Ural Adventure Ride, 4 Dec 09

[Gummiente]

-3C and windy with snow squalls, a perfect day for another Ural Adventure Ride. I decided to retrace my route from a week ago when I had explored a new trail but had failed to check the camera batteries first before heading out. Because there were no photos of the trip, it didn’t happen, right? This time around I made sure the camera was functioning properly before I left the driveway.

The back roads were pretty slick, as the rainfall from the last two days had flash frozen overnight and they were now covered with a layer of fresh snow. It had filled in all the potholes, making it difficult to see them until it was too late – sudden changes in direction on a road like this is NOT a good idea, so it was a pretty rough ride for the first leg of the journey...


I stopped at the entrance to the Glenelg Heritage Trail for this pic, as well as a quick equipment check before heading down it. It looked like a 4X4 had already been down there earlier in the morning, but other than that it was deserted and all mine to play on...


About 3km into it I came across the first major water crossing. I had successfully traversed it in my Jeep a few weeks ago and again on the Ural last week, but it looked like the level had risen a bit since then. I knew to stay to the left for most of the way across so the Ural would not be stuck driving in the ruts, but I was still a little surprised when the mufflers went under half way...


The last time through this, the Ural had the street tire on the back but I had since replaced it with the knobby tire and the added traction made a big difference. I paused after beaching on the opposite side for a photo and another equipment check...


The rest of the first section was fairly easy, there were no more puddles but the ground was soft underneath the snow and I had to concentrate on keeping it between the drop-offs on either side as I drove over a large hill. I stopped on the other side where the trail intersected with a gravel road, as I thought the entranceway to the second stage of the trail looked pretty dramatic...


The first puddle wasn’t too bad, but the next one took me by surprise. I knew it was deep from my last trip, but what I didn’t expect was that it had gained another few inches of depth since then (yeah, I know, you’d think I would have remembered the water crossing a few minutes before, but I’m a slow learner) and the rig sank up to the cylinder heads on the way through. Had a hell of a time seeing where I was going because of the resultant steam cloud, but made it to the other side in spite of that...


I motored on, very cautiously now, stopping to dismount and check out the trail ahead when I came across this scene. A week ago, before the snow, it was the site of an obvious mishap with a 4X4 that had slipped off the trail and became mired in the swamp next to it. I could still see the ruts from where it had been dragged out, but my concern was that the snow cover on the trail masked the tricky route I’d had to take to avoid a couple of large rocks sticking up at oil pan height (barely visible in the center of the trail)...


I continued to walk up the trail a bit to see what the conditions were and my Spidey Sense started tingling when I saw what lay ahead. I carefully walked around the next series of obstacles and then turned back to take a look at the Ural off in the distance (see yellow arrow), patiently waiting to get moving again...


I decided that the rest of the trail was better suited to the 2WD version of the Ural, which has the sidecar wheel driven by a shaft from the rear of the bike. But, really, all the 2WD feature does is allow you to go a hundred metres further before you get stuck. So I walked back, turned the rig around and headed back towards the road, disappointed that I couldn’t get as far as I’d been able to the last time. But, I was alone and if I got stuck it would be a long walk back home. I always carry a cell phone, but don’t know anyone well enough to ask for a tow, especially on a work day. Besides, knowing my luck I’d get stuck and then some local yokel in a jacked up 4X4 would suddenly appear from around the corner and tell me that I “got a right purty mouth there, boy” before I could make a call for help, anyway. So with tail between my legs, I motored back towards civilisation. Tried my hand at a self-portrait back at the entrance to the trail by setting the camera on top of the gas tank...


Had a hell of a time getting mobile after that, as I had parked on the side of the gravel road without realising it was halfway up a steep hill. Despite the knobby rear tire, the Ural could not get a proper grip through the snow, ice and soft gravel and I had to zig-zag all the way up to the top. Almost slid off into the ditch a couple times, too. I decided to head north for a few km’s and head down one of my all time favourite trails, McCormick’s Sideroad. It doesn’t see much use in the summer other than by ATV’s and hikers, but because it doubles as a groomed snowmobile trail in the winter it makes for a scenic and pleasant ride...


It even has a few water obstacles of its own, although they are nowhere near as dramatic to cross as the ones I’d just been through...


And then, 50km later, I was back in the driveway and grinning like an idiot as I usually do after a good ride. The Ural was covered in caked on mud and ice, so I spent a few minutes with a brush clearing it off before rolling it inside...