TRAVERSE Issue 15 - December 2019 | Page 21

would have a look at it. We arrived very late, near 11:30pm and there he was waiting with the shop door open to greet us, even offering a place to stay. He said he’d travelled the world and the motorcycle community had always looked after him, he was just paying it forward. The next morning revealed the damage; oil and metal pieces in plac- es where they shouldn’t have been. Finished! Jerome drove us to a truck rental place and helped us load the Ural for the return trip to Calgary. We were still on top of the world, the bike didn’t set us back, we continued our travels in our Jeep. The elation came from this poten- tial disaster. While stranded road- side, surrounded by the Canola, the sun setting behind us, I asked Sam if she would marry me … this was to be our engagement story. With a month off work we were going to use the time to travel across Canada come heel or high water. With good disposition you can get through any setback, they’ll always come, you just have to go with the flow. We can’t continue the story without sharing the incredible lengths both Ural motorcycles and our dealer, Destination Cycles, went to, not only fixing the bike but making things right. When we returned home, we discovered a brand new motor installed and Ural had reimbursed us for the van rental and fuel, even covering the new motors first service. Every warranty issue we brought to the attention of Ural within the first two years was dealt with promptly and we never paid a cent … nothing but excellent service. Never deterred, we never gave up, trekking across Canada by Jeep, the whole time talking about how we would do it on a motorcycle. As soon as we returned home we were back out, exploring at weekends on the Ural. We travelled to Costa Rica and TRAVERSE 21