Dan's Side Car

Valdez Vacation

2011-08-25T22:50:00.005-04:00

This is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to, I hope you all get to go there one day and see it for yourselves.

It Has Been A While!

2011-08-25T22:25:00.005-04:00

I can not believe how long it is since I last posted, my excuse is " I am busy!" Although we have not done as much motorbiking this year, we have done a bit. We also had a great trip to get our fish at Kasilof and a day at Eklutna Lake, both these trips were with the 4 wheeler. We had some mechanical trouble with the bike early on in the year and Daniel had got a new head array on his chair and the array we use with the bike no longer fit. We have had to Jimmy Rig something up here, it is so so.
We lost Lukie this year, it was very sad he was a wonderful dog one in a million. I think of him all the time and hope to meet up with him again one day.
Molly is our 4 legged friend now, she is a sweet girl, full of joy and energy. We hope to get her out on Pluto, Kevin and I tried earlier this year but it did not go that well and we just have not got around to trying again.

We Have A New Toy

2010-09-11T02:18:00.005-04:00

We thought it would be fun for us and Daniel to go 4 Wheeling. We would need a 4 wheeler and a specially made trailer to hold Dan in his wheelchair. Finding the 4 wheeler was not too hard, we found a yellow one on sale that had what we needed on it. We then found some great people to build us a trailer. We have to take it slow due to the bumping around. Covering Dan from the mud is a challenge and the clean up is grueling, but boy does he like it!

Dip Netting At Kasilof

2010-07-22T17:22:00.004-04:00

We just came back from dip netting on the Kasilof River. We got there Tuesday evening after a day of packing (seems that we take more STUFF each trip!). This is my first time dip netting and it really is like nothing else you do. A ton of people all show up at one location (where the salmon come in from the ocean)with anything and everything you need to get fish. We show up in motorhomes, trailers, tents, pick up trucks and cars. People are all dressed in waders and are carrying huge nets and coolers. There is no campground, it is just a place that you somehow find "a spot". Seeing as we are so big we found our spot on the side of the road. Some of us stayed a while others would be there for the day. Seeing as it does not go too dark right now it was a busy noisy place. When the tide starts to come in you see the people toggling up and heading out there to fish. Kevin was with them, they all line up, place the nets in the water and wait. It is a no brainer really, but it is also hard work as you do have to hold the net there against the current, and your arm pit deep in water.
Kevin caught most of our fish on Friday evening/night and the rest on Sat evening/night. All in all we got 40 red salmon.
Whist we were there we took Arnold out to Homer for the day. I drove the first 40 miles, it was incredibly windy and this is all I could manage. When I stopped to let Kevin take over I could hardly move my shoulder joints and wrists. Homer is a lovely town, the view is beautiful.
By Saturday we had run out of water and it was all getting too old. Dan and I were going nuts cooped in the motorhome, so we headed out to Fred Myers this way we could dump, get water and more ice for our fish. We spent the night in the parking lot with friends, the plan was to find someplace to camp and clean fish. That did not happen as everywhere was full so we all headed home Sunday morning.
Once home we had to start the job of cleaning, cutting and wrapping and canning the fish. We worked till 3.3oam Sunday night and all day Monday. You know you can really get sick of the sight and smell of fish!

Cooler Full Of Fish, we got 40 red salmon

Poker Run and Pig Roast BBQ

2010-06-22T17:45:00.005-04:00

On Sunday we took part in the Last Frontier Poker Run. The weather was wonderful and so was the scenery. We left Anchorage at 12pm, our first stop was Eagle River. We then headed out to Jonesville Cafe in Sutton. This is one of my favorite places, the people are warm and friendly, their food if scrumptious.Check out their very naughty deserts too!! Our destination was the Pig Roast at Wheeldog's Ranch near Wasilla.
There was a large turn out and it looks like we all managed to eat a whole pig! Dan and Kevin both won BMW T shirts and I won Gorilla Tape. It was a great run through the back roads.

Once The Snow Goes

2010-06-20T02:23:00.005-04:00

Whilst the snow was amazingly beautiful by April we are all quite done with it and have zero tolerance left.But it was May before the weather permitted us to get riding again. We joined a motorbike club called "The Last Frontier" and started riding with them on Thursday nights. It is a ride and a social at a local eating place.
We took our first camping trip two weeks ago to Cooper Landing. We had a great time riding the bike on new roads. We went over to see the Exit Glacier, there is a very nice accessible path around the area.
If you happen to be in Kenai make sure you stop at Veronica's to eat. It is a very quaint place, serving wonderfully home cooked food. Say hi to Diane as she is a lovely lady there.

First Winter In Alaska

2010-06-20T01:57:00.005-04:00

Once winter came along we had to retire Arnold but we still got out and I thought you may be interested n some pictures of what we did.

Alyeska October 2009

2010-06-20T01:33:00.003-04:00

This was our only trip out on Arnold in Alaska 2009. It was a very pretty day, but Alaska cold. I was not sure how to dress Daniel as he was still pretty weak and it was all new this new climate. But we were fine, the sidecar offers protection from the wind much more than on the bike itself.
On the way we saw many whales in the inlet, I don't know that Daniel could actually see them, but we certainly did.

Alyeska is a pretty ski village about 20 miles from Anchorage, the scenery is quite breath taking.

It Has Been So Long

2010-06-20T00:30:00.008-04:00

It has been a long haul to get to June of 2010, but we made it. This year past was our most complicated,Daniel's most difficult.This is partly why I have not written for so long. There is no point in going over it as it is too painful, what I will say is that it is a miracle that Daniel made it to Alaska, and I would also like to say a thanks to a wonderful doctor in Minnesota . Thanks Dr Beilman from the University of Minnesota you are the best.
We arrived in Alaska at the end of August 2009, it was a relief to get here.

This is a picture of a moose crossing the road by our house. September is a fun month here for moose spotting.
The following photos are to give you an idea of Alaska.
These next two pictures are from the top of our road.

We did not get out on Arnold until October due to Daniel needing to recover and that was the only ride we did until 2010 due to Daniel's condition and the severity of the weather.

A Little About Andrew

2009-02-17T21:12:00.002-05:00

He left for Great Lakes Illinois on 10th February. It seemed like a long time to wait back in May when he signed up, but now it is here it seems to have gone fast. He has been gone a week, Daniel and I miss him, Kevin is still in Alaska. We have had a little note from him today and we can now write to him. I think it is a wonderful thing that he is doing and I am sure that he will come out a different person. I expect the Navy to be a great opportunity for Andrew and for him to enjoy it.

Our plans are that when Kevin comes home (2 days time) we will take Dan to Cooper Hospital to see what they can do for his problems with his intestines, we are hoping that if he has to have more surgery that it is minor, we just don't know, but he has no real quality of life right now as we can not go out, can not go ride Arnold. This is our priority. We then want to do a nice trip in the motorhome, go to Andrew's graduation at Great Lakes. We then need to be in Carolina the beginning of May as I have a reflexology class that I am taking. It is our plan to sell the house in between all this and off to Alaska we go. My wish is that Andrew chooses to come see us in Alaska often, he has been there with Kevin and he loved it.

What Now

2009-02-17T20:54:00.002-05:00

This a picture of Andrew just before he left for boot camp.
There is always craziness going on in our lives, Kevin gets to Rose Morrow, Andrew's leaving date gets closer. He is now rushing around trying to do all those things one would need to do if they were off to boot camp for 9 weeks then of to the navy for 6 years. Daniel is besides himself with anxiety, this is causing his tone to be incredible.It is not unusual to get up in the middle of the night with Dan, but at times like this one is up all night with him. Besides all that I have a class to put together and teach, a house to clean up for a caravan and then an open house. So it was all getting more than complicated here. But as always time passes and so does chaos.
Once Andrew left Daniel started to calm down a little each day. I had to throw myself into cleaning up Andrew's room, wow that was a 6 hour ordeal.

Rose Morrow

2009-02-17T20:51:00.001-05:00

This is the picture that I like, the van is outside our new home. What a trip!

North To Alaska Again

2009-02-17T20:48:00.002-05:00

It started to feel like Kevin would get there soon and we were ready. As you can see it was cold and icy, the roads were difficult.

Ice Bumps

2009-02-17T20:38:00.003-05:00

The roads were frozen and had ice bumps on them.As you drive down the road the van goes bump bump, then the trailer goes wham! ON and ON, well that is until the frame of the van says " I'm done" and that is what happened the frame fractured. Kevin found some people to weld it, but then realized that it's towing days were over, it would drive, but it would just break again if he tried to tow any further. It was not something one would want to "try" not in this location. So each time he called it was more bad news, more costly bad news.
We hashed out many ideas, some better than others, in the end Kevin rented a UHaul with a dolly for the van and sold the trailer. Even though the cost was killing me, it was the first time on this trip that I did not feel that I had to worry about him any more. All he had to do now was drive.

Icy Roads

2009-02-17T20:36:00.002-05:00

On and On It Goes

2009-02-17T20:21:00.002-05:00

What can I say, it was a trip alright, each day it was a new nightmare, and the weather was so cruel out there. After the blow out Kevin had to stop every 10 miles, get out and check the tire as it was getting hot, the only thing that was hot! It seemed that the trailer was now just so unbalanced and the tire was rubbing, also it was a problem getting air for the tires as it was just too cold . This went on for 2 days and Kevin was heading into the remote Yukon Territory with very very dangerously cold temps.
Here on the home front we had our own problems going on. Andrew was nearing his departure date for the navy and Daniel was getting himself all upset, this was causing huge problems with his digestion system. But little did I know that it was going to get much much worse real fast.

More News Will Follow

2009-01-25T21:51:00.004-05:00

Trouble On The Road

2009-01-25T21:21:00.004-05:00

By time Kevin got to Pittsburgh he was looking for a trailer shop to buy some sway bars for the trailer as it was swinging all over the place. Trying to find all the parts he needed was quite hairy in a congested city like this. The trailer place did not have all the parts he needed and it took several stops to locate them all, next the hitch had to be replaced as it was just about ready to pull the bumper off. Then there was trouble with the spoiler. so it was a very unpleasant first two days on the road. It is always worse on your own and I was getting concerned here as each time Kevin called the news was more bad stuff. I am not sure how Kevin always manages to pull just a bit more stamina out of his hat but he does and he managed to get all the parts and get it fixed.
I think the next day was not that bad except for it getting colder and colder and it was also horribly windy. it seems like the days merge a bit, but by Thursday we had problems again, Kevin had a blow out in the tire and he was on a 2 lane highway in Canada and the temperatures were going down, that night it was -50f. Thank goodness 2 local drivers stopped and offered help.After the wheel was fixed it kept getting hot so Kevin had to do 10 miles and check it 10 more miles and check it. It was so cold and windy one could freeze to death.
I don't really want to whine and whine all through this post as here in writing just does not do justice to the torture Kevin was enduring.I felt really bad as I was nice and warm and safe here in the house.
Kevin left for Regina this morning,that will put him just about half way there.We don't have many pictures due to what has been going on, lets hope the trailer decides to behave and Kevin gets a chance to enjoy some of the scenery.The next big city will be Edmonton, we don't expect for him to get there tonight, especially as the weather is so brutal.

Going North

2009-01-25T21:04:00.003-05:00

I guess you may want to know what is in the trailer, Daniel's Pedi Cab, I think this is what is giving Kevin all the trouble on this trip. This is a special bike we bought for peddling around with Dan, pre Arnold. It is Possessed, every time we went out on it something broke on it. Why are we taking it you may ask, because we are nuts that is why. Back to the contents, one of Kevin's motorbikes, a bed, tools, two very very large telescopes, my best china, some paintings by Kevin's dad and I don't remember what else.
After several test runs, modifications/adjustments and bad bad words we are ready to DO IT as they say, and Tuesday is the day.It is a cold cols morning as Kevin pulls out, I am glad that I am not going as it is such a long way in that van. My plans are to really get rid of the clutter and make the house look ready to sell, and get on with life in the mean time. Poor Dan has to watch all this go on and all he wants to do is go riding. The last time we were out was the end of December for a day trip.

The Little Trailer That May

2009-01-25T21:00:00.002-05:00

North To Alaska!

2009-01-25T20:48:00.004-05:00

Where have we been, you may be thinking. Well we have been here in New Jersey, and the reason for this is because we have decided to move to Anchorage Alaska and now we are too busy to play on the motor bike.
So how do you move to Alaska with all the stuff we have going on --- hmmmm -- let me think. YOU PLAN and then plan some more. Eventually you come up with something that you are willing to try, something that you think is a not too bad an idea. That's what we did and the idea is that Kevin drives his Astro van pulling a trailer to AK to the house we recently bought, he leaves the stuff there and fly's home. How is it sounding so far, OK right?
So Kevin started getting a trailer together and I started to pack the stuff we want but don't need ( don't ask you all have moved you know all about this !!!) We also started to get rid of lots of things we have spent our good hard earned cash on only to have collect dust.This has taken us a month and 3/4 to get this far. By time Kevin left last Tuesday at 6am we were both getting jaded with the concept of moving. Little did we know just how difficult it all would soon get, how no matter how much we had gone over "The Plan" we had not taken into account that as always Murphy would be along on the ride.

My Favorite Pictures Of This Trip

2008-12-04T22:09:00.005-05:00

Arnold has now proven himself, he handles amazingly well in all sorts of weather. I mean this is a lot of snow don’t you think! It did get a bit hairy as the day drew to a close and the roads started to get slick, so we called it a day and went back to the motor home to watch movies and eat popcorn. This week was the great break that we had all needed, we rested , played and eat well.

Snowing!!

2008-12-04T22:06:00.003-05:00

Now how about that, motor biking in the snow. We are so lucky to have this much fun. We had called Claude to find out where he was and so the plan was to at least go see him, and that we did. I could have sworn I took a picture of us at his place , but I can not find it.

It Sure Is Cold

2008-12-04T22:04:00.004-05:00

2008-12-04T21:56:00.004-05:00

It was pretty cold, we had to get all our winter gear out. There were weather warnings for snow but the first couple of days were just really cold. We would go out riding for about 4 to 5 hours, that is all you could manage without getting cold. We all have heated jackets, but our feet and hands were getting cold. We stopped at walmart one evening in order to warm up and as luck would have it we found a new helmet for Dan. This one allowed us to put a visor on it and what a difference it has made. The roads here were a nice change for us, the countryside so pretty. We went looking for Claude ( the man who made Arnold) , he has moved is workshop since we were here last year and we could not find his place.

Back To Arnold's Birthplace!

2008-12-04T21:47:00.003-05:00

We decided that it was time to go camping, to get away from the same old same, so why not go back to Pen's Creek, the place that Arnold Side Car was born. There is a great campground called Little Mexico. In winter it is always empty and they have water all year ( what more can I want).So that’s what we did, and as usual we did not arrive until way after midnight--- this time we got lucky, it was a pull through.

Jewelry Fair

2008-12-04T21:26:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to share this picture with you, I had a table with my jewelry at the Jewish Fair this November. It is my first attempt, it was quite a bit of work. Daniel and Kevin came to visit, Shirley was helping me out. You can always find my jewelry on my web page at Brenvin.com

Always A Picinic

2008-12-04T21:22:00.002-05:00

This is one of the best parts of out bike outings, the picnic. When Shirley joins us we have extra treats, two cooks are better that one! Arnold is pretty self contained, see the little chairs and the table that we bring along with us?

Autumn

2008-12-04T21:19:00.002-05:00

A - Z Trip Birmingham

2008-12-04T20:50:00.003-05:00

This is our second A to Z Trip and we went to a little town called Birmingham.The weather it was getting cooler as you can see by our clothing. These trips are fun as it is a challenge to find something with the town’s name on it, we were not really sure where this town really was until we saw the post office, there sure was no town hall!

Steve Comes To Visit

2008-12-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

Our friend Steve from Alaska and his wife Joella came to visit for a couple of days. Dan has not seen Steve for a few years and was so happy to spend time with him again. Joella and I went to a fund raiser fashion show and Steve went out on Arnold with Kevin and Daniel. Check Dan’s face to see how much fun he had!

The Countryside

2008-12-04T20:27:00.002-05:00

The Rally

2008-12-04T20:20:00.002-05:00

As far as the rally went, I was not that impressed myself, there was a cool scavenger hunt ( not that we got to do it) . Maybe we just missed out on a lot as Dan was out of action. It sure was a cool place to be held though. Hunter Valley ski resort put on an October fest that I think they should be ashamed off, the food was the pits. Had they done their job well this whole thing would have been very exciting.
Dan enjoyed chatting with some of the bikers, and one guy from Manhattan shared some of his bike and girl photos with him.

Dan Gets Better

2008-12-04T20:11:00.002-05:00

We were so grateful when Daniel’s stomach finally started to behave, a relief. We had to go easy, but we could at least get out. The roads, countryside, colors of the changing leaves were all so beautiful. I can see why people move here it really is a lovely part of New York.
We went to Woodstock, and you know there are still hippies there, they are in their 60’s and I guess after Woodstock happened they forgot to go home!. We eat at this great restaurant called Violetts.

The Camp Ground

2008-12-04T20:06:00.003-05:00

This is our camp ground, it is a good job that we liked it as we spent the next 5 days there with Dan on the bed with a major intestinal shut down. It was very hard on us all and it gets scary, at what time do you have to go to the hospital. Well we were all very patient with each other, tried to make the most of it and all. Kevin and I took some turns in getting out a little and I must say this is lovely countryside.

BMW Rally 2008

2008-12-04T19:55:00.002-05:00

I am really sorry for taking so long to write the blog, life just never slows down here. But I am doing it now, right! We decided to go to this BMW rally in Hunter Valley, it was our first rally and we felt that it would be great fun.
When we left Daniel was starting with an intestinal blockage, we never really know how bad or long they will be so we decided to go as planned. Hunter Valley is about a 5 hour drive for us, well at least in the torrential rain it is. As usual we got to the campground well after dark. Due to rain it was semi water logged. It took us over an hour to park the motor home and trailer. Kevin was amazingly patient as it had been a long drive due to the lashing rain and it was a huge challenge to get parked. The campground owner and a friend helped us navigate the soggy ground, winding paths and endless trees. We were all pretty impressed with Kevin’s ability to bend the Motor home around corners, back it up and down paths. It really is tricky due to the length these days, all the while with Dan not doing so well on the back bed.

Philly Zoo

2008-09-23T11:45:00.005-04:00

We did not take the bike to Philly Zoo, but I wanted to share this picture with you. The ape here was very interested in Dan.

Shirley and Dan

2008-09-23T11:43:00.002-04:00

This is such a great picture of two smashing people! These are the kind of smiles we see all the time when we are out with Arnold.

Cheers

2008-09-23T11:36:00.003-04:00

Shirley brought chicken, salad and fruit salad, and I brought bread, coffee and dessert. Kevin found us this lovely Quaker Meeting House where we could set up camp. We spent about 2 hours here soaking up good time.

Our Picnic

2008-09-23T11:34:00.002-04:00

Arney's Mount

2008-09-23T11:29:00.004-04:00

Our trip took us along beautifully tree lined country lanes. It would be easy to think you were someplace else than Jersey. These roads are so quiet, a bikers dream come true. The trees are not changing colors yet, but we intend to make this same run in a couple a weeks in order to feast our eyes on God’s beautiful world.

A to Z Trips

2008-09-23T11:24:00.002-04:00

This week we started our A to Z Trips. Each time we go out we will visit a town/place with a letter from A to Z. Our first trip was to Arney's Mount. Kevin picket this place and wow, he really did a great trip plan for us. As you can see out friend Shirley came with us. The weather was wonderful and we left at 12pm.

This Bike Is So Cool

2008-09-23T10:48:00.003-04:00

I can not tell you how much fun it has been these past few weeks with Arnold. August was the month that I really got used to the bike. I took it out on my own with Dan, at first I was concerned as to whether I would be able to get Dan in on my own, it always seemed a little "hard". But Kevin had mad an improvement to the hold down for Dan's chair and it all was so easy. So there was no stopping us. I introduced biking to my lovely friend Shirley and we had a few great trips. Dan and I went to see friends, zipping up and down the roads around here. We even got to christen the hood, due to the storm brought by Ike. We had an appointment to see some people who are going to be making a wrap for the side car thanks to a generous gift to Daniel from our friend Mary who owns the best massage spa http://holistichealthspanj.com The weather looked like rain was coming, the computer said that it would rain in the afternoon, our apt was 10am so we went anyway. Whilst we were there huge black clouds were being blown across the sky, I had a job I had to deliver to Oakhurst, some 40 mins north. If I did not deliver it that day it would be difficult as the week was getting busy, so I asked Dan if we should go or not (this way I could blame him !!!) Dan was very decisive with his yes so I talked myself into believing that he knew something I didn’t, well my son knows nothing, it lashed down on us 15 minutes after we left the sign place. I pulled under a tree and put the canopy hood up, this was the first time that we had used it. I must say I am impressed, it went on just fine and worked fantastic, I did not have to worry about Daniel getting wet or cold and he liked it too. I put my rain jacket on and after a few thunder booms we set off again. It rained for the rest of the day, by time we got home I was very wet as I did not put my rain pants on - don’t ask!- and my hands were drenched, it was still a great great ride though and Arnold handled like a BMW should.

Goggles

2008-08-18T13:19:00.001-04:00

Dan has been wearing his goggles to help keep the sun out of his eyes. He is only somewhat into them, he looks very good with them on and with his beard and all.

Back Home

2008-08-18T13:17:00.002-04:00

Since we have been home we have been on several smallish day trips around here. We saw these shoes on the wires last night.

Rain Storm

2008-08-18T13:13:00.001-04:00

We were actually prepared this time. The skies got dark and opened up, but we had just bought this tarp so for once we did not get drenched. We can all huddle under here and stay dry.

We Found Beemerville!

2008-08-18T13:12:00.000-04:00

How cool is this, a picture of us in Beemerville!

2008-08-18T13:11:00.000-04:00

Our Camping Trip

2008-08-18T13:09:00.003-04:00

We were camping at Branchville area, that is in Sussex County. The State Fair was on whilst we were there so that was a great treat. The weather was glorious also.

2008-08-18T13:08:00.004-04:00

We also could not find the key for Arnold. That was a major major crisis for about 2 hours, but Kevin managed to break the lock and we used a screw driver to start the bike all week. We did get caught though, we went to fill up with gas only to realize that the key is needed, luckily we were not on E so we went back to the camper before breaking that lock too.
Daniel's head array broke, I noticed him slipping around as we drove! A man at a traffic light told us about a welder and showed us the way, these people welded the head array whilst we waited, how cool is that. So nothing stopped the fun, we did a thousand miles during the week, Dan got the sun and looked like it was just what he needed.

2008-08-18T13:06:00.001-04:00

We went home, Kevin ordered the part for the motor home and worked very hard to fix it, we went to see Bruce in the van on the Thursday and went camping a week later on the Sunday. It was a wonderful week, not without it’s own set of problems of course. I had hurt my back on the Friday before we left, could not walk stood up, but decided to go, pain here or pain there what is the difference. But that left much extra work on Kevin’s shoulders.

Bruce Springsteen Concert

2008-08-18T12:33:00.002-04:00

There is always one more story with us that makes you wonder right! Well here it is. Daniel just loves Bruce Springteen, listens to his music every day. We managed to purchase him tickets this past December for the concert at Giants Stadium this summer. It had been something Dan had been looking forward to, counting the days to and something we had been praying that he would get to go with being sick and all. So it is now July the 29th concert day. The plan is to leave at 11am with the motorhome, this way Dan can be well rested to see the concert. Then seeing as we were some 80 miles from home, we would nip on over to north Jersey and do some camping for a week. We were not sure if Dan or us could pull it off, but we would try.
So, off we go, all packed up etc only to make 8 miles before the motorhome broke down. The fan that cools the engine stopped. It was a very very hot day, Dan was having a blockage and the pressure of the concert hung over head. Kevin could only do 2 or 3 miles then we had to stop to let old Betsy cool down. Kevin knew what it was and he tried to do some make shift attempts to buy us some road time, but they did not work so we decided to come off the parkway so that we could pull over to take a better look. I had Dan on the bed at the back of the motor home and Kevin was burning his arms trying to rig stuff up to get us on the road. Kevin hooked a fan quite creatively and although it did not fix the problem, it did allow us to at least get home by 5.30pm. We left Betsy and Arnold in the road and hairballed out to the concert in the minivan. Would we make it, who knew, but we had to try. We got to Giants Stadium by 8.30 only to find out that we had the wrong day, the concert had been on the Sunday before, Bruce was not even there this day. Oh boy it was terrible, how could I disappoint Dan like this, what do I tell him. We decide out of desperation to talk to the box office, I mean what did we have to loose. So that what we did, and this lovely lady graciously re issued our tickets to the Thursday which was Bruce’s next show it is was already sold out. You know we meet the most wonderful people in our times of trouble, I was gratefully amazed it was a dream come true. We were still going to be able to get Dan to the concert, just two days later.

2008-08-18T12:28:00.002-04:00

So what was meant to be a short outing to see if Daniel has the stamina turned into one more learning experience with a silver lining. I don't think Mike has any idea of what a blessing he was to us that night, Thanks to him from our hearts.

So Much Has Happened

2008-08-18T12:08:00.003-04:00

We are sorry that it has taken either of us so long to post to the blog, it isn't due to nothing happening I can tell you that! Well as you know we got out of hospital, but those next weeks were incredibly hard and scary. Dan was having an intestinal blockage every other day, I must say with the help of a wonderful forum on the net and Kevin's skill to tap into lots of great info and the grace of God, we seem to have mastered this. Things still have curves, but we are doing well at reversing things before it gets into the real trouble zone. It was not long before Dan wanted to go for a ride, so we thought we would take him for a one hour jaunt or so. The powers that be had other plans, maybe 40 mins from home we got a flat tire. Kevin has all the stuff to fix this, so we think "oh well, this stinks...but we will just fix it". Wrong! it isn't just a flat the valve stem is shot, so now what? Kevin calls someone in the BMW Anonymous Book, a wonderful man by the name of Mike Kowal in fact. As luck would have it he has his own business- MG Cycles- and he knows all about fixing BMW's. This lovely man cam out and took our tire off, ran it home,fixed it and brought it back to us along with cold drinks. We were so fortunate as how we get Dan home when something like this happens is not worth thinking about.

Maybe we're Really home from the Hospital?

2008-07-15T00:20:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. I'm not sure where I left off with updates. Dan stayed at Ocean medical center on our second trip until July 1. We had been trying since the previous Thursday to get him transferred to Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Why we went back to Ocean we don't understand, except it was 4 AM and Dan was suffering a lot. But the same analysis paralysis and lack of a single physician in real control that was getting Dan no better (but managing to trim 33 pounds off his 126 pound frame) also prevented any consensus for a transfer. But it did cause them to run all the tests we would allow a second and third time while they attempted to make sure they were covered legally. Some tests we wanted to discuss with the one physician we trusted before we would allow them, as well as inserting a PICC line to feed him. We told them we wanted to talk to him on Sunday, but they didn't even inform us he was away on vacation until the following Friday! I can't begin to express to you our frustration and fear for those 11 days. We were stuck in a most horrible limbo.
By Tuesday July 1, one of the doctors said maybe they would release him(?!) as they felt he was getting better. there was still no output from his stoma after a week, and he could not tolerate food, but since his blood chemistry looked OK I guess they figured he was better. We knew he was not but played along so we could get him out of there finally. We took him home about 5:30 PM, hoping a miracle would occur, but it already had--he was out of that hospital! We got about 4 hours sleep, packed and headed to Philly. After he was admitted, they pulled over 3 liters of greeen fluid from his belly through his feeding tube (plus the liter we drained at home) and had him in a room by late afternoon. The NEXT DAY they had located the blockage and showed us! We knew we were in a much better hospital by now. The other one with over a dozen doctors getting paid never found it.
Dan stayed there until July 10. His stoma finally started working and he was tolerating some food. They also had been feeding him with a PICC line. Brenda has spent every night since May 30 by his side except 3 when he was sedated after surgery and 3 other nights when I was able to convince her to go home. I stayed at my sister's and worked nights from her basement while they were in Jefferson because it was so much closer.
By the time we got home it appeared to stop working again, but we've watched what they do at the hospital, and we have restarted it twice since we got home. So we really don't know yet if we'll have to go back or not, but we are slowly learning that he needs twice as much water as we were told and some other major do's and dont's, but we are mostly on out own trying to figure him out. We found an online forum which has helped a lot, but have not been able to find anyone who can help with ileostomy management when you are fed through a tube. We are trying to find some way to get him fattened up since he's so skinny now, but are discovering foods he can't tolerate and looking for supplements he can. So we're still touch and go.
Dan is in good spirits and doing things as normally as he can with us playing around so much giving him so much water and trying different supplements. He's tiring easier of course, but wants to get out doing things. But he's still really skinny, and we want him a little better padded before we get out riding Arnold too much.

Monday July 14, 2008 - 09:20pm EDT

Andrew's wreck Wednesday night,(he's Dan's brother)

2008-06-28T12:22:00.000-04:00

This happened to Andrew, Dan's brother in a dunkin donuts parking lot Wednesday night. He got a bad puncture wound on his thigh and lost some skin, but nothing's broken, thank God. They took him to the same hospital Dan and mom were in so they got to see him.
There's a busy highway behind the hedge, and he made a 30' skid straight towards the curb, so it could have been much worse....

Saturday June 28, 2008 - 09:22am (EDT)

Dan is in the Hospital AGAIN

2008-06-26T14:07:00.000-04:00

I have posted an excerpt from an email I sent to someone below, but it says what's been happening for us this week.

My oldest stepson was hospitalized May 31 for emergency abdominal surgery, in ICU after that for about 10 days and we brought him home May 17. He has cerebral palsy and is totally dependant so one of us has to be in the hospital at all times to communicate for him and watch out that they don't kill him. There are upwards of 12 doctors on the case due to shift rotation and the way the hospital management is structured. So we had a surgical, pulmonary, kidney, gastric, and infectious disease group assigned all at once, but the actual doctor in each specialty changes every day. In addition, there is a general doctor 'In charge' also on rotating shifts, but this doctor appears to be ignored by the specialists, so the result is no one is in charge. Meanwhile, the one doctor that actually knows Daniel and we trust is not directly involved because he is not on the hospital staff. They do have an excellent nursing staff, but we have to train them as well, every time he's moved, and shift changes.
We had to take him back in Sunday morning, and he is still there, but out of ICU already. He is improving but it will be a few more days if he doesn't have to have surgery again.

We've been managing OK, Brenda does the night shift and thank God I work at night so I can relieve her a few hours during the day.

If it didn't happen to me I would not believe the next part of this story happened as well, and I don't blame you if you think I'm lying. Last evening Daniel's 19 year old brother crashed his motorcycle and had to go to emergency. I was 1/4 mile away when I got the call, so I managed to get over to the scene and talk to Andrew and see that he was not too badly hurt, and convince them to take him to the same hospital where mom and brother are. He had his leg stitched up and was out in 2 hours, but mom and bro got to see him. He's asleep now, and will be pretty sore for a few days but he'll be OK.

Wow, life sure can be crazy.

Thursday June 26, 2008 - 11:07am (EDT)

Dan Is Back Home

2008-06-17T16:32:00.000-04:00

Well, they let Dan come home today. Both Dan and Brenda are in bed at 1:30 PM as they slept very little over the last 18 days. Dan can finally sleep on his stomach again, they wouldn't let him in the hospital, so it added to his agony. I can't believe how strong the 2 of them are. I promised them both not to come in the room every 15-30 minutes to stick, poke, suction, inject, wash, rub, redress, change or awaken Dan in any other way, although I'm sure they are almost accustomed to it by now. The nursing staff at Ocean medical Center did a wonderful job caring for Dan, and we are very grateful for them. Now we can rest...
Here is a picture from the ride we were on when Dan's symptoms started to appear. Hopefully it won't be too long before we're riding again...

Tuesday June 17, 2008 - 01:32pm (EDT)

Thanks To All Our Friends Out There

2008-06-13T17:07:00.000-04:00

This a picture of our friend Nick, he really is much crazier than he looks.
Daniels creatinine levels were down to 4.1 this morning , his pain is being managed better and he is getting rid of the extra fluid it seems. Kevin and I see a huge change in the way he looks and we believe that he is now on the right side of the fence.
I want to thank my friends for helping me by sending energy to Daniel. I have worked on him every day, but the many friends that have sent Reiki to him have been a huge help. I am also grateful to all the family and friends that have prayed for Daniel daily.
Most of all I want to thank Kevin for being by my side through all of this. I am blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Dan Has A Good Evening

2008-06-13T16:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was both a really bad day and a really good day! Daniel had not slept for 4 days, being ridden by these spasms and favor. His body had filled with fluid at an alarming rate and there was the threat of having to go onto dialysis hanging over us. His pain was not being managed well and there was a different doctor running the show every day. To top it all off we were very scared. This was the climate for the first part of the day. After some venting and complaining things seemed to change. Dan had gone for a procedure that turned out to be very misleading, but when he came back he had two close friends come to visit. Within and hour or so he had 5 friends in his room, the hospital sent up sandwiches, cake and coffee and we felt like we were in the party room. Daniel's spirits were raised and he actually looked the best that I have seen him look since this all started.
As you can see he has his own private surgeon, with questionable qualifications? I would like to say a special thanks for yesterday to Shirley for being there through all this. She has snuck in as often as she could, Mary and Rick for coming to see Dan as soon as they got back from their trip to Ireland, jet lag and all, Donna, for coming over as soon as she returned from Israel and crazy Nick who made Dan smile.
Friday June 13, 2008 - 01:57pm (EDT)

Another Day

2008-06-10T16:46:00.000-04:00

These past couple of days have been hard. Daniel has been having spasms throughout his body every 2 to 3 minutes. He has not been able to sleep for 3 days now. Morphine just is not a good drug for him, it does not kill the pain. Kevin and I take turns being with Daniel as a regular hospital ward is not a safe place for him to be alone. The nurses are letting us stay in his room around the clock which is very nice. There are so many little things that they could not possibly know about Daniel and his health.
His kidneys are still an issue and he has been running a fever. They think he has infection but are not sure where. I would expect there to be some issues with his lungs myself. We will see what today brings.

Tuesday June 10, 2008 - 01:46pm (EDT)

June 07, 2008 Dan's still in the hospital.

2008-06-07T17:16:00.000-04:00

Hi All. Dan is still in the hospital, still in critical care. The ventilator was removed yesterday and he is awake, his color is good and his sense of humor is working, He's still in pain and getting bored, but considering what he's been through, he's in fine shape, although there is still one complication we're hoping will resolve itself soon. Thanks to you all for your prayers and good wishes, please keep it up!

Saturday June 7, 2008 - 02:16pm (EDT)

Happier Days

2008-06-04T01:24:00.000-04:00

This picture was taken on our Sunday ride before dan got sick, seems incredible how a couple of days can change so much.

Tuesday June 3, 2008 - 10:24pm (EDT)

Entry for June 03, 2008

2008-06-04T01:15:00.001-04:00

Well it is now Tuesday night and it has been a very hard week so far. Daniel is having some troubles, there are complications. It seems that things were so critical when he was admitted that it is taking a while for the organs to get balanced again. He has a lot of specialists working with him, but they can only do what they "think" will work. It is all a form of guess work. He is still in ICU at Brick Hospital with the respirator in. He is being sedated until the tube can be removed, we hope that will be tomorrow. The nurses are very kind to him and are doing a great job.

Dan's Sick

2008-06-04T01:15:00.000-04:00

Daniel had to have emergency surgery this morning (Sunday) at 8am. His intestine had flipped over cutting off the flow. This is something that he has been in hospital for several times before and had surgery for also. It is life threatening and one has to move fast on this type of unforeseen problem. Daniel is in the ICU right now, they sent Kevin and I home as they have strict visiting hours that they are only willing to slightly bend. Staying right now is not one of them. I always stay day and night with Dan but we agreed as Daniel is not conscious right now so really does not need us. We came home and Kevin is working, I have tried to sort some things out before the week begins tomorrow. We will go back in to see Dan in the morning at 8am. They plan to take his respirator tube out tomorrow morning so we are being permitted to be there as this will be difficult for Dan. Once it is out they will not have him sedated as he is now and then things will start to get tough as Daniel has always had a hard time in hospital. I am not sure how ling this set back will be but I expect to loose all of June on the bike.
This picture is one of my favorite ones.

Tuesday June 3, 2008 - 10:15pm (EDT)

Red Lion Diner...Love Shack!

2008-06-03T13:12:00.000-04:00

Monday Dan was worn out so we stayed home and did yard work and window cleaning, well we can’t play all the time now can we? But I wanted to share this picture with you all. This is where Kevin and I met on our first date and it is where he proposed to me. This is the Red Lion Diner on the circle at 206 and route 70 in New Jersey.

Tuesday June 3, 2008 - 10:12pm (EDT)

Visiting Family

2008-06-03T13:05:00.000-04:00

Sunday we did a shorter ride around west central Jersey, ending up at Kevin’s brothers to say hi. As it turned out his mum was also there visiting at the time. We almost convinced her to get on the bike, she tried, but it was just too high and she was just too old, it is a shame as it would have made a fantastic photo, but I take my hat off that she tried. Tuesday June 3, 2008 - 10:05pm (EDT)

Waretown

2008-06-03T11:19:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day week end saw us on a day trip riding around south Jersey and ending up at Waretown Founder’s Day fireworks. After de toggling our gear we waited for the fireworks that were to start at dusk. Now what time is that? I thought it was when the sun goes down, not in Waretown, that means 10pm long after the fun of being there is gone! But the fireworks were worth the wait, they were great. Getting re toggled up in the dark was interesting. Towards the end a very nice policeman shone his light for us to see by. We need to get head lamps in order to help with this process, and if it is also raining then we will have to just wait it out I think.

Tuesday June 3, 2008 - 08:19am (EDT)

We got wet!

2008-06-03T11:17:00.000-04:00

We have already got caught in the rain enough to be thoughly wet! We had headed out one Thursday evening amongst threats of rain and black clouds. We scouted around it for maybe an hour and a half before we finally got caught. We stopped at a shopping center to hide and get grub, but stopping was when we really got wet.

Tinkering and Tweaking 2

2008-06-03T11:15:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness Kevin knows how to do all this.
Tuesday June 3, 2008 - 08:15am (EDT)

Tinkering and Tweaking 1

2008-06-03T11:14:00.000-04:00

We have been going on trips and making modifications and repairs to Arnold. These range from new bags to hold Dan’s STUFF, working to cut down wind, fixing and adding lights to this that and the other. Since our first rides on Arnold we realized that we had to stop the wind from buffeting at us. It was annoying on your head as well as incredibly noisy. Kevin made some Lexan pieces that fitted to the windscreen. We had to make some modifications along the way, but it is now much less windy.

Tuesday June 3, 2008 - 08:14am (EDT)

Another photo from our first trip

2008-05-18T21:45:00.000-04:00

The Master Mind and Her Son

2008-05-18T21:43:00.000-04:00

A photo of Dan and Brenda, who came up with the sidecar idea in the first place.
Sunday May 18, 2008 - 11:30pm (EDT)

It's finished! First few ride reports..

2008-05-18T21:20:00.000-04:00

On Thursday we went to Quaker Town to pick up this
long awaited side car. None of us dared to show any
glimmer of excitement due to all the delays that there
has been. When we started this last July there was no
way we could have known that it was going to take
eleven months to get Arnold built. Anyhow, Thursday is
the day, Kevin Dan and I set off in the van with all
the tools we may need and emergency supplies just in
case we need to spend the night in a hotel, so
needless to say the van was very full.
Meeting Claude with the bike was not overly
complicated, the drive there was very pleasant, some
adjustments were made and then we were ready to come
home. Kevin and Dan rode it back whilst I followed in
the van. We took nice back roads all the way back,
stopping at Hope in order to put a helmet on Dan. PA
law does not require one to be worn and seeing as this
was one of our tricky areas we choose to prolong it as
long as we could.
In order for Daniel to be able to wear his helmet we
have to change the head array system on his chair for
one that allows room for the helmet. I am concerned
with the strap around his neck as it seems to get
tight and what if it strangles him. I am also
concerned that the other head array will not support
him, but this is what we have to do. Dan has had his
moments with being worried also, his muscle tone has
been high and having athatoid CP this all becomes a
bit of a challenge.
The last leg of the trip was more worry some for
Kevin and I as Kevin had to keep looking over at Dan
to make sure all was well, and I am following with my
eyes closely on the head array and helmet. We pulled
over several times, but all was well and Daniel was
just having a great old time.
I must say that Kevin rode the bike wonderfully,
although I saw him cross the center line once! And he
did hit the curb with the rig wheel once, But what a
long ride they both did on the first trip out.

Friday it rained all day long so we just had to wait
for Saturday in order to try it out again. So the plan
on Saturday was to go to Ocean City, why not? I made
sandwiches and coffee so that we could have a picnic.
We packed rain gear, some extra clothing and then we
were ready to go, or so I thought. It seemed to just
take forever to be done. We finally got going at
around 3pm, that was after Kevin fixed the running
lights that had stopped working on Thursday, modified
the tie down system that was not holding the chair
snug enough, got all our clothes on, re arranged all
the STUFF we seem to need to take, in order to get the
door to close on the rig, go back for sun cream, and
on and on. I was really not at all happy anymore. I
was hot , frustrated and cranky. As we pulled down the
road I wanted to take a picture of Dan, as he had the
most wonderful smile on his face, but the camera was
set in view mode and I could not see how to change it,
I had to use great restraint to stop myself throwing
the camera as far as I could. My little man said” how
will you explain that to Kevin,? He bought that camera
for you. You‘ll be sorry”
It took me at least 30 mins to feel different, I mean
I had fantasized that we would “just” go here and
there and how much fun it would be, how Dan and I
could go out together if we wanted. Now I was feeling
that it would be impossible for me to do this for him
alone, and that how can it be fun when it is this
hard? But as soon as I relaxed a bit, and especially
once I rode it my spirits lifted. It handles much
better than it did last December. Claude had altered
the BMW so that is was not as heavy to steer and it is
a huge improvement.
Our first stop with Dan was at the biker bar so that
he could have a beer. This was great fun for him and
several people came by to ask about the rig. As you
can see we got some photos. We then went on to Mays
Landing and stopped by to see some friends what a
surprise for them and Dan! Next it was time for lunch
with a lovely view and later a stop at Dunkin. It was
10pm when we finally got home. Daniel just loved it.
He was excited to feel the wind in his face and the
speed of the bike. After dark he got great pleasure in
seeing the full moon in the sky and the bikes head
lamps light up the trees. This is going to be such a
wonderful thing for us, riding around , opening
peoples eyes as well as ours.

Disaster, the wiring harness is cooked!

2008-04-23T21:17:00.000-04:00

Well, the karmic clouds have rained down on us again. Claude called us today to tell us that a short in the lighting wiring melted the main wiring harness and it will need to be replaced. We are all disappointed and frustrated. What a bummer. Claude will deliver the rig to us when it is finished, and we'll post more when we know more. I'm sorry this sounds whiny, and I should be more upbeat about the future, but today we're just bummed. Sigh.

Wednesday April 23, 2008 - 04:11pm (EDT)

Entry for April 21, 2008

2008-04-21T21:16:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. Well, we are going to go get the sidecar rig Friday of this week if all goes as planned! We are very excited to be starting out new adventures with Arnold. We plan to drive out early Friday to Middleburg PA and do some final tweaking then ride him home back to NJ via some two lane roads. I'm thinking we'll travel across the Susquehanna at Shamokin Dam then take highway 61 (or maybe Snydertown road) and 54 to Tamaqua, then 309 and 100 south, travel through Upper Milford and navigate local roads over to Quakertown PA, then 313 to Doylestown and 202 and 179 to New Hope. There we'll cross over the Delaware River to NJ and on home from there, not sure what route we'll take at for the remainder but we've got a bunch of choices we're familiar with from that point. One of us will follow with the van and I'm sure we'll stop somewhere on the way home and overnight at a hotel along the way. I'm just picking this route out from the map, and Claude may have some better route options for us before we leave his shop in Middleburg.
The weather outlook for this weekend is good currently.
So this will be our first trip with the hack, we're really excited!!!

Monday April 21, 2008 - 09:34pm (EDT)

Dan's comments from February 10 , 2008

2008-02-10T21:15:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Daniel.
About two years ago we bought a bike that was peddled and I sat on the back. It was great fun, but was always breaking, and we could only do 7 miles an outing. So this is why soon I will have an awesome motorbike. I named it Arnold. I think I have been very patient waiting for Arnold to be finished. When I went out on the motorbike at Christmas it was exciting and fun. I cannot wai until it is done.

Brenda's comments 1/4/08

2008-01-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

July seemed a long time past as we drove over to
Penn’s Creek PA on Boxing Day ( that is the day after
Christmas) and Dan’s Birthday to see the side car. We
did not really know what to expect, other than being
able to test ride it.We camped at Little Mexico camp
ground, the people there were very nice to let us stay
there as I think that they most probably were closed.
The first two days Kevin spent with Claude going over
measurements and fine tuning. On the Saturday and
Sunday the bike was ready for us to try out. This was
the first time that I had actually ridden the BMW as
it is too big and heavy for me, but with the side car
-Arnold- on it I feel confident enough to give it a
try. This is defiantly a different animal, neither
like a bike nor a car. It has a whole set of rules
just for itself!
I was very surprised and pleased with the test
driving, Kevin had it going 60 miles per hour and I
think we did about 200 miles over the two days. Claude
tells us that it will run much better once he has
finished it, which is a good thing as this way I will
be able to ride it for some distance too. Right now it
is too heavy a steer for me to go too far. I did have
a great time in the school parking lot doing figure
eights, breaking and tight corners. Kevin is more the
dare devil than I am and seemed to take right to it,
although he did have a few scares along the road.
Arnold sometimes ends up someplace you neither expect
nor want him to be, this really gets your attention.
Dan was warm enough even though the weather was
pretty cold, this had been a real concern for us, but
a lot of thought had paid off. Daniel had the time of
his life with a broad grin on his face for most of the
ride. I think it is great that he can feel the air,
see the sights and smell the smells. I must say that I
am very pleased with what Claude has built for us, he
has listened to us when we have explained how it needs
to be for Dan. It will be a lot of fun for us and we
plan to clock many a mile.

Friday January 4, 2008 - 07:16pm (EST)

January 04, 2008 Kevin's Comments

2008-01-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

I had never driven a sidecar rig. Since we started this adventure, I have ridden about 800 miles on the K1200 LT before we delivered it to Claude for the sidecar. I have also since logged over 3000 road miles on my Suzuki DR350R and another 2000 on my Suzuki 650 V Strom I bought in October. Now I have many years of dirt experience, and I think now a tiny bit of street experience.
The sidecar rig has it's own character, pulling to the left on braking and to the right on acceleration. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I don't have to think too much about the steering usually, as I have also logged many miles on a snowmobile. The sidecar ride seems more similar to it than a motorcycle. It seemed very much like a short track sled with great traction.
There was one tense moment when I was going maybe a tiny bit fast on a two lane that curved right but was not sloped right, but rather flat. As I applied brake I drifted left of the centerline and as I got more concerned I braked harder, worsening the drift. I have learned that the thing to do is let up on the brake, and it will stop pulling left. And in fact if I applied a bit of throttle, it would drift to the right again, "steering" to the right.
The K1200 LT does have plenty of power to pull the car and 3 passengers, and the brakes have plenty of stopping power, in fact they still seem a little touchy. But there is much less danger of dropping it when the front brake grabs with the sidecar holding you up! Claude, the builder, took great pains to explain to me what to expect about the ride, braking and handling. The rig is already very stable, even though it is not set up yet. With just myself on the bike and an empty sidecar, it is possible to fly the sidecar, and Claude had me do it as well as other maneuvers to be sure there would be no surprises.
With just a partial windshield installed there is very little wind on Dan and he was warm on both days except where his arms were up against the bare aluminum---it will be upholstered when it's finished. And we still have heated clothing to use if we decide to ride in colder weather. Most of our test was done between 35 and 45 degrees F.
We did well over 150 miles in two days, so we are looking forward to doing many long rides together, and using this as our 'toad' vehicle when we get away in our motorhome.
So it's back in Claude's hands to lower the windshield and move it back a bit, fabricate the wheelchair hold down system, upholster and pad the interior, add lights, powder coat the body and have a soft top made. We will also have the K1200 steering geometry changed to make the steering lighter and a few other tweaks and farkles added to the sidecar.
Can't wait to ride it again!

Brenda Trying Out Some Maneuvers with Dan

2008-01-01T20:57:00.000-05:00

Another picture from our December 2007 test rides, originally published

Friday January 4, 2008 - 05:37pm (EST)

Dan In the Sidecar Ready to Ride

2008-01-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

This was during our test ride in December 2007, We had the sidecar assembled enough to test it with Dan in place before it was to be completed over the following months. This was originally posted on our previous blog on Friday January 4, 2008 - 05:36pm (EST)

Test Ride in December 2007

2008-01-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

content="Word.Document">

Hi. My name is Kevin. That's Brenda and Dan in the picture.

Back in spring 2007 my wife Brenda asked me if we might be able to get her son Daniel a sidecar so we could all go riding together. When she was a young girl in England, the family "car" was a "motorbike" and sidecar.
One of the first things I found out was that Dan would have to wear a helmet. Since he sits in a custom fit wheelchair, we would have to first find a helmet he might be able to wear. We did find a DOT approved helmet that he could tolerate, especially if it meant he could go riding! So we started with a helmet.
Then we started looking for a motorcycle we could use. Now I had spent many hours riding dirt bikes over the years but not too much road riding, and so most street bikes were unfamiliar to me.
I did know we would want something pretty comfortable, so I started looking at Honda Gold Wings, but in the process discovered the BMW K12oo LT. With the help of the Adventure Rider forum (http://www.advrider.com/forums/ search for the thread "a newbie does it backwards") and the K1200 LT forum (http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/cmps_index.php)I learned that the LT would indeed make a great tug for a sidecar.
I found a used one on Ebay, just 30 miles from our home. A call to the seller assured me it was in great shape --a 2003 with less than 11 thousand miles on it. So we bid on it literally at the last minute from my laptop parked on a side road in Lakehurst, NJ--and won the bid!
The kind folks on the Adventure Rider forum told us about a sidecar forum (http://www.sidecar.com/) where we found C Stanley Motorsports nearby in Pennsylvania. We were able to meet with him and create a plan for a wheelchair accessible sidecar custom built from the ground up. We spent Christmas week test driving it and finalizing the remaining details.
It works! Dan fits perfectly, and most of all, he can ride!
We will keep this blog updated as further details develop.