This would the be "shakedown" ride for Natasha since all the repairs and such from the weekend. I'll tell you now, she did great!
Nothing broke, engine ran fine but Miles got a little car sick. I don't think he's used to being in the sidecar for long periods, hopefully it was because of the windy conditions we encountered most of the day.
We left the house a bit after 8:30 AM and were in Red Rocks Park near Morrison, CO at around 10 AM. (we stopped briefly to get Miles some ibuprofen for his headache).
Here's some shots of the two of them as we wandered about the park. There was very little traffic, it being the middle of the week.
Short tunnel leading to the upper parking lot
One of my favorite rock formations at the park. Note the loose gravel parking lot, it was nothing for Natasha to traverse! Easy.
A tired Miles, he went up and down the amphitheater steps (69 rows), twice, because he forgot his count the first time!
The ramp leading up the amphitheater, that was enough exercise for me!
The view as you leave the park through Entrance #3
Miles admiring the view
The Amphitheater
Rock formation on the way to the Amphitheater
Natasha in one of the graveled parking lots
We left Red Rocks near 11:30 AM and transited through Morrison on the way east towards Denver. Lunch was at the Colonel's, the KFC colonel that is. Afterwards it was city streets over to a motorcycle accessories place where we got a real motorcycle helmet for Miles and Patrick to wear. They'd been wearing their ski helmets till now, this will be safer.
Got home a little after 1:00 PM, we removed the windshield from the sidecar as it sits really close to the passenger and I think was contributing to buffeting felt by Miles. We also removed the tarp cover for now as it gets in the way of the passenger sometimes. Then, we removed the windshield and side wings from the fairing, leaving only the center plate. You'll see what I mean in the next posting.
Why? It's warm! Need air hitting me on these rides! It'll all go back on, hopefully easily, when the first snows arrive or it turns really cold.
Great first long ride for my #2 son and I. He and I had a good time.
9 comments:
Charlie6:
That's how we like it, Uneventful. Everything just worked as it should. At least you don't have to worry about those gravel parking areas anymore. Is the Ural easy to "push" to park, does it have a handbrake ? or do you carry wood chauks ? I know you don't want to park it in gear as it may break a babushka.
Soon you may be asking yourself, WWIG .
bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin
Bobskoot
funny you should ask, at one point in the park, I was parked facing a slight downward slope...not very steep at all....left her in first gear. She started slowly moving forward when I got off! Got back on, put it in reverse...she held fine.
found out why the shifting of gears is so "un-smooth" in russian transmissions....the owners are expected to perform the final machining of the gears by using them! hah!
Charlie6:
I'm surprised at your fast reply. Vacation days are valuable, not to be wasted. You should be out, not in front of a KB.
bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin
I am in Colorado for business and may take a ride to Red Rocks. Heck maybe I will even rent a bike since mine is in NY. Another set of great photos.
bobskoot, no surprise, am hanging out with my #2 son, whom I just trounced on a quick round of Heroscape!
Rob,
it's a nice ride and close to the city....well worth your time.
Charlie6,
Nice photos. You had a good day with your son and no problems with the rig, just the way it should be.
Interesting rock formations too.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Mike
Bugs and kinks worked out. Upgrades started and planned. No wonder Natasha ran so well today. You're spoiling the old girl and she likes it.
Sounds like a perfect day to me and the pictures are great as well.
Dear Charlie6 (Dom):
It is irksome to me that you have such nice and varied terrain so close to home. I have to ride eight hours to find anything remotely interesting. You should try sitting in the sidecar while someone else drives. I could be a cobimation of vibration or even a hint of back-blown exhaust gases causing the car sickness with your boy.
The only way I would hve gooten up tha ramp to the amphitheatre would have been to hit it on my K75, doing about 40 mph.
I'm glad your kids like the sidecar. I didn't realise it had a reverse gear. Where is it on the shifter?
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
AZ Harley: thanks for the comments and for reading this stuff.
Jack, yep, there's a lever on the right side, I use my heel to activate it....first backwards click puts the bike in neutral (very nice because I can't find neutral very easily with the gear shifter) and second click back is reverse....I like the looks people give me when I back out of parking spots!
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