A video of showing the way to operate a URAL motorcycle. The reverse lever, the two wheel drive, and some of the features found on my 2007 model Gear Up.

I recently took my service dog Ryland, on a short camping trip with me to the backwoods. Other campers have been here before and we found a spot with a really old picnic table and a large fire pit. Here, I was able to test out my new portable hand made bucksaw, and later to bake a small pepperoni pizza in my Bemco oven. The pup enjoyed laying around the fire pit in the dirt, because thats what dog do. I used my Marine Corps issue Diamond Brand tent instead of my camping tarp

I took my dog out on a kayak trip recently and carried all our gear on my Russian made URAL motorcycle. Made in Siberia in 2007, the URAL is a 750cc twin cylinder boxer style engine motorcycle with a sidecar and 2WD. Ordinarily I ride Harley Davidson motorcycles, but they don’t seem to do well in the woods. Of course they offer the Pan American adventure bikes, but I don’t really see being able to haul my service dog, a kayak and camping gear on one of those bikes. The URAL f

Spending an afternoon in the woods with my dog.

Simple maintenance on a Russian motorcycle

Finding a better way to steer your sidecar hack

I’m drawn inexorably to the woods and wild places. I always have been. Since I’m retired now I have plenty of time to get out and explore more often than I used to. So what does an old fart like me do with all this time ? I roam around the woods. The night before I head out, I look at my old USGS topographical maps and see if I can spot anomalies. Mostly old overgrown logging roads or seemingly dead trails seldom used. Today was such a day. I loaded up my Russian URAL motorc

It’s no secret that I spend more time in the woods lately than I used to. Why not ? I’m retired now, so why not make the best of it instead of sitting around the house and staring at the walls ? I’m into eating better food these days and I can’t afford restaurant prices — so I cook my own. Today’s recipe is an experiment. I don’t have an actual recipe for this, so I decided to just “wing it.” The prep time for this dish is about 30 minutes, and about 20 minutes on the grill.

Me and my service dog went for a long ride yesterday. Today was a serious picnic ride to a local park a few towns over. I’m no chef, but I can cook decent food. Today’s menu was Pad Thai — or at least my version of it. I did all the prep work at home before we packed up for the trip. I pre sliced the bell peppers…red, yellow, and green. I used shredded carrots and long slices of vidalia onions too. I added minced garlic — about a full tablespoon. I don’t care much for kale an

I got up early this morning and packed up my springer Harley. I put the dog in her new box, then made a stop to gas up the Harley. Today we’re doing a “Mountains to the Sea” ride in Maine. We rolled from Sabattus to Rangley, to just north of Camden, then back to Sabattus. According to Map Quest this is a brief description…. “This 260-mile loop across central and western Maine takes you from the rolling lakes region to the western mountains and out to the midcoast. The entire

Obviously you have seen the pictures of Ryland, my service dog, riding in the pair of sidecar motorcycles that I have. We ride a 1998 Harley Electra Glide with a Champion Escort sidecar. She absolutely loves that thing. And — we have a 2007 Russian URAL with a sidecar and 2WD. We use it for winter riding in the snow. However, I have a 3rd motorcycle that has only two wheels. It started out as a 2002 Night Train, but it’s had a lot of modifications over the years. It’s been c

Changing out my hydraulic fork tubes for a dampened springer front end.

An afternoon spent teaching kids is always a good day.

Sometimes an adventure in the backwoods doesn’t always go as planned.

The Bemco oven is IT ! A must have for motorcycle adventures.

Pulling the driveline to replace the u-joints

Quick reference to outdoor cooking stoves

Training your dog for a sidecar.

Baking your own pies, brownies, pizzas, casseroles in the middle of nowhere.

It was such a nice day, I decided to load up the sidecar Harley with me, the dog, and some chow. We rode over to a lake where I knew they had some picnic tables out — and it wouldn’t be crowded. This time I was going to get serious about the picnic. I broke out the bigger portable oven that’s wood fired. As per usual, the prep work was done at home beforehand so I could concentrate on the cooking and eating. The portable kitchen Anything that can be cooked or baked at home c