Another Winter Ride
 

Sloppy, crappy, cruddy, moist. Take your pick. I pick sloppy.
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Annual ride to Randys’ Cycle in Marengo, IL today for Ural Demo Day. I was first and probably only guy to ride there.
As I walk in, Randy and Tom greet me and say I always bring the worst weather with me. Randy is wrapping up a sale of a CFMoto side by side and the new owner says I was behind him in Elburn. Small world, I guess.
Tom and I helped get the side by side loaded on the guys trailer for him. Guy tried to get up in 2wd and snaked his way up, and down. Tom slipped on the trailer and I slipped off of it. Once we got the guy to put it in 4L, it went up on the trailer like it wasn’t there.
While warming back up in the shop, Randy and Tom tried to talk me into trading in my Ural for this one.
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The pic doesn’t do the color justice. It’s much brighter. 2020 Gear Up with custom paint, black engine, and drive train. And a price to match. First number was a 2. So was the second. There were three more numbers before the decimal point. Sorry, property stricken.
I left after a third cup of coffee and rode home into the wind. And slush. Just after I pulled out of Randys’, a FedEx van going the other way hit a pile of slush that got me. Felt like I got hit by hundreds of slush balls. And that was just first one. Got drenched by a half dozen more before I got on some more traveled roads.
So, sixty mile round trip in weather that was more British than Russian, fell on my ass once, saw some nice bikes, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.:tup:

That looks nasty and cold. I won't mention anything about my 100+ mile ride today in the sunny, 60 degree weather today. :hehe: I think I'm going for another ride after I take a break. :yay:

Perfect weather to demonstrate the Ural. You are a tough cookie to ride in the midwestern winter.

Mrs. C and most everyone I know would say I’m crazy. I prefer ‘adventurous’.

Doughnuts
 

Your bike should be supers spinning doughnuts on the ice!

Looks like a good time. I didn't get to ride this weekend but speaking of the cold and Urals, I assisted a neighbor in wiring heated hand grips on his Ural. He decided to do like me and steal power from the daytime running lamp bulb. His Ural headlight turns on as soon as the bike starts, so the much weaker bulb seemed obsolete in my opinion. He says there is enough juice to run the grips fine, as long as the bike is warmed up. Maybe he needs to connect to a different circuit?:shrug: The set he bought draws 48w and has a low voltage safety shut-off. The alternator on the Ural is substantial though, and the wiring is done very nicely compared to my chinabike.

My heated grips were installed by the previous owner, and wired directly to the battery. It's not how I would have done it, there'd be a relay wired to the ignition switch in that circuit. But, as long as I remember to shut them down before walking away, there are no issues. And they do get used.

You might want to hook up the relay in the ignition switch. You know what they say when you get old. The first thing to go is ……. Ah crap I forgot what I was talking about. :lmao:

I resemble that remark.

Damn that looks miserable! You sir are a savage for riding in that weather.

As much as I like hooning around in and through the snow I'd much rather do it in my Offroad Nissan Terrano 4x4 thank you very much...

It was.
That said, for years I was an ultramarathon bicyclist. This ride paled in comparison to some of what I experienced in the eighties to the early nineties.

Just as long as you enjoyed it ,have fun.

The jury deliberations are ongoing. Excuse me while I turn up the heat in my SUV.

I'll just throw on another layer.