Day 18: Riding Russian Sidecar

Gas Prices Russia On Day 18 of Putting It In Park I look like Woodstock riding with Snoopy!

by Tiffany Craig

Published: Tue, July 29, 2008 - 7:15 pm CST

James McKinley and his wife have watched our July series on not buying gas and decided to offer their unique transportation last night. "I figured what better way to get a ride to work than in a sidecar! Its something unusual I guess that most people don't get to see."

I jumped at the chance to ride in something I have only seen in the movies.

On Day 18 of Putting It In Park, I hop on the sidecar of a Russian Ural motorcycle.

As we roll through West Mobile, we look a little like the cartoon Snoopy with Woodstock in the sidecar.

James says he gets stares and questions all the time. "People ask me if I drove it from Russia to here. I said its sorta hard getting it over the ice of the Bering Strait."

Instead, James bought his 2005 model on a website for 11-thousand bucks. You can get more info on the Ural bikes by clicking here

The desert camouflage-colored sidecar has everything you could possibly need. James points out all the amenities. "I've got a shovel, extra gas if I ever need it, a mount for a machine gun, a spotlight." Did I hear that correctly? I repeat what he just told me. "A machine gun?" He chuckles, 'A machine gun, yeah. The traffic gets bad around here."

The eye-catching Russian ride gets 32 miles a gallon. James says it beats driving his pick-up that gets only 17 miles a gallon.

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carl Says:

Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 11:30 am

Speaking of longevity, I wonder if they still have tapes from their early years of starting up ? Back when they had Wrestling live on channel 5. I was on camera a couple of times when I would sneak into the studio to watch wrestling when I was delivering papers for the area.

claycitymadness Says:

Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 9:52 am

and like bama bob it would be a great ending for you to parachute into the parking lot if that were feasable

asda Says:

Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 9:52 am

Maybe they could get her one of those jet packs and let her try that one out. I don’t think it would save any fuel but would make for some great TV.

claycitymadness Says:

Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 9:39 am

this is a great story line, and you are just the one to do it. its a happy story, (well except for the fact you are highlighting what has become a thorn in all of our sides) we get to see you,(You seem to be a feature or special assigment reporter now), and as we have come to expect your reporting is timely, accurate, informative, and nfortunalty entertaining. keep up the good work and hope to continue seeing you on wkrg for a long time to come. lets see if you can beat Mister Mel Showers in longevity at tv5.

BamaBob Says:

Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 6:10 am

Even though you got one or two negative comments on this web site, I too think this has been a worthwhile report. It shows just how difficult it is to get along without gas and the practical alternatives are far and few between.
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I think it would be very interesting if you would end this segment by parachuting out of a plane and gently landing in the WKRG parking lot!

carl Says:

Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 5:35 am

It’s been a good series Tiffany ! Now a lot of people have a bettter idea of what is needed to enhance the Mobile area and to make it more friendly to fuel conservation. YOU DESERVE A MEDAL GIRL !!

DEW26M Says:

Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 4:05 am

WOW, that’s strange,now the video works!

BamaBob Says:

Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 8:48 pm

I saw the current sidecar video. Well, she needs to close this thing out in a big way, so maybe she will use a hang glider tomorrow!

DEW26M Says:

Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 5:00 pm

Mrs. Tiffany Craig, I’d love to see some footage of this side-car you were riding in. However, the video seems like a repeat from the first day you started this ordeal!!! :-(