Just a Homer Glen Guy on a Motorcyle with His Dog in the Sidecar

• Photo by Tony Kroll

HOMER GLEN, IL — Toby has probably notched more miles on a motorcycle than you. And he undoubtedly looks a lot cooler doing it.

The 4-year-old Goldendoodle sits alongside his master Dan Miotti, donning goggles and strapped into a sidecar. The two turn a lot of heads, Miotti said. But it all started with Toby's objections when his dad would straddle the bike to leave.

"I have a regular motorcycle too, and he would be in the window, barking," Miotti said, laughing. "So I picked up a bike with the sidecar, and he just jumped it in one day."

It took some getting used to—Dan first had to take Toby for a few spins around the driveway to get him used to the vibrations and sounds of the sidecar, and he doesn't particularly like the goggles—but he loves the ride.

Miotti tries to keep to roads that aren't terribly busy. He has been spotted along Delaney Road, and at Parker Road and Rte 6. He sometimes cruises above 50 mph, and occasionally takes breaks to let Toby go goggles-free and stretch his legs.

"I do go over 50 mph with him. I prefer to go slow, go out in the country. That’s just the type of person I am," Miotti said. "I try to sneak through, but it doesn’t work."

Apparently a dog in a sidecar is quite the distraction to other drivers.

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"I’ve had people ask me to pull over for pictures, especially at stoplights. People give me a thumbs up," he said. He gets a little worried on occasion, thinking people might be too keen at staring instead of keeping their eyes on the road.

"I thought there would be some people that would get really upset that I have a dog in there," he said. "It gets a little dangerous, I see a lot of drivers take pictures while they’re driving."

The two hit the road "every time the weather is nice," he said. Together they've put roughly 1,000 miles on it. 

If a sidecar-sittin' pup doesn't impress you, Toby recently tried another mode of transport. 

"Tuesday, we took him on the Illinois River," Miotti said. "He was very confused on the water."