Probably the only two blue and white Urals in Alaska. The one on the left is owned by BruceW from southeast Alaska and the one on the right is mine (or is it Bridget's?). He has the sidecar windshield installed since Simon, the international monkey, needed it to stay unfrozen. Simon said that it felt like you had your legs sitting in a freezer on the ride up and despite chemical heat packs, his feet were still freezing.
He had ridden to College Coffeehouse to meet with whomever opted to show up and had a long talk with George Rahn. I Believe that BobC, the Alaska Airheads rep, was also planning to stop by but when I left, he hadn't arrived. BruceW was more than happy to watch the Seahawks game at the coffeehouse.
It was hard not to compare and see what was different. He had the slick foot rests replacing the pegs with expanded metal bridging the gap between the sidecar frame and the bike. The one on the left was modified to allow full travel for the kick starter. He had the same engine vapor canister except his was blue to match the bike. Dual driving lights on the bike and an off-road light on the sidecar were added. One of the more unusual mods were the Mikuni carbs or at least that's what I think that's what they were. He had purchased the rig from the former owner of Raceway, the Ural dealer in Salem, OR, after a buyer was forced to sell before picking up the rig. So practically every option offered by Raceway is installed on this rig.
It was great to finally meet BruceW, whojigger on SovietSteeds. Tomorrow, he and Simon are heading down the Parks Hwy to a small town south of Nenana to spend time with family. Simon will be flying out of Fairbanks later this month.
Below is the return trip from Chena Hot Springs. It has 3 minutes of normal video followed by 30+ miles of time lapse. Then the GoPro battery died. Update - The battery didn't die. The 32 Gig SD card filled up. I guess all of those pictures (6569 12 megapixel images) for the time lapse take up a lot of space.
Today, they are heading down the Parks Hwy, the highway towards Anchorage. Only about 70 miles or less than a tenth of their trip to Fairbanks. With the right gear and a sidecar, the trip is completely reasonable. At least in my mind...
I don't know, seeing BruceW ride up here in the middle of January sort of raises the bar. When he first mentioned it, the trip sounded crazy but that was back in the Fall.
Two and both Blue - What are the odds? They look totally different (now that you've pointed out all the differences.) I liked the time lapse though most of it looks like a snowmobile trail to me.
You are on a classic roll. Now Mozart. A very interesting composition with the time lapse.
ReplyDeleteThe blue rigs paired up look exceptionally good. Not sure I'd go on a road trip like those two guys, though. Kudos to them for toughening it through.
Today, they are heading down the Parks Hwy, the highway towards Anchorage. Only about 70 miles or less than a tenth of their trip to Fairbanks. With the right gear and a sidecar, the trip is completely reasonable. At least in my mind...
DeleteWonder how the Gerbings pants and socks would have worked
ReplyDeleteI bought the pants and they work real well
They probably would've done the trick. Simon had a heated jacket only.
DeleteReasonable is all relative, lol.
ReplyDeletePretty cool to see the two Urals side by side. I like the looks of your light bar up front on the sidecar as opposed to it bare.
I don't know, seeing BruceW ride up here in the middle of January sort of raises the bar. When he first mentioned it, the trip sounded crazy but that was back in the Fall.
DeleteRaceway is just a bit up the road...
Two and both Blue - What are the odds? They look totally different (now that you've pointed out all the differences.)
ReplyDeleteI liked the time lapse though most of it looks like a snowmobile trail to me.
In this case 100%. I knew that BruceW had one the same color as mine only a year older.
DeleteThe wide angle lens of the GoPro makes it hard to see details. And makes the road look like a trail...
Sounds like one of the lessons learned is heated boot liners or socks for passengers in the tub.
ReplyDeleteIt appears Fairbanks is infested with blue and white rigs....if only mine were up there, we'd have red/white/blue combos!
I think that the passenger not being able to move around as much makes a big difference. I've heard of some using heated lap blankets as well.
Delete