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Getting to Know My Own Backyard

On Sunday morning I was out the door before the sun tiptoed over the horizon. I made my way over to the water in hopes of getting a good spot to watch it come creeping over the edge of the earth.

Because I dilly-dallied along my route the sun sneaked up over the trees before I could get to where I was going. But, that was okay. I’ll catch it next time.

Ara from The Oasis of my Soul tweeted something the other day that resonated with me ~ Get to know your now backyard:

 

That is what I have been doing lately – staying on Long Island and wandering my own backyard, around the little nooks and crannies.

For all of its faults, there are beautiful spots on the Island. Admittedly, I have a hard time letting my guard down here. Sometimes I just can’t give myself over to this place. But, I’m trying.

With the Ural my pace is different.There is something about the nature of the beast that allows me to look around in a different way than I do on the Tiger. I have seen things that I’ve passed a million times before but never noticed.

Does it really have anything to do with the Ural? I don’t know. Sometimes I think we don’t see some things until we’re ready. But when you are ready… there is plenty in the world to be amazed by.

The Ural Tool Kit – A Blessing and a Curse?

When you pop open the trunk of your new Ural, you’ll find a very nice tool roll that includes a set of tire irons and… get this, a pair of gloves and a manual pump stashed inside. To date, this is the nicest standard tool kit I’ve seen with any bike I’ve ever bought.

 Of course the humor in the fact that my Ural needs such a nice tool kit straight from the factory isn’t lost on me ;)

An Unexpected Side Effect of Riding a Ural

While I was out poking around on the Ural Sunday morning, I realized that when people would see me coming down the road – they’d often smile. I picked up on it many times. People in cars, walking on the street, bicycle riders – smiling at me. Or, more accurately, smiling at the orange Ural.

I can’t say I’ve had many people just smile at me while I’m riding the Tiger down the road or while I was waiting to pull out of a side street.  There is just something about that bright orange contraption that really seems to resonate with people.

I can’t lie – it is pretty awesome to have strangers be happy when they look your way. Every smile made me feel like a million bucks.

Learning the Ways of the Ural

Thanks to beautiful autumn weather, I got a chance to put a couple hundred miles on the Ural this weekend.

A few weeks ago when Kenny and I visited Sine’s 5 and Dime, I bought a Gumby and a Pokey. Pokey has made himself at home during rides on the great pumpkin. He seems to have an affinity for the big orange rig. Must have something to do with the color. That and they’re both a little pokey.

So far my riding has been on slower backroads and leafy lanes on Long Island’s north shore. I’ve stuck with roads whose speed limits ranged from say, 25 – 40mph. They offered the least amount of traffic, the prettiest views and the most turns.

At this point in my learning to pilot this thing progress I’ve found that on the curvier roads, the posted speed limit is pretty much my personal comfort zone.

Every time I have left the house over the last few days, I have learned something new. Such as:

Pull up with the gas pump on my left. It makes fillups easier. That is something I’ve never had to think about on a motorcycle. I’m sure other sidecar-ist are saying duh, right about now.

Also regarding fillups – If I angle the pump with the handle towards the headlight, it doesn’t splash all over the tank. Lesson learned the hard way.

I also learned that sitting on the sidecar’s step is a wonderful place to  eat a sandwich and take in a sunset.

Welcome to Life in the Slow Lane: 2012 Ural Patrol

After weeks of waiting the big orange egg finally hatched and my 2012 Ural Patrol came home on Monday.

I must admit that she’s a little bit of a celebrity around the office. This morning was the first time that I rode the outfit to work. As co-workers started to trickle in several of them swung by my office to congratulate me or say that “it’s so cool!”

[/proud mama]

I’m surprised that anyone noticed it in the parking lot :)