So I turned 27 this past June and suddenly realized that my days of complete freedom were quickly coming to a close. My wife and I have been quietly discussing having kids, the idea of finding and keeping a career is growing evermore important, and I just feel like there’s not much time left before my life as a lazy vagabond is apprehended by responsibility. So, with that in mind, I talked my wife into driving across North America with me in our 2007 Gear Up.

The Gear:
For the past year, I’ve been planning and preparing. I became obsessed with compiling gear and parts and tools… I’m certain that this site only fed my habit. I bought so much stuff that I soon realized it wouldn’t even fit in my Suburban let alone on my bike. So I somehow condensed my list of stuff and made a pretty good effort in not taking too much stuff. I impressed myself, I must say.

The Essentials:
- riding gear: Rev’it!
- helmets: HJC and Shoei
- heated clothing: Gerbing
- communications system: AutoCom
- GPS: Garmin 478
- duffels: North Face
- security: Pacsafe
- tent and bags: Mountain Hardware
- cots: LuxoryLite
- cameras: GoPro wide, Canon 5D, Canon G9 (my wife is a pro photographer)



The Route:
I’ve read literally hundreds of ride reports and yet over the past year I couldn’t seem to be able to put together a definite route. I decided that I’d rather just hit the road and not worry too much about it. The only thing I needed to know is that we will start in San Antonio, TX, stay off all main highways, and our goal is Tuktoyaktuk, Canada. There are definitely some things we’d like to see but we really just want to be free with this trip.

The Bike:
The bike is a 2007 Ural Gear Up. A few have toured pretty extensively with such a rig, but it will provide quite a different touring experience than most bikes. I haven't made many modifications: an extra gas can to the hack, highway peg (yes, I said peg), electric clothing, comm system, GPS. This thing is ready for the road!

If anyone is interested, we have a more interactive blog at Bugs On My Face

DAY 1

We left our house in San Antonio at about 8 am. We definitely tried to get out earlier because it had been ruthlessly hot in this part of the country and we wanted to enjoy a few cooler moments on the road, but we’ve never been a couple that sticks to our schedule.

Anyway, the first hour of riding was great. Not much traffic. Small country roads – even a little dirt.





Then, all of a sudden, as I’m pulling up a small hill, the bike dies. I pull off to the side of the road and get off to take a look at things. Nothing seems out of the ordinary and it starts up beautifully, so we take off once again. Then, five minutes later, it dies again and I’m barely able to muscle it off the road. We spend the next 4 hours sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere while I try to do everything in my mechanical know-how. I pull the plugs, find that one is black, and begin focusing my energy on the left side. I check the valves. I pull the carb and do a bit of cleaning. I pull the airbox. I do absolutely everything I can think of but the bike refuses to run. Finally, after hours in the sun with no water or food, my wife convinces me to call for help. I am defeated. No pictures were taken during this part of the day - with the amount of curse words being thrown around, my wife doubted that it would be the proper time for a photograph.

Finally, I decide to call some friends to come pick us up with a trailer and as we’re sitting in the tiny bit of shade that we find under a small tree, a man stops and gets out of his car. Much to my chagrin, it is a good friend of my dad. He talks with us for a few minutes, hears that we’re okay and that we have a ride lined up, and leaves us with a chuckle. “All the way to Canada, huh?”, he says before taking off. Minutes later, our phones are choked with the calls of friends and family asking what has happened. Awesome.



Finally, after several more hours of waiting (thankfully a kind woman stopped and gave us water, grapes and cherries), we’re picked up and driven back home. After talking to Ken Storm (our faithful dealer), we decide to drive 5 hours to Dallas to stay with a friend and take our bike into Stormseller Motorcycles. What a day…what a depressing first day…





Day 1 mileage by bike: 60 miles
Day 1 mileage by car: 400 miles

Bugs On My Face

Day 2

We wake up the next morning, after getting into Dallas way too late the night before, and head over to Stormsellers. For those that don't know, Ken Storm is about as standup of a guy as any man walking the earth. I trust him. A lot.

Anyway, we get to the shop and bring the bike in. Ken and I start talking and checking some things: valves, carbs, plugs, airbox, etc.





Finally, after several hours, we realize that the engine has almost no compression. Something is very, very wrong. Ken tells me that he'd like to keep the bike for at least a day to check out some other things - namely, taking the heads off and having a look inside. After wandering around his shop a bit more we take our leave and head to my buddy's house to wait for a phone call.


a '55 Ural in the shop!

Later that night (yes, he worked into the night to get me some information), Ken calls and gives me horrible news. My left head needs to be replaced and he will need to order parts to do the job properly.

This news basically slows our trip to a stall. We only have a month and a half to go across North America, and this type of hold up is not what we were hoping for.

Again, dejected and defeated, we decide to head home the next day.

Day 2 mileage: 0

Bugs On My Face

Day 3 and 4

So we went home, thinking that our bike was destined to sit in the shop for weeks while we waited for parts. I spent the next day pouting and acting generally pretty pissy while we went back to our normal way of life, sans Ural. Then, while sitting on the throne on Friday, I received a call from Ken.

"I have some good news, your bike is ready to go!"

I nearly jumped off the pot without taking care of my business first.

"How is this possible? I thought you had to order parts?"

"Well, let's just say I found a way..."

So Ken was a hero that day. We were both extremely excited and couldn't wait for the next day so that we could finally get our trip underway.

Day 3 and 4 mileage: 0

Bugs On My Face

Day 5

And this brings us to today.

My wife and I woke up this morning, tossed our gear in our car and headed to Dallas, once again.


We saw this bumper sticker on the way. I have to say, I kinda look like a hippie with my long hair and was scared.

We arrived at about 2 and were overjoyed to see our bike eagerly awaiting our return. Ken explained to me that he just happen to have a perfectly good, used head that (after getting it cleared with Ural first) was used to replace my broken parts under warranty. The main culprit had been a busted valve guide that was causing all sorts of problems.

Here's the little trouble maker.


And again.


I had never seen these models in person before - wowee.




Again with the '55.


Before I took off with my bike, however, Ken suggested I take it for a quick ride. I eagerly jumped on and took off down the street. Less than a mile later, the bike died. I coasted to the shoulder and immediately began spouting curse words. I called Ken on the phone and he was on the scene in minutes. He got out of his car, took a few minutes to assess the situation then asked, "Does it have gas?". I am a schmuck.

We returned to the shop, and I got my wallet out to pay. Yet, when I asked how much I owed, Ken told me $20! Twenty-freaking-dollars for hours and hours of work! And really, all I paid for was the extra tube and tube repair I had done by his shop. If that doesn't say something about how Ural takes care of their customers, I don't know what will. Not only that, Ken went out of his way to make my trip possible. I will not forget that...

With the savior of our trip.


Anyway, our trip was finally on! We spent the next 2 hours fighting our way out of the DFW area. Can I say I hate driving in the city? It sucks. We were sweaty and I was tired from all the stop and go but we were happy. It was weird - we were just happy to be on the road after such a strange couple of days.

When we finally got out of town, the ride really started. It was early evening, the roads were small and empty, and all seemed right with the world.







We stopped just outside of Dallas in a town called Mineral Wells for the night and we are stoked for what's coming next!

Day 5 mileage: 127 miles

Bugs On My Face

Day 6:

Today was our first full day on the road and it was... hot. Not just hot, it was frickin' hot! I can't believe how much water we consumed and how dehydrated we still are. We definitely started out way too late (9:00 am) from Mineral Wells, TX and missed some of the cooler weather of the morning. We won't make that mistake again.

Either way, the day was filled with back roads and nearly empty highways. The perfect playground for the Ural.



And you can never complain about those Texas skies.



I believe my favorite moment of the day came when we came back to our bike after having lunch at Buck's in Knox City. A guy with an eye patch (no, i'm not kidding) was standing near our bike, checking her out, and as we walked up he chuckled and nodded,

"Now that is a kick ass bike. I have a heritage classic, but I'm guessing that not even my bike tracks as much stink as this."
"Well, sir", I said trying to hold back a laugh, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were right."
I definitely had never heard that phrase but will be using it soon.

Our seats were so hot after lunch, Kristen tried to cool it down with some water but I swear it immediately boiled off. It was ridiculous.



We then tried a few things to cool off, one involving some undressing in public. It turns out that if you douse your shirt with water, then put your riding jack back on, it cools you off for a short time. Better than nothing, I guess...



One of the more exciting moments of the day involved an unknown insect and the inside of my shorts.



After spending 6, or so, hours on roads like this, getting blasted by the sun we stopped and did some of this.



and this.



Anyway, we made it to Plainview, TX and were tired enough to stop for the evening. By the way, the bike ran beautifully. Honestly better than ever - even in the heat.



Can't wait for tomorrow and for the cooler weather that we must be headed towards.

Day 6 mileage: 300 or so (I need to pay better attention tomorrow)

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Bugs On My Face