Sidecar-Riding St. Bernards Are The Best Thing About SXSW

Slobbering dogs and Indian Motorcycles, saving dead cell phones through the power of cuteness. And battery packs.
www.thedrive.com

There’s plenty of neat things to see at this year’s massive SxSW Festival in Austin, Texas. An early version of Key & Peele’s wonderfully NSFW film Keanu, Keynote addresses by both President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, performances by Ryan Adams and The Avett Brothers, among many, many others. But, cool as they are, all those events pale in comparison to the St. Bernards riding around the festival in motorcycle sidecars, saving people from the curse of a dead cell phone battery.

For the second year in a row, Mophie is teaming up with the St. Bernard Rescue Foundation to provide emergency recharges to folks with dying mobile devices. This year, however, they’re also getting help from Indian Motorcycles, who outfitted some bikes with Big Dog-worthy sidecars for the pups to ride around in. Indian is also donating a custom Scout Sixty motorcycle to the cause, should you feel like helping out dogs in need/riding around on a battery pack-branded bike.

Mophie’s St. Bernards will be cruising March 11–13. If you’re at SxSW and need a quick boost, you can try to summon them by tweeting @mophie with your location, a picture of your dying phone or tablet, and the hashtag #mophierescue. Or, if you just want to play with enormous, lovable dogs, you can swing by Mophie’s biker-themed “Bad To The Bone Bar” and hang out with St. Bernards. There will be puppies.

Guess who's back at SXSW
Will is the former managing editor of RIDES Magazine and the former online editor for 0-60 Magazine. He has worked for Time Out New York and Rolling Stone, and was the creator of College Cars Online, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.