A Surprising Wonderful Cold Adventure





"Look honey, snow."
"Wow."
Quite a bit of it. We entered Colorado from Nebraska and rather than the few patches we saw in Corn Husker country, the snow thickened and filled the fields.
Why the trip across the Midwest now? We acquired a bike on E-Bay. A 2010 Gold Wing with 5,600 miles on it. Perfect condition. The bids were to start at $17,500, which was my limit for my bike buying criteria. I decided to 'lay in the weeds' and bid on it, $17,500, in the last seconds of the auction.
I stared at the screen. One minute remaining. Thirty seconds. I clicked in my bid. Nothing. The clock kept ticking. I scrolled down to see a button. 'Confirm bid.' Oops. I clicked it. With 3 seconds remaining, I got the bike!
Book a flight, rental car, get a cashier's check, insurance and take care of details, and the Little Woman and I flew to Des Moines Iowa, then drove to Ames Iowa.
Zylstra Harley Davidson greeted us with the bike and no disappointments. Brand new condition without the brand new price.
So far so good, but the weather! Forty degrees, blowing and raining. We ran to Target for Rain X and rain gear, then off to dinner. Back to the dealer's and we took off to the airport to return the rental car. The Little Woman got pretty nervous- driving in an unfamiliar car in driving rain trying not to lose the bike behind her and find the rental return. Then off for a short ride (50 miles)as the rain was to turn to snow.
This morning greeted us clear and cold, with the aroma of freshly harvested corn. We piled on layers of clothes and set out.
Amazing how a Gold Wing evolves after thirteen years. Heated Seats and grips! Lower, easier to handle and maneuver. More aerodynamic and smaller (ouch) side bags and trunk. And that 1800 CC engine rips.
This is a windshield trip. Get on, get going and get there. However(and I know this sounds really wussy but it's true), we haven't trained to ride and each segment ends with moaning and groaning as our joints seize up with immobility and cold.
Fortunately we found a motel before sunset, as the temps will be below freezing tonight.
Late in today's ride, I said to the Little woman; "Wow. This is the first time in all my years riding that I didn't see one other bike today."
I wonder why?
Right.
One thing we learned this trip. We are not prepared for cold.

1 comment:

Tim Rockstar said...

$10,500!!!! That is an amazing deal! For that bike I that price I would pick it up and ride it while having naked breakfast! I thought it was $17K!