Blogging about life in Minnesota, raising our six kids with Down syndrome while battling Breast Cancer.

Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning the devil says, "Oh shit! She's up!"

Friday, April 18, 2008

Ooohhh I can hardly wait!

Angela has always wanted to ride (motorcycle) with us, but frankly I'm a little worried that she might decide to just get off the bike going 65 mph down the highway! So, last spring I purchased a sidecar to attach to my bike so that she can ride with me.

Sidecars are complicated things really. Well, I guess they're not THAT complicated, but the certainly can't just be plopped onto the bike, and you certainly can't expect to just jump on and go! Nope, can't do that. First we got hooked up with a sidecar group...the Skunks (sidecars up north, with "up north" being any place north of anything!) who kind of helped me figure out what to get.

So I got this....
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And needed to figure out how to attach it to this....
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Did I mention that was back in June or so, and it's now April? Well, first I had to finish paying the very patient man who sold me the sidecar. After that, the very particular me didn't want a WHITE sidecar attached to the RED bike. No, unmatching parts wouldn't be good for my psyche, so I was on a quest for someone to paint the sidecar. Oh yeah, that cost money too, doesn't it?

Finally in February I got hooked up with TJ Design who does AMAZING work on bikes. On March 12th we had a warm day (52! WHOO HOO!) so I rode my bike the 50+ miles to his shop so we could discuss the paint job and he could do a paint match with my bike. We expected to have it done by the end of March, but the following day I had that little mishap with the ice.

Next week I get to pick up my bike, and the following week the sidecar should be done! I can't wait to post pictures of how pretty it's going to be! I wish I'd been able to afford a custom job, but for now "matching" works for me! As soon as the sidecar is done, I'll bring both the bike and tub down to Dave's Cycle to have the sidecar mounted.

And once it's mounted, what's left to do? LEARN HOW TO RIDE IT! I'm glad I've gotten well connected in the sidecar world, but there are some things about sidecar usage that cannot be taught. Rest assured, I'll be safe on my hack before Angela will be going along on any rides. In the meantime, I'm dreaming of all the weekend trips we can take as a family!!!!

3 comments:

Christina said...

LOL...look at you on that bike! I almost didn't know it was you! That's a cool sidecar!

Kathie Brinkman said...

I can't wait to see the pics. Hey, after you learn how to ride it would you consider giving my kids a little ride around? Is it sized for Angela or just "one size fits most?" LOL

WheresMyAngels said...

Wow, that is going to be so cool!