But I wanted to take Laura camping one day and there was no room for her and the camping gear I'd been using on my upcountry trips. I was getting a new tire at Barnes when they showed me a Roadster that had just been traded it. I took it for a drive and fell in love with a 'bigger bike'. 1200 cc and lots of room. Now I had Laura on the back and camping gear to boot. That HOG's been my good friend for 3 years now.
The trouble was that the first ride I took up to William's Lake the clutch went. I was originally told by the Barnes salesman it was 2005 and it turned out in the sale it was 2004. I took the bike into Trev Deely and had to spend a couple of thousand dollars more than what I paid just to get it to the safe secure machine that gave me and Laura the next few years of joy. It's made me trust sales and service at Trev.
We rode in the Rides for Dad, the Santa Claus Toy Runs, the Oyster runs and I kept skipping down to Seatle and Portland just to enjoy the American side of things. What a glorious bike the Roadster was.
But along came Gilbert. He's more than a Harley Hound. He's back of me on the bike howling his puppy heart out when fire trucks go past but most trying to get his head around the back of me to see where we're going grinning with his hair blown back. It was a crowded ride when Laura got on the bike and there was now no room for even overnight gear. The saddlebags I had weren't of the large variety and probably wouldn't even hold Laura's bathroom kit. Meanwhile Gilbert wanted to take along his toys.
I was feeling kind of pressured like Zorba the Greek with the 'whole catastrophe' until I talked to Stuart at Trev. He'd been keeping me away from the touring bikes with a stick for a couple of years. Something to do with the extra detailing they had to do after I'd drooled on the new electroglydes. I even rented them in Boston and San Antonnio only to come back feeling like characters of Pilgrim's Progress who climbed over the back walls of heaven to walk on the golden streets only to be found out and booted back over the walls. I wanted to be an owner not just a renter.
"I'd stay with the 2009 or 2010 because Harley did a total make over on the electraglydes upgrading the body for a whole lot better ride. Talk to Darren, " Stuart said, "We've got a 2009 in with only 22,000 km on it I think you'd like. "
Darren naturally gave me the deal of a lifetime with Trev Deely giving me a really decent trade in on my Roadster. Considering I'd been having Trev doing the inspections and me getting whatever they figured best done when I did I wasn't surprised. However, Darren did say, "We couldn't give you a better price because there was a lot of cosmetic damage." I didn't think that was the time to wax poetic about how my Roadster beat the BMW on the 100 km logging road there and back to St. Agnes Hot Springs. Then there was the trip up through the northern Indian Reserves to attend the sweat lodge ceremonies. The roadster did amazingly well on cow paddy trails that time. A horse would have had more trouble with the ground hog holes.
"You should have had a Buell Achilles, they're made for that off road on road stuff." a friend said after seeing my bike when I came in from camping off a logging road that joined the Duffy Lake Road. "I know, but I like the Roadster look. This is the bike they used in WWII and those Harley drivers weren't riding on paved roads. Harley's a tough bike."
Pressure washed it cleaned up fine but the gravel kicked up and nicked the paint job on the tank. "We're going to have do some re painting and heavy buffing." Darren said.
What could I say? I didn't feel sorry for all the great rides and camping trips. But it was time for Laura and Gilbert and me to stay on the road and do some long distance cruising and staying in cabins and motels. There are just so many "pet friendly' places now and if I'm going camping I like to take the truck and canoe. This last year we actually packed the tent but stayed in places with showers and beds instead. We've actually been thinking of getting a travel trailer to pull behind the truck. Next year's plan. I remember when Dad and Mom stopped packing poles and pegs and instead brought the whole motor home.
So I got the bigger bike. In the end it was a whole lot less than I ever could have hoped for. Best deal ever. And I still had warranty though I extended that at the deal. It was a whole other thing driving it off the lot. I was so excited I kept hearing John Mayer in my head singing "I want to run through the halls of my high school." Driving it off the lot I didn't grind gears, crash or fall over and was really happy when I survived the traffic. It's a big machine, twice the weight of my Roadster.
And yes everyone oohed and awed. When I picked up Gilbert back at the office where Joanne was walking him with Chris and her dog he just seemed to assume the bike was all about him because placed up on the back rack he had a truly commanding view. I got back to the apartment and Laura had just got in from her dance lesson with Carlos. "He's teaching the girl I did belly dancing with too" she told me.
So there was Laura in her little black dress number and high heeled dance shoes draped in the big back seat of the Harley Electraglyde like it was a throne while I was playing rocking music stations on the honking Harley stereo. The two of us just sat out there on the bike beside the curb not going anywhere but bothering the neighbours like a couple of teen agers.
I had to get out to a meeting. Brock had bought a new Mercedes and Malcolm had his new Jaguar and Ray wanted to see my new bike. So there we all were standing around ogling each other wheels in the parking lot of the Vancouver detox. Brock summed it up. "I like having things I can appreciate and care for in recovery. I used to just smash up vehicles when I was drinking."
I remembered the dead Norton by the side of the road and me all broken up beside it a couple of decades back. Riding motorcycles isn't something to mix with drinking unless you really want a crash chaser.
I love riding motorcycles today and can't wait to head out to Harrison's with Laura and Gilbert. It will be Gilbert's first ride at speed. He's only done spurts at 80 k and no long rides so we're breaking him into the road trip and the new bike. Riding around the city sitting high on the back harnessed into his Tbag I knew he approved of this move. Now it's just a matter of taking the bike out where it can breathe. It's made for the open road. We're going to get geared up now and head out on Harley Highway.
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