so much by a stranger.

Right now I am sitting in a laundromat doing my laundry. Gage is with a bunch of his new friends and the Ural dealer. They offered to watch him while I did laundry. He is turning into a shop dog!

Official warm, thanks goes to:

• Derek of the Red Riders
• Rider Valley Motorcycles

Un

Sometimes I need to float -- need to be un, expected.
I don't know why this is so, and I think it confuses people.

When I am with others, I try to be all with them.
I succeed at this more that I have in the past -- and still less than I like.

Sometimes when I float, secrets of my self are revealed to me.
I know why this is so, and I expect it.

Know that when I am not with you, I still think of you and feel our connection.
Know this helps me be more with you, when I am with you.

Despair and Kindness

Started in: Albuquerque, NM
Ended in: Albuquerque, NM
Pandora’s Status: Apart at the shop.

OK, just when I was starting to think I was able to fix a few things on Pandora -- I do this...

I did not get the axle tight enough when I installed the spare. To change the rear tire, I needed to remove the axle. I tried to replace the axle with the same tightness as the original. Because the I did not get it tight enough, the splines of the axle (like the teeth of a gear) we damaged as I drove Pandora. With a little more driving, the splines would have been gone, and Pandora would not have moved -- kinda like cutting a motorcycle's Achilles tendon.

It's good I had the dealer perform the 10,000 km service while I was here -- I have just over 9,000 km on her right now. He noticed the problem when doing the standard maintenance. Now I need to wait for parts. I will know tomorrow when the parts will be here. Because of all this, I am not sure when I will be back yet.

As an interesting commentary on people helping people.

There is a Ural owner here that has two Urals. He stopped by the dealership today and saw Pandora taken apart. He talked to the mechanic about Pandora and found out that I might be waiting for an ignition module. He said that if the part did not come soon enough, I could have an ignition module off one of his bikes!

On this trip I have encountered so many helpful people that it has positively changed some of my perceptions of our country.

Random observation: You can best see how helpful people are when you are having problems yourself.

I'm going to have a margarita know and drown some of my sorrow.

Got Ignition?

Started in: Albuquerque, NM
Ended in: Albuquerque, NM
Pandora’s Status: Starting to act up.

No way, the URAL dealer just happens to be less than a mile away from the hotel I stayed in!

Pandora is at the shop right now, her ignition module acted up begin time while we were working on it. Hopefully we can get it fixed this time. I will know later today if the new part will be here tomorrow or Tuesday of next week...

The Ural dealership general manager thought that Ural might want to display my story on their web page. I am going to send an email to them later today with my info!

Two Guns

Started in: Flagstaff, AZ
Ended in: Albuquerque, NM
Pandora’s Status: Starting to act up.

Pandora is starting to act up:

• her left side is starting to foul -- she doesn't have her normal power
• her horn doesn't work
• her speedometer light is flickering

The good news is: there is a Ural dealer in Albuquerque! I will call them tomorrow.

I spent a good deal of time working on Pandora today: adjusting her values, cleaning her plugs, removing corrosion from some electrical components, and checking her plug wires. She seemed to run a little better after all of the work, yet she was not running as good as she can.

I spent about an hour walking around the deserted route 66 stop "Two Guns". It was eerie and very interesting. I felt a close connection to the past while I was there.

I talked with a bunch of people today. I did not help anyone; I did not see anyone to help.

I realized why it seemed so quiet in the desert -- there were no crickets.

Leaving Oatman

Started in: By Oatman, AZ
Ended in: Flagstaff, AZ
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

Today I stopped at a restaurant for breakfast, and while I was there I talked to a number of the regulars. One of them had checked out my bike a bunch before coming in, and he talked with me about it. He mentioned that the rear tire was just about used up. When I went outside, if realized he was right. The tire was smooth...

I found a good spot in the shade, and proceeded to replace the rear tire with the spare. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. The only tricky part was getting the bike up on its kick stand. I found that if I faced the back of the bike downhill, it was actually very easy to get the bike on the kick stand. That tire had 8,294 km on it.

I began to feel at home as I got further into Arizona -- there were clouds and trees!

Tomorrow I might try to cover a bunch of ground...

Random Question: Does anyone out there have a time machine I can borrow for an evening?

Do You Have Prince Albert in the Can?

Started in: Barstow, CA
Ended in: By Oatman, AZ
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

Gage and I are in my tent, in the Arizona desert, off of a gravel road, off of route 66. It is beautifully quiet and dark. All I can see looking out from the mesh of my tent is the moon and one lone light off in the distance. I wish I could explain how quiet it truly is. This is the most quiet I have ever experienced in such an open space. I am completely in awe. I don't think it would be right to play my harmonica here -- it would feel like a sacrilegious way to recognize such quiet.

We pulled into Oatman well after dark, and I asked a bartender where I could stay for the night.

Her one customer asked "Do you have a tent?"

I said "Yes."

The more than slightly inebriated customer said "Just go put it up anywhere on the side of the road. A good place would be about a mile North of town on Silver Creek road."

So I said "Thanks alot! That's what I'll do." And so I did.

Route 66 has turned out to be a wonderful ride. Often times I am the only person for miles as I make my way along the road. It seems fantastic and unreal that such spectacular route across the US is so little traveled.

Today I had lunch at the Bagdad cafe. The Bagdad cafe was featured in the film of the same name: Bagdad Cafe.

I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. When the waitress/owner went to pick up my sandwich from the cook, she was surprised to see only a half of a grilled cheese sandwich. She said to the cook, "He's going to need a full grilled cheese." The waitress brought the half sandwich to me and said "That's weird, why did she only make a half a sandwich." The waitress went into deep thought for a few moments, and then went to talk with the cook.

She came back to me and said the same thing happened seven years ago when Prince Albert and Stephanie were at the cafe. The same cook (who only works a few months out of each year) was working then. Prince Albert ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, and when the waitress went to pick it up, it was only a half. She took it to the Prince and apologized, via the interpretation of Stephanie. The waitress said she had always wondered why the cook had only made a half. She had forgotten to ask that day because so many people were in the cafe accompanying the Prince and she had been very busy.

The waitress told me that when someone orders a grilled cheese, she writes "Gr Cheese" on the order slip. Today, and seven years ago, the cook misunderstood the "Gr" for a "Jr" or junior grilled cheese.

Random note: Today I intersected a bike race. The race is called the 508. It is 508 miles long and is a non-stop bike race.

Random surprise: Today I paid $4.79/gallon of premium gas at a gas station in the desert.

Random observation: Both city folk and country people are afraid of getting shot...America isn't that bad, why is everyone so afraid?

My Flashlight

Started in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Ended in: Barstow, CA
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

I have started out on route 66. It is very cool. I got lost 3 times today... Following route 66 feels kinda like holding onto the tail of a really big snake that keeps shaking me off.

Has anyone ever asked you a question about yourself that kept bumping around in your head, long after the question was asked? Or, has anyone ever described to you one of your concerns in such a simple and basic way that the concern went away? These are things that I have always wanted to be able to do for others -- its why I picked an other name for myself of "Flashlight". I thought that thinking of myself in that way might help me do such things.

I met a person that truly deserves the name Flashlight. She banished away a set of my concerns merely by restating them in such a simple way that I clearly saw the concerns were meaningless. She also asked me a question that I had difficulty answering, and it annoyed me at first. After a long discussion about me, and at just the right time, she simply asked:

"So, what are you searching for?"

Sometimes there are questions that bump around in my mind for a long time, mostly because the answer is trying to get out of some little mental cage I have put it in. The weird thing is that I always know the answers to these questions, I just don't want to accept them. Sometimes, when the question is asked at a key moment, by just the right person, the answer finds its freedom.

The answer for me is actually very simple. It was always there in the back of my mind, and I knew it, except I had relegated it to the simple status of "minor background subplot"

I am searching for my soul mate, my stargirl (and its not just a simple, minor, background subplot).

This search is intensely intertwined with a number of my other goals. A while back I realized I would not find my stargirl in the places I was. The thing is, I realized she is already following her dreams, ahead of me, and the only way I would find her is if I started to follow my dreams. I realized that I could only attract her if I was being totally true to myself, doing those things that I am wholly passionate about. So along with calming my spirit and being present, I started to cultivate my passions. All of this eventually lead me to the Peace Corps. I guess I knew why I was doing all this, I was just not admitting all the reasons to myself.

All of this has led me to define the Attraction Theorem:

One can most easily attract their soul mate, if they first understand, accept, and honor their own soul.

Thank you so much Sonia, you are a very special person.

Leaving Cali

Started in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Ended in: ?
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

Justing going to pack-up Pandora and then head out.

Last night I had a wonderful time on the beach. I spent the evening talking with a new friend. The sound of the waves were constant. The breeze was cool and so was the sand. Down the beach was an amusement park, and occasionally we could hear the delighted screams of a roller coaster rider. We both said it felt like we were in a movie.

Last Full Day in Cali

Started in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Ended in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

I am planning to leave Cali tomorrow morning. It has been a lot of fun, and very relaxing.

It was a special treat to be able to spend time with my nephew Jackson!

Last night I had a wonderful Thai supper with a new friend (a very beautiful, intelligent photographer). We talked late into the night -- it was wonderful, and very heartwarming.

I have a series of maps of old route 66. I plan to take as much of the route as I have time for. It would be great to find some old drive-in theater along the way.

Here is a picture of Action Jackson:

In Cali

Started in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Ended in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

I have been at my sister's house since Sunday, and we are having a blast mingled with adequate vegetating. I should say that margaritas test especially good on a weekday in the afternoon!

Yesterday I washed Pandora and changed her oil.

Last night, one of Stacy's neighbors invited me to a very nice supper at her house. We had good food and her neighbor showed me a video of her trip to Africa a couple of years ago.

This morning, I called the local Ural dealer. The soonest they could get me into their shop would be Tuesday. The soonest they could have a new ignition module (if that's what they diagnosed the problem as) would be a week after they looked at it...I guess I will have to continue on with the module that I currently have.

Today I drove near to Beverly Hills to buy a new (all weather) laptop bag to use while I am in Africa. Let me tell you, smog sucks big time when you are on a motorcycle. The people that worked in the store came told me they were a very dog-friendly store, and that I should bring my dog inside!

Riding a Ural

Started in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Ended in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

Click this: A Virtual Ural Ride

We Have Arrived

Started in: Barstow, CA
Ended in: By Los Angeles (at my sister's)
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

What luck! I threaded the weather needle (not too cold in Wyoming and not to hot in Nevada). I also arrived in Los Angeles on a Sunday morning -- the perfect time to avoid a lot of traffic.

Stacy and Jim's place is great. My nephew Jackson is very cute. I am excited to spend some more time with them these next few days.

Deserts are Hot

Started in: St. George, UT
Ended in: Barstow, CA
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten.

At one point today, I found myself thinking: Why am I still doing this; this is taking way too long. I did not expect to be here, standing in a garage in a trailer park, while a man was hardwiring an extension chord into a wall socket. Oh ya, I remember, I promised to stop and help anyone that seemed like they needed help...

It was early in the morning, and I was driving through the mountains of Northern Arizona. It was already pretty hot (at least for a dislocated Minnesotan). I rounded a corner and saw a truck pulled over on the side of the road with a man standing by it looking confused. I pulled over onto the large roadside. The man did need help. His rear tire was completely mangled, he had no jack or other tools, and he could not speak English.

We used some rocks to stabilize the axle and then we removed the rear tire. We strapped the mangled tire and his unmounted spare onto the back of Pandora. Then He, Gage, and I took of for the next town down the line.

About 10 miles later, we found a small gas station. The station did not do any sort of repairs, so we asked some of the locals for the nearest garage. They said it was closed because it was Saturday. A man buying some groceries overheard us and said we could follow him to his house where he would help us remove the mangled tire and then mount the spare. He was wearing some sort of blue uniform with his name sewn on it. The name was one letter, "J".

As we were strapping the tires back on to Pandora to leave the gas station, another man came over to us and offered to haul the tires for us in his truck. So J, J's baby daughter, some local with the tires, the stranded guy, Gage, Pandora, and I took off for J's house.

We did finally get the spare tire mounted and inflated. The stranded guy paid J, and then I took the stranded guy back to his truck so that he could become "the guy".

Thank you to the woman in China who changed my view on helping others when she spent the whole day helping my daughters and I.