Sunday, May 26, 2013

You Don't See Many o' These Any Longer

I'm talkin' about sidecar rigs, like this:


Don't they look spiffy?  That's Occasional Readers Carol and Tom, who stopped in for coffee yesterday morning.  They're on a Memorial Day weekend jaunt down towards Ruidoso, Fort Stanton, and the VLA... among other places.  There was a time when one used to see sidecars all over the place but I'm thinkin' they've fallen into disfavor in this day and age.  More's the pity, as they say, because a sidecar rig is a pretty classy way to travel.

Yesterday was the first time we've met in Real Life and the occasion is one of the things I like BEST about this blogging gig... the making and meeting of new friends.

16 comments:

  1. That's a right nice lookin' ride. I always get a charge out of seeing a motorcycle/side car combo. Always.

    ReplyDelete
  2. They look like a thoroughly dangerous couple--better alert Homeland Security! (You laugh, types like them will be THE FIRST to go--too independent, dontcha know)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Say, Buck, didn't hey used to have mo'cycle races with side-cars back in the 50s, 60s? IIRC seeing pics of the side-car team member leaning far out-board to balance in the turns, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They still race sidecars as far as I know but the last sidecars races I personally saw were in the UK in the '80s. That said, it takes a level of faith and trust to be the "monkey" on a sidecar racer that I'll NEVER have. Those guys have the biggest of big brass ones.

      Delete
  4. Looks like fun but...not for me! Still, nice that you met some blog-buds in-person...that's a real treat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A real treat, indeed. Carol and Tom are great people.

      Delete
  5. I saw a motorcycle with a sidecar - really nice - a couple of years ago here in Duncan. Pretty cool. Now if we were in Red River this weekend, we could see all sorts of rigs, bikers and biker chicks. They are always fun to watch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup. And even MORE fun to watch when you're a part of all that stuff.

      Delete
  6. More and more trikes though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's us geezers that are causing that, methinks.

      Delete
  7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PJj4ncu9us

    Couldn't make out too well which side car in the above video is theirs.

    I think it's great that you have folks drop in and share a cafe face to face.. that's really something.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh. BRILLIANT vid! I picked the Ramsey Hairpin as my vantage point in the first sidecar race when I was in the IoM in '82. You get very up-close-and-personal with the riders when they're slow like that. Watching them at speed is pretty cool, too.

      Delete
  8. Those are cool, I've always wanted a ride in a sound car. I was "that guy" in high school who always got "shot gun" in friend's cars, I wished one of them would get a bike with a side car so I could ride shotgun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Riding in a side car is quite unlike anything else, Matt.

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask.