Red Dog Scooter

The Summer of 2014 – where to go and what to ride?

This morning my first daily chore was to take care of a bit of burn barrel items and as I passed Red Dog sleeping away on the front porch it occurred to me just how wonderful and curious a ride she is. In fact all the while I was working I kept thinking about the comfort and economy offered by the strange 3-wheeled apparition. Then since I was already next to the barn I slipped the door open and looked in on the Beemer, a 1992 BMW R100GS "Bumblebee" outfitted with a vintage Ural sidecar. Like Red Dog also sporting 3 wheels but not nearly as easy to ride and certainly not as comfortable. Lots more storage capacity of course but at a cost to piloting ease and not a prayer of lane-splitting should that ever become necessary.

I thought about the two and how different and yet how similar they are and considered whether there were any places I might ride where one would outshine the other. There are some to be sure and those would likely be the deal-breakers, either way. For instance, if I were to set out for points north; ie. Alaska, then the Beemer would be the likely pick. If I decided that a ride through the great Southwest, maybe even to Key West, then Red Dog would prevail.

Today is June 7th, the sun is shining and the weather at this time of year should be favorable for long-distance touring on either of the 3-wheeled conveyances. Given that the next point to consider is how soon either of them would be ready to roll out. At present Red Dog needs only to be packed, she's been serviced recently, the tires are fresh and I can think of no issues that might crop up. The Bumblebee OTOH is still waiting for its broken speedometer to reappear and that may or may not happen any time soon. Of course the GPS would suffice for that requirement but I'd really like to leave with the feeling that the rig was 100%, no excuses.

To make things even more complicated I'm struggling with the usual "where to go" factor and that would have a definite effect on which one to ride. The answer suddenly becomes obvious...go twice, once on Red Dog through the Great Southwest, then return home, pack up the Bumblebee and head north in the general direction of Alaska.

It's been awhile since I went anywhere on Red Dog so to be fair I think I'll replicate the same ride I followed yesterday with the Bumblebee. It wasn't particularly long, barely over 100 miles but that should be enough to re-acquaint myself with any unusual quirks that I may have forgotten. That will also serve as a legitimate excuse for another day in the saddle. Yup.