FLIPSIDE MOTO

Since acquiring the sidecar three years ago, our busy work and school schedules have made it a bit difficult to take as many extended rides as we would've liked. But as we started dreaming about where we might want to take The Red Dragon, we thought a trip with the family during a less pleasant time of the year was a good idea to see how we would all fare, including the rig, in inclement weather.​ Granted, it wasn't the middle of winter or a monsoon, but March in the Pacific Northwest is as good a time as any to ride in cold rain. And, Alenna had a new set of Warm & Safe heated riding gear to try out, so off we went.

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The San Juan Islands in Washington state was a destination that had been our list for some time, so we decided to cruise north through Seattle to visit friends, then to San Juan Island, the largest of these incredibly beautiful, rocky islands just on the border with Canada. Frequent ferry service makes it easy to get to the islands, and because we weren't traveling in the summer high season, it was a cinch to just drive the rig right onto the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor, a small town filled with quaint art galleries, book shops and stores.  

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We stayed in a fantastic little resort on the northwest part of San Juan Island called Snug Harbor Resort. What a great find, with cozy cabins clustered on a hill above Mitchell Bay, a serene cove with a great beach, it was a perfect home to enjoy a few days cruising around the rolling hills and stunning island coastline. By day we hunted crabs and Native American arrowheads, which we were told were sometimes found on the beach, and in the evenings made s'mores at the firepit, 

 

So how did we all do, weather-wise? Pretty well. Despite some good coastal downpours, nobody got crabby in the rain. We had a leak in the the sidecar itself, but Jason promptly solved that when we returned home, so we're set for future raining outings. And Alenna will now never be cold again, her heated gear worked so well. She even invested in heated socks, rounding out her electric clothing for the next adventure. It turns out the sidecar is actually a pretty cozy place to be in less than ideal weather. The convertible top  and windscreen provide plenty of protection from the elements and a warm blanket makes it quite snuggly. But just to be sure we'd have no complaints or shivering kids if we set out for even colder climes, Jason installed heated seats in the car to make it an even sweeter ride!

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