The Sidehack Adventures of Rad 'n Doc...USA then the World

Just a few hours after leaving Virginia, we arrived at my friend's house in Baltimore, Maryland. My friend Peter is an old family friend, we used to see them every summer as kids as we travelled around the country with my parents and we'd always stop at their place in Wisconsin.











Was great seeing my friend Peter and spending time with his family, talking about old times and crazy stuff we did on their farm years ago in Wisconsin. After a couple days there, it was time to continue north.

Next stop, Freedom Sidecars in Middleburg, Pennsylvania...to visit another top notch sidecar builder Claude Stanley and his crew, who I'd never met, but consulted with him on the phone a few times during my initial sidecar build.





Until now, I had only seen their work in photos on the internet, but seeing the rigs they build and the work in person, I was impressed to say the least.

Claude Stanley's personal KLR sidehack....he takes that thing places one wouldn't believe a sidecar can go !





The man himself, Claude Stanley.





Claude let me take this rig for a spin, I was really impressed with how it handled.









Some words of advice....





Doc hangin' out in the shop.







A sidecar rig for a wheelchair.





Claude's talented crew at work....







Love this old poster !















Spent the night in Claude's shop, we talked til the wee hours of the morning.....next day, it was time to head to New Jersey to see yet another old friend.

Went to mountains of Northern New Jersey to see my friend from college, and my first riding buddy ever. We were both in college in Houston, in the same design courses, and I ended up getting my first motorcycle there in 1986. Tim had a Harley, and we became best friends. We both ended up leaving Houston at the same time, I moved back to Long Island and he and his wife moved to New Jersey. He ended up getting a Ducati 907 Paso and we did many, many road trips all over the northeast and out to Wyoming and Colorado on our bikes.

Pulled up to their nice house perched above a lake in the mountains.It was time to celebrate !







Doc was in heaven with all the wildlife around in the woods.





And the local lake to swim in....











Time to hit a local place for a microbrew.





Good northeastern microbrew !





Deer all over the neighborhood....





And even right outside the dining room window....that drove Doc nuts !!





Next day, we drove up to some other mountains to do some hiking....







On alert for animals....









Stayed with Tim and Diana for a couple days, then headed to our next destination....my home town where I grew up on Long Island.

With my sister at Sunken Meadow beach.









Stick boy was at it again....









Stayed with my sister for a couple weeks, my brother in law is a good cook !





While on Long Island, it was great to take our rig out to my old stomping grounds....eastern Long Island.

Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays.







Airborne on the beach in the Hamptons....









Shinnecock Inlet

Enjoying the beaches of eastern Long Island....



















One night while out in the Hamptons, I saw my friend Patrick and his son for dinner in Southampton. Patrick is another best friend, my first riding buddy from 1986 on Long Island. We did many rides together over the years.





Since I was out there for the night and didn't want to go all the way back "up the island", Patrick said his brother Dan's place was open for me to stay the night, they were out of town. They stay on an estate as caretakers and have their own cottage....so Doc and I got to stay at their place and checked out this estate property....really nice !







The next day we got up and headed to Sag Harbor and across the ferry to Shelter Island, and then across another ferry to Greenport.

On the ferry....







Doc checkin' out the "danger zone".







Approaching Greenport....





The other Shelter Island Ferry passing by....





Fishing is a big business on Long Island, where there's 100's of miles of coastline....









And.....again, Doc on a dock.







Greenport, Long Island.





From Greenport, we rode out to the very eastern tip of Long Island on the North Fork, Orient Point.















Orient Point Ferry, which goes to New London, Connecticut across the Long Island Sound.





The 2 ferries passing each other with the Orient Point Lighthouse in the foreground....great timing for this photo !





Doc posing with the ferry behind him.







Had to have a Torpedo to celebrate, with the Lighthouse in the background !





Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center....a lot of controversy and horror stories surround this secretive island.





Back on Shelter Island....Doc wanted to git the Wild Toikeys !







Just sittin' on the Doc of the Bay.....(you know the song)....

















My boy all tuckered out after a long day....

On another day, we went to see my cousin Jerry and his family, who I hadn't seen in a few years. Funny, they were so worried that my big boy Doc would tear up their little Yorkies, or that they'd be afraid of Doc. After 10 minutes, they were all buddies.





Just more family photos....











Doc on patrol at my sister's house.





After a few days of rain, it was a nice day so we rode out to the Hamptons again. I stopped to see my friends where I used to work back in 1992, designing and running projects for Heating and Air Conditioning custom systems for multi-million dollar homes. I wanted to see some of their current projects...this was a huge one....





Geothermal system for HVAC for a summer cottage (multi-million dollar mansion)....













Catching the sunset in Easthampton...







Hangin' out with my best bud....















As we were walking back to the rig, I saw a company truck (from where I used to work) pull up at the beach and thought to myself, "wouldn't that be funny if it was one of my friends who I hadn't seen yet"....I walked up to the van just as he was about to leave...I said "hey, I used to work there". He rolled down his window and said, "what's your name"...I told him, and he reached out his hand and said, "it's Peter". Funny, we didn't recognize each other because it had been 28 years since we saw and worked together. What a trip !





That night, I had arranged to see my friends Dan and Karen, the caretakers at the estate where i stayed a few nights ago. This time, they said we could stay in the guest suite of the main house of the estate...pretty cool, Doc and I had the run of the house ! They said the owner was really cool and loved dogs, so he wouldn't mind at all.









Next morning, woke up to another great morning....Dan and Karen made me breakfast and the dogs got to play and hang out...



















More to come....

Next day, it was off to the other eastern tip of Long Island, Montauk Point on the south fork of Long Island.



Going through Easthampton....a very historic area, eastern Long Island settled in the 1600's.













The town keeps these old homes in as close to original condition as possible, so that they may stand for years to come....









Montauk Point Lighthouse, commissioned by Congress under President George Washington in 1792, completed in 1796.





















Doc was getting a lot of attention in his rig....





After enjoying our time on the cliffs by the lighthouse, I stopped in to see an old girlfriend's sister, where she and her husband are caretakers for a house on the cliffs....I've always stayed in touch with them over the years (28 years).





Her son, who was just a little baby when I left Long Island years ago...













A nice sunset for the ride back and to end the day....







To be continued....

Had to get together with my close friends one last time before leaving Long Island....my good friends Joe and Frank.





I finally left my sister's house after 2 1/2 weeks, but was invited to another friend's house who I used to work with. They said to stay as long as we wanted. It was crappy weather one day, so I watched TV and lounged on the couch, while Doc raided their dog's toy box. Funny, he pulled out almost all the toys and played with them on the floor.















After 2 days at my friend Craig's house, the weather cleared and it was time to get on the road again. We left Long Island and made it to Dewey Beach, Delaware that day. It was one of our longer days on the road, Doc passed out when we got to the motel room.





Next morning after breakfast, as we got on the road, I felt a clunking coming from somewhere on the bike, felt like from the sidecar wheel. Rode for a short ways and only felt it when I was on the brakes or making a right turn....then it got worse, so I pulled into a parking lot to check it out. I jacked up the sidecar and rotated the wheel by hand and could tell there was something wrong, so I pulled off the sidecar wheel and found one of the rotor bolts had come loose. Luckily, I had all the tools and spare bolts with me to make on the spot repairs. While we were working on the rig, at least a couple of people stopped to ask if we were OK, and if Doc was OK. I tell you, having a dog along with you really helps in many situations.





I put some thread locker "Loc Tite" on the rotor bolts, and in about an hour had it back together and we were on our way south again.





We headed down along the coast on Highway 1....beaches along the road for most of the way, so I had to stop to let Doc out on the beach a few times.





C'mon Dad, let me out already !











Beautiful east coast beaches !













Doc found a buddy to play with....







Of course, he had to dig a hole so he could lay down next to me....







We continued south, then across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Someone snapped a photo of us and posted it on our Facebook page....look closely, Doc had knocked his Rex Specs partially off so they were sitting on his forehead....LOL.





We went through Norfolk, Virginia...this was the coldest we had been so far. Stopped at a Cycle Gear motorcycle shop to warm up and look for some items we needed, but they didn't have them in stock.

I called my cousin Genemarie (we had stayed there a few weeks before) to see if they minded if we stopped by. They invited me to spend the night again, so I couldn't pass up their offer. It was good to see them once again, and I'm really glad we did, because I got to see my Aunt Grace one more time, she really enjoyed our company and talking. This was the last time I would see her....she ended up passing away a few months later.





In Memory of my Aunt Grace....Godspeed.

Brother I have just dropped on this thread and I am loving it. Anyone else thing of trying a trip like this with a dog, give thought to a Ural 2 wheel drive sidecar, they still make them and are a tough as old boots. This one is a bit military looking but they do different paint jobs and trim along with 2 x wheel drive and standard motorcycle sidecars. Looking forward to following this one greatly. Russian aircooled BMW near copy, they also have a reverse which helps.

Great report and looking forward to following the rest of the adventure.

Thanks all...more updates on the way.

Early November 2017...

Started heading West in Virginia towards the Blue Ridge Parkway....had ridden it twice many years ago, but it's been a long time, had to go ride it again. We rode on backcountry roads for the day, then got to a small town in the rain near the Blue Ridge Parkway. I pulled into a parking lot to find some locals to ask if there was a motel in town. Found some guys who looked like locals and they said "down the road a little ways to the south is a motel but it's pricey...if you want a less expensive, not fancy motel, go back up the road about a mile". That is exactly what we did, wanted the less expensive room. As we pulled up to the room, this happened:

Doc is a wild man, and a dork...I got off the bike at a motel and let him out of sidecar...30 seconds later in the dark, I hear him bark, then a yelp, more barking and growling then another yelp. He went thru an electric fence (got shocked, first yelp) into a cow pasture, then a Bull started chasing him (yelp again)...Doc was hauling ass away from the bull and me. I was worried the bull could trample or kick him. I yelled and he came back running and I told him to get thru the electric fence...I touched it, was not a bad shock so I lifted the fencing (while getting slightly shocked) and Doc crawled under it to safety from the bull. Few minutes later he kept sniffing his butt like he got the crap scared out of him. Let's just say I was a bit pissed at him, but it was kinda funny at the same time. He knew he did something wrong. Hope he learned something from it...he's pretty smart that way.

Next day, it was time to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway !







The Parkway is a great road that goes through the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia and North Carolina for at least a couple of hundred miles with awesome, endless sweeping turns and twists with beautiful scenery, old wooden fences and historic old structures all along the parkway. The ride was overcast and chilly, but still great fun !

Here, we stopped at "The Saddle", scenic overlook.



















Nirvana !



















At another scenic stop, I saw this 2 track going up over a hill so decided to check it out...I couldn't make it up, the grass was too wet and slippery for the big rig.





Took me a few minutes to turn the beast around.....







The destination for today was my friend's house, Terry and Karen who I met in San Diego 25 years ago, but they left and moved to North Carolina. Hadn't seen them in years, so it would be good to catch up. Got there in the evening in the dark....Doc was a tired boy after all day on the road, and after having fun in the twisties on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Woke up the next day at Terry and Karen's place, middle of nowhere in the country of North Carolina....beautiful place !







The farm across the road....











Oh oh....Doc spotted the mule.







Saw this on the wall....pretty cool, an old article about our friend in San Diego, who has a glass blowing studio....





Time to check out Terry and Karen's stable (not horses)....







They have quite the stable !









I know Terry and Karen from the Airheads BMW Club, they've been members for many years.





During the day, Terry got a call from his friend Brandon, who also has a sidecar and was thinking about getting another, so he wanted to come over and check out our sidecar rig. He's got a nice old Airhead also, which he and his wife rode over.











More pics from the area....








That mountain off in the distance, visible from Terry and Karen's place, is the highest mountain in the USA east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell.









Later that day, our old friend Mike (another Airhead I knew in San Diego 25 years ago), showed up with his dog Max in the saddlebag.





Stay tuned for more.....

On this day, we would ride with Mike to Atlanta to stay with him a couple days.

Here's a pic of (Left to Right) me, Terry and Mike.









We left Terry and Karen's place, then rode some great twisties in the area, but that took quite awhile so we had to hop on the interstate to get to Atlanta before dark.



At Mike's place in Atlanta, his dog Max and Doc.





We went out to a local Mexican Restaurant that had great food...and oh man, the Margaritas !







Doc didn't want any Margaritas...LOL.







Doc was quite the Rock Star at the restaurant, lots of people wanted to hear our story and about the sidecar rig. When we left, people on the patio actually cheered as we rode by with Doc wearing his Rex Specs goggles in the sidecar.



Back at Mike's place...he's got a nice stable of bikes also.

The next day, I wanted to have a problem checked out on the bike...a hesitation and power loss at certain higher RPM's at freeway speeds. So, we rode up to see the folks at Blue Moon Cycles. They didn't want to analyze it without the proper BMW diagnostic tool, so while there, I had the rear differential oil checked and changed. While it was being worked on, we checked out all the bikes in the shop's museum, all owned by John Landstrom. As we walked around, we were amazed at the collection he has there....WOW, WOW, WOW !















Old sidehack road racer.









Totally awesome !































































Wow, a Hercules with a Wankel motor !



































The owner, John Landstrom showed up on his old Beemer....I was very happy to meet the man.









After being mesmerized by all the beautiful motorcycles and machinery, we headed back to Atlanta. The next day, I took the bike in to be checked by the local shop, BMW / Ducati / Husqvarna of Atlanta. They could not tell what the hesitation was without riding it for half an hour on the freeway, but figured it could probably be the coil acting up. They spent a couple of hours checking out and analyzing my bike, they really took care of me and charged me a minimal charge...great folks there ! They didn't have a coil in stock, so I decided to order one later on down the road.

Back at Mike's place, I admired what he did with all the motorcycle art, posters, paintings, etc. he has all over his condo...really cool !

After staying with Mike a few days, it was time to get back on the road and head south towards Florida.

Saying goodbye to my good friend.





We departed Atlanta and had a long, boring ride on mainly straight roads across Georgia towards Florida.

To be continued....

We arrived at Saint Augustine, our first stop in Florida and got a room for the night. This huge Oak Tree, over 400 years old was in the center of the courtyard....









Met this cool guy who came over to talk while at the motel.





Historic old lighthouse in St. Augustine.





There were lots of sights to see, historic old forts and buildings, but it was crowded and we just weren't feeling in the tourist mode, so we got on the coast highway to continue south. Of course, found lots of beaches and had to let Doc out to play. I always enjoy seeing my buddy have a great time.























A tasty East Coast IPA....







After a few hours riding along the beaches, it was time to stop for a break and something to eat...found this really cool place "Johnny D's" across the street from the beach.







After throwing some groceries down my neck, we continued South and got to Daytona Beach....unfortunately the beach was closed because it was after 5pm. I really wanted to get to ride on the "World's Most Famous Beach" !





Doc looked bummed too, that he couldn't ride on the beach.





So after Daytona Beach, we continued on South to get to my buddy Larry's house near Palm Bay. We rode through a lot of rain at night to get there late in the evening.

I knew we were going to have fun at my buddy Larry's, another one of my best friends who I've known since we were kids in the neighborhood about 45 years ago.

Stay tuned for more....

Got to my friend's place, Larry and Simone...it was around Thanksgiving, so they made me a nice Turkey Dinner. Larry had bagged a couple of deer while hunting, so we had a venison dinner also....was delicious !





We went to check out some local beaches.







Stick boy was at it again...enjoying life !









He likes coconuts too !







Bravin' the waves....











Love the Florida beaches.





After a good afternoon at the beach, it was time for Mexican food and Margaritas.





Crossing the bridge over the bay.







Back at the house....Doc was rough housing it with Simone's dog.









A walk in the rain.







After spending a few days with Larry and Simone, it was time to depart on our way South.





More Florida coast photos....really enjoyed following the coast all the way down.











My buddy Mike, who I stayed with in Atlanta a week ago, said he would be visiting his Mom in Florida, so they invited us to come spend the night. Met up with he and his brother at a restaurant for another good time.





Doc makes friends wherever we go, and he loves kids.





Mike, his Mom and I...was thankful we had good friends to stay with again !





Left Mike's Mom's house the next day for a relaxing ride south along the coast....I had never been to Key West, so that's where we were headed.





We took many scenic side roads to avoid the major roads.





Some really expensive real estate here, on the water.







3 dogs having' fun.











Stay tuned....

We stayed in Fort Lauderdale for the night....

We belong to a couple of Dutch Shepherd Facebook Groups....one of the guys saw my post that we were passing through Ft. Lauderdale so he contacted me...we got in touch and wanted to meet....
So we met up with the first person ever from the Dutch Shepherd FB Groups....Lee Hicks and his Dutchie girl Justice. Funny how he saw my post, said he was in Ft Lauderdale and lived near a dog park. Just so happened the park was across the street from motel we stayed in...too cool !















After the dog park, time to get on the road towards Miami.











We rode all day down Highway 1 and coastal roads....when we got to Miami, the congestion started to be a chore, the going was slow with traffic lights at every block. So we got back on the freeway for a bit to avoid downtown Miami.

Doc and the rig get a lot of attention and we often see people giving us a thumbs up and snapping photos....here's one somebody took and found us on Facebook and posted to our page...





We approached Florida City where Highway 1 starts down across the Florida Keys. I knew it would take a few hours to get down there and it was getting later in the afternoon, so we got a room.

In the parking lot next to the motel, there were these portable FEMA buildings that were being sent down to the Keys for disaster relief after the devastating Hurricane Irma that happened just a few weeks before. Sadly, many many people lost their homes, businesses, etc.







Next morning after breakfast, it was time to head down the Keys. We got to witness the pure devastation from the Hurricane in many areas....sad to see. There were literally piles and piles of trash and debris piled up along Highway 1 all the way down the Keys.









Was a nice home, total loss.















This is one of the original roadway bridges across the water....it was decommissioned years ago...sections were removed so nobody could access it since it was unsafe.















Underneath the new bridge with 2 lanes each way.







Some erosion damage from the Hurricane underneath the bridge.







We had a really enjoyable ride down the Keys, across the historic Highway 1 bridges, stopping many times to check out the little Key Islands. Almost all the State camping areas on the Keys were closed due to damage from the Hurricane.

We arrived in Key West and started researching places to stay....I knew it would be expensive down here. BUT, after searching a bit on the internet, we found a beach resort for a reasonable price (for this area) of around $110.







It was right on the water, so Doc enjoyed cooling off.







Chillin' out for the night.







Had a good nights sleep to prepare for exploring Key West the next day.....

More is coming....

Woke up the next morning and it was time to check out Key West....I've heard so much about this place, so really wanted to see what all the hype is about. We walked out to the parking lot, and there was a couple with a little baby and she wanted to say hi to Doc.





The resort had some cool critters there....









Once again, Doc was attracting attention....







We got on the rig and started cruising around Key West....





I think Doc was feeling the good vibes here, just as I was.











Gettin' into the spirit of Key West.





Had to stop at the infamous Hog's Breath Saloon.





Cruise ship in the channel.





Had to go here, of course....









Cuba....only 90 miles away.





Had to go find a local beach....it was pretty warm out, so Doc enjoyed cooling off in the water.











We found historic Fort Zachary Taylor and had to check it out....











Lots of history here....













Interesting stuff here.....







Some cannons that were found buried....





















Oh oh, Doc spotted this Iguana on the wall....







C'mon Dad, I want to get the lizard !







This one was huge....













I found all of this to be very interesting.....







Interesting facts about Zachary Taylor, 12th U.S. President....





Those are some mighty big balls !





And that concludes that part of the day....to be continued.....

I love those Ardbeg distillery barrels in the brewery. It's my favorite single malt scotch. Great RR and I love Doc.

Lovin’ your travels. I have a question.
How do you handle finding pet friendly motels, restaurants, going into grocery stores etc. My best friend is a mini Aussie and I would love to travel with him, but I’m not experienced in such things.

Thanks !
Sometimes it can be a challenge but it always seems to work out for us.