Ural at the Airport

Today was exceptionally windy again. It was also in the low 30sF and rain mixed with snow. Minnesota has finally started gearing up for November! Today was also the day my wife returned from a two week trip in India.

Since I don’t own a car, the logical choice for picking someone up at the airport is the Ural. It has plenty of room to haul luggage and an extra person or two depending on how they pack. (My wife still owns a car, but driving is so boring compared to riding I just don’t like it anymore).

Her flight from India landed in Chicago, and the flight from there to Minneapolis this morning was cancelled due to the wind. She finally got on a new flight which was delayed several times before it finally took off. I received her call around noon and left to go pick her up.

I got some strange looks pulling into the baggage claim area with a sidecar, but any Ural owner gets used to the strange looks pretty quickly as they are frequent.

I had my wife’s gear packed away in the sidecar, and I pre-warmed most of it with the Little Hotties Hand Warmers. She quickly got geared up while I stowed her bags in the sidecar. They fit perfectly and just before she hoped on the back of the motorcycle, we were stopped.

A random guy ran up to us: “Wow! You guys are hardcore, can I take your picture?” I just responded with a thumbs up.

Out came the camera phones, and soon we were on our way.

My wife didn’t mind the rain or the cold. She even commented that she really enjoyed riding on the Ural again. It’s good to have her back.

Here is a shot of her while we filled up at the gas station on the way to the airport two weeks ago. You can see her luggage just fit. The nose of the sidecar was also full! We could have put a couple more bags on, but fortunately we didn’t need to.

In the photo, you can also see her new helmet accessories. As if the Ural didn’t get enough looks, with tiger ears and tail, we REALLY get the looks. I can hardly stop laughing watching the people watch her. The looks she gets are hilarious.I should try to get a video. So funny.