Another great story from yesterday’s visit to Washington D.C. was Red Sox skipper Terry Francona and  David “Big Papi” Ortiz going for a ride in the one of the motorcycle sidecars from the police escort given to them.

Francona was first up as he rode from the airport to the White House. Big Papi took his ride as the team went from the White House to Walter Reed Army Hospital.

Here is the story courtesy of Michael Silverman at the Boston Herald.

For Terry Francona and David Ortiz, the coolest part – make that the coldest – part of yesterday’s Red Sox visit to Washington came on the road.

“I froze my (expletive deleted) (body parts) off,’’ said Ortiz of his ride in the sidecar of the lead motorcycle escort the team received between the airport and the White House, and from the White House to Walter Reed Army Hospital.

The idea of subjecting Ortiz to the motorcycle ride was all Francona’s idea, who saw the sidecar motorcycle once the team got off the plane at Ronald Reagan Airport. Although riding in a motorcycle sidecar was not part of Francona’s own “bucket list,’’ or things to do before he dies, he thought it seemed like a neat idea.

With the temperature reaching a high of only 38 in the nation’s capitol yesterday, he had no idea how cool an idea it really was.

He asked the police if he could ride in it and was told that it might be too cold for that. The cop suggested to Francona that maybe he could just ride to the end of the airport tarmac and then get back on the warm team bus. When they got to the end, he asked Francona, the manager related, “ ‘ You’re not cold are you?’ and I said, ‘No, I’m fine.’ ‘’

He was not. When he got to the White House, he was absolutely freezing and his face a bright red, “windburnt,’’ he called it.

“Between the exhaust, the bouncing around and the cold, I could have thrown up,’’ he said.

From the White House, the team received another police escort to the hospital.

Francona knew who should be next.

“I said to David, ‘You’ll love this,’’ said Francona. “Later, he said, ‘Thanks a lot.’ ‘’

The pictures were taken by educatedcheese at Sons of Sam Horn.