A couple of Gatherings

 April 6-10

We had a visit from Blazeourway's Lori and Chris Z.  They were having some stuff done to the Bowen truck bed of their new camping rig.

April 11

There was a meeting of Uralisti up at the 300 Suns Brewery and Pub.  I got there an hour too early due to a "senior moment" on my part.  Once I realized this, I drove Scarlett West a bit for this view of still distant Long's Peak:

I returned to the brewery and got these pics of before the others showed up:

Randy, the former Ural Dealer and who had helped keep all our sidecar rigs running, was there as I arrived.  john S. (spat) Showed up as I was parking Scarlett:

Randy and John

John's BMW with Watsonian sidecar

The rest of the guys showed up soon after and we went and got a table.  Tasty food, craft beers and tall tales were enjoyed as we caught up with each other.

Now that's a bunch of friendly looking riders huh?  From left to right:  Dan, Dezo, Jay, Tim, John and Randy.

The ride home proved longer than the ride up.  Google Maps took me almost 20 miles out of the way and I was too trusting of it.  Oh well, at least it only sprinkled on me a couple of times as the skies darkened overhead with storm clouds.

Last Snowy Ride of the Year for Scarlett

We finally got some snow today!  Not much but enough to ride out with Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol sidecar rig.

I went back to the Rocking Horse Neighborhood that I had ridden to on Thursday to show you the difference a little snow makes.

As you can see, very little snow in my area and it was mostly gone by Noon.  I headed out in 18° F temperatures which soared to 24° by the time I made it back home.

Almost didn't make it back home, I had been finding it hard to shift gears on Scarlett during the latter half of the ride.  Didn't want to stop and check out in the cold so I rode home thinking I'd have to adjust the clutch cable.

Well, it was a bit more than that...

There was but one strand left intact on the end that goes into the clutch lever!

No problem I said to myself, I've got a spare cable!  Well, it turned out to be not the right cable.  It was close, damn close, but the protective sheathing/ housing for the wire was 1.5" too long and wouldn't fit.  Tried for hours till I realized this and gave up.

Monday, December 29

I went to Golden Colorado to have lunch with fellow Uralisti Dan K. And John (spat) S.  Dan had a spare clutch cable from a 2003 Ural Solo that he bought a while ago in the hopes of rebuilding the engine. He said now that he's retired he might actually have time to do it! 

John S. was the only one who rode in the brisk temperatures we had today.

Lunch was at Woody's Pizza and the food and conversation went great.  A neighbor friend of John, Guy, joined us as well.

Once I got back from Golden, it was less than an hour before I had the correct clutch cable installed and all was good after a short test ride!  Though I doubt there will be any before the end of the year, Scarlett will be ready.

Presently toying with the idea of buying a clutch cable repair kit to fix the old cable, we'll see.  If anyone can recommend one, I'm open to suggestions!  A new cable is around $55 before shipping!

In the meantime, I found this on Amazon....might try it on the old cable And carry it for emergency use when on the road :

https://amzn.to/4b90cYS

Chores and Repairs

I took Umarang, the VRRV to the shop to have an O2 sensor OBD code which sprung up just before I got to Elephant Butte, NM last month.

The Bank 1 Sensor 1 O2 sensor was diagnosed as faulty, causing sporadic "too lean" fuel mixture errors.  The sensor was replaced, Uma got an oil change and filter and a lubing of the underside grease zerks 

The weather has been quite cold here in the cesspool known as the Denver Metro area.  Spent the last week or so on chores such as chasing down a water leak which had caused discoloration in the ceiling of the house's main floor.  It proved to not be drain pipe related but instead it was coming out of the corner of the shower stall!

The holes I cut into the ceiling for access:

The temporary panel (extra false ceing tile from basement) I used to cover the unsightly holes while troubleshooting and waiting for next leak.  I'm glad I used a temporary panel as a leak showed itself a day or 2 after it was installed!

The water would pool and slowly drain into the wall and then on to the openings used by the hot and cold water pipes for the shower:

It took several tests before we could easily replicate the leak.  A lot of caulking work later, I'm cautiously optimistic it won't leak again.  We'll see.

Today, Thursday, December 4

I rode Scarlett to the RV storage yard at Buckley Space Force Base where both the VRRV and the Sammy are in storage until Spring of next year.

The plan had been to disconnect the POS terminal on the Sammy's battery so it won't discharge much before Spring.  Forgot the darn keys so it'll have to wait a couple of days 

I saw a camping rig at the nearby FamCamp, with a Sammy parked behind it!  I was tempted to knock on their door and see if they wanted another one!  But no.

Feeling a bit under the weather with some bug, hopefully it won't hang around for long.

A Few Days at Home, waiting for Umarang to be fixed

September 24:

I had lunch with 3 fellow uralisti: Jay, Dan and John (Spat).  I was distracted by Spat's new (to him) sidecar rig, so no group pic like last time.

Quite the rig, it's a R1200 Hex head tug so quite powerful to haul the sidecar along.

September 25

I drove Thing 2's 1990 Toyota Pickup to a truck scale to get it weighed.  The Internet said they're in the 3000 lb range but I didn't believe it.  

Alas, she was 2920 lbs, almost empty in back   I had been toying with the option of using it as a towed vehicle but no longer.  After all, the Honda CRV is only about 700 lbs heavier.

The fact that it also requires the drive shaft to be removed for towing due to it being an automatic transmission is the other nail in the coffin.

September 27

A 100km ride with Scarlett down to Castlewood Canyon SP area.  I wanted to see what Fall coloration might be there, there was none.

Here's a picture of the damn that failed, the waters of which flooded Denver apparently a few decades ago. 

September 29

A ride with Brigitta, my '87 BMW R80 Airhead ride ended sooner than planned.  I noticed while riding that her battery wasn't charging after initially doing so at the ride's beginning.

Made it home with no issues and the diagnosis is a failed rotor in the alternator.  

September 30

I am still waiting for Uma to be fixed, the mechanic has encountered parts delays and some lift availability issues.  She's in for a fuel pump system replacement to hopefully get rid of recurring OBD codes causing Check Engine warnings.

Some Fall Colors have started to show up in the neighborhood: 

October 2

So bored waiting for the RV to be repaired that I performed some half-assed fence repairs.  A tree on the side, it's trunk had grown over the years, pressing against part of the fence.

This fellow watched my efforts sporadically, I think with a critical eye:

Now it's only two fence slats bowed inwards, as opposed to a whole section.

RV work complete notification just after 5pm!  I pick it up tomorrow.

October 3

I picked up the RV and drive it home in the morning.. I spent The rest of the day we mounting the front motorcycle carrier rack. I had to remove it to give the mechanics I'm working room as a requested.  I also move some supplies into the RV, filled the fresh water tank, and improved the way I'm carrying the spare gas can on the rear bumper.

I'll finish packing up the RV tomorrow.

Evidence of what idle hands can lead to, some of my favorite movies:

Sunday I will be riding Brigitta over to the Colorado Airheads Airmarshal's home. He has a spare rotor and is willing to help me install it, what a guy.

Lunch with Uralisti Friends

It truly has been a long time since I got together with fellow Uralisti to shoot the shit over lunch and exchange tales.  Some blame was cast in my direction as I've been camping a lot over the last few years!

Still, I met up with three longtime Uralisti friends, all Ural riders of course, whom I've ridden more than a few miles over the years.

The organizer was John S.  Aka Spat.  He's one of the originals of the core group of Ural riders in the Denver area.  Then there was Tim L., photographer par excellence and architect.  Rounding out the foursome was Dan K., a fellow Class C camping enthusiast as well as a motorcycle rider.

Lunch was at a small restaurant in Littleton, the Platte River Bar and Grill.  The food was good but the conversation was best!  We got all caught up on each other's lives, future travel plans and family.  A great time for someone who is as anti-social as I am.

We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, the street in front of the restaurant was the scene of a three car accident so traffic was a bit chaotic.

Dan, Tim, John and I

We'll be trying to meet up again in June after I return from my overseas trip.  Tim will also be away with his family as well.

Weather was sunny but cool, and very windy.  Still, it made for some nice riding with Scarlett.  This ride also proved out recent repairs on Scarlett, I had to replace a leaking oil seal on the final drive where the pusher axle pushes out the right side of the drive.

I'm happy to report a $2 seal did the trick.

Seeking Historic Fort Grant

Monday, February 24

Scarlett and I rode along AZ Hwy 266 towards what Google Maps called Fort Grant AZ State Prison and the village of Bonita.

The road is paved and as one approaches and cuts through a low range of rocky hills.  Nice rock piles to be seen which remind one of minor versions of the large rock piles at the Indian Bread BLM Recreation Area.

I'd hopes there'd be a section at the state prison set aside to showcase the historic beginnings of Fort Grant.  I found nothing of the sort, though I didn't venture too far past the visitor parking lot either.

At the isolated remnants of the village of Bonita, the only "historic" thing I found and it probably not that old, was the old general store:

Do you see Scarlett's reflection?

Retracing my route, I paused to take pictures towards the prison itself.  A large, square and white object atop the mountain had drawn my eye:

Mt. Graham National Observatory 

"World's largest optical telescope"

Ft Grant AZ State Prison

Riding along Highway 266, there's several spots that are apparently AZ Trust State Lands, some accessible for camping rigs.

I explored one such area, drawn by the remnants of a wind operated water well:

I got back to camp with no issues under sunny skies and warm temperatures.  You do feel a slight chill while riding at speed but it was not bad at all.

Sunset was not bad:

An Almost Relaxing Weekend

Saturday, February 22

No riding, just more relaxing at camp in the gazebo, listening to an audio book and enjoying the solitude.  The expected uptick in traffic presented itself in the form of about 3 ATVs, about 4 pickup trucks and one tow behind pop up camper cruising by on Tanque Road.

There were a couple of yahoos wandering about in a big circle almost 1/4 mile around my camp.  They were hunters apparently as I heard a shotgun go off a couple of time.  They left by noon and good riddance, hunting near camping rigs, morons.

Otherwise, it was a nice warm day, gentle breezes.  

Sunday, February 23

The morning started off in an annoying manner.  I woke, raised the blinds facing the road and here's what I saw:

Over the next few hours, watched them take their dog out and let it poop around the campsite.  Saw one of them take a roll of TP but no shovel into the bushes across the road, you can imagine what was left behind.  

Shitbirds must have snuck in after I went to bed at 9PM last night.  I didn't hear them come in.  They didn't leave till almost 11AM but at least they did finally left, leaving me alone once again.

The site, which is next to the road, is now occupied:

The rest of the morning and all the afternoon was spent regaining my Chi or Qi.  

Had an unexpected visitor stop by for a bit:

I did not expect to see a dragonfly in the middle of a desert area!  

By 4PM, my Qi had recovered enough that I thought I'd ride towards the eastern end of the San Simon River Valley to get a shot of Javelina Peak.

It's roughly ten miles of sandy road with lots of wash boarded sections, but Scarlett did just fine.

Found a good spot to pose her with Javelina Peak in the background.  From this spot, it was still 8 more miles to the Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area where I've camped several times before.

Google Maps had shown there was a rail line crossing the valley north to south, I'd not remembered seeing on in previous visits.  Yep, there is still a rail line, no idea if its active or not:

Riding back was a bit hazardous, not only do you have to contend with the sand and wash board conditions, but the sun is in your eyes!  Oh well.

Made it back to camp with no issues.  Had a nice phone chat from a college buddy who I've not talked to in a long time.  It was good catching up with him.

In a day or three, it'll be time to move closer to Colorado by way of New Mexico.

Uraling the Swift Trail Scenic Byway

Wednesday, February 19

I rode out on Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol, to check out the views from the heights of the nearby Swift Trail Scenic Byway aka AZ Hwy 366, a bit SW from the city of Safford, AZ.  More info on this byway:  LINK

It's a paved and sometimes very twisty road steadily climbing up the sides of Mount Graham, though the road is closed at this time near the top, before one reaches the antenna complex on Heliograph Peak.  The closure is seasonal, and I was too early.

I went from 3000+ feet at the campsite to over 9000 feet in altitude.  It was rather cool up there, and I can see why folks had built some "summer houses" up there when it gets hot down in the valley during summer.  I even saw remnants of snow in the shady areas of the road.

Lots of hairpin turns on this road

Close to the top of Mt Graham and

my turnaround point

Views as I descended back down the byway:

It was roughly a 60 mile round trip for Scarlett, and I returned to the campsite for a restful afternoon.

Thursday, February 20

Woke to a carpet of clouds to the south which produced a dappled cloud look on the mountains to the west.

Spent the day doing not much of anything.  Listening to a book in the gazebo, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Sunset was not bad, I was too lazy to actually go outside to take pictures, these are the ones I took from the VRRV's window: