With a Little Help From Friends

After a lot of searching the net and local dealerships with a lot of dithering about what I really wanted in a motorcycle, fate jumped in and I now have a new ride.

Introducing the new to me, 1983 Goldwing GL 1100 Interstate previously owned by Deon and Cory of Edmonton Alberta.

I was really torn about whether I should buy a touring bike or go for one of the snazzy next to new cruisers. But in the end when I saw the ad for Deon's bike on the Internet, the deal was done.

I came home for lunch on Monday, sat down to check the latest motorcycle listings on Kijiji and spotted the bike which had only been posted in the last hour.

Breathless and excited I phoned the number and inquired about the bike and asked a bunch of silly questions and laid out a few scenarios on how I could make it to Edmonton (I live three hours away) before the bike was sold, and if we could load it into the back of my truck. The seller, Deon was very patient and tried to answer all of my breathless questions as I was starting to dither bad and was unsure what to do next.

Deon told me that when I finally decided what I was going to do to phone him back.

I paced furiously about the house trying to decide if it was worth the effort to race up to Edmonton to look at the bike, only to have my hopes dashed if someone closer decided to buy it before I could get there.

Dinner was on the table, but all I could think about was the bike. And if you have seen my girth, you would soon notice I haven't missed many dinners. Dinner would have to wait.

It was a no-brainer, this was the bike I had wanted, I would take a chance and jump in the car and head to Edmonton.

I phoned Deon back told him I was coming and much to his credit Deon told me others were coming later in the day to look at the bike but if I was to take the three hour drive to look at the bike, he would wait for me.

I told him I was only going to stop at the bank, grab the cash and maybe have to stop for gas somewhere along the road but I was on my way.

I must have smoked twenty cigarettes on the way to Edmonton constantly fretting about whether the bike would be there when I arrived or if some one else would snatch this Goldwing from my grasp.

Deon gave me some great directions over the phone as I neared his house, and when I walked up his driveway and into the garage I was sold. Deon was there and the bike was there.

Asked if I wanted to take it for a test drive I could only blurt out that if the bike started, I would buy it. Deon cranked the Wing to life and the deal was consummated.

Last week I lamented on the fact that buying a bike should be easy, and so it was, with the help and kindness of the seller. Deon waited for me to make the three hour drive to look at the bike while his phone was ringing off the hook from other buyers, he made it easy for me, for which I am grateful.

I had more help the next day as friends postponed a trip to their Mothers birthday lunch, to drive me up and pick up the bike. I wanted to buy them dinner when we arrived back at Castor but another friend who was happy that I had finally bought a Goldwing fed us for free.

Deon wasn't there when we arrived to pick up the bike, but his wife Cory was and with her help we put on my plate and I was ready to ride. Deon was a half hour away but I was so excited to get on the bike I never waited to thank him again for his help and kindness.

Its a great bike at a great price but the best part is the great people who helped me to be back in the saddle again.

Long Lost Rides Gone Forever

During the nasty bonds of winter riders in the great white north can only relive past rides or dream of the rides to come when the weather finally turns and the ice recedes off of the highways.

After a twelve year hiatus I returned to biking with a used Silverwing , not exactly a vintage machine and not exactly an up-to-date precision instrument, but a stable mode of transportation that allows me to feel the freedom biking provides.

With this thought in mind I am thinking back to the rides I had before and are now lost to other lucky riders.

The one that got away, or the one that I casually discarded, that I miss the most and yearn for almost on a daily basis is a 1980 Goldwing Interstate that I had purchased used eons ago with low mileage and mint condition.

The bike as I bought it was a standard issue Goldwing with no options other than an AM/FM radio. But during the short time that I had the bike a riding ritual was to stop at any and all Honda dealers and look over their selections of available do-dads and chrome add-ons and acquire them for the Wing. Even as I crossed the continent in a motor home with family we had to stop and check out the motorcycle dealers. Most of the bling bought for the wing was purchased in Alberta, my home province, but other items like the backrest was purchased in Elkhart, Indiana while cruising through with the motorhome and chrome purchased from Bert's, The Motorcycle Mall in Azusa California by mail order. The trailer was added along the way and proved to be an asset when it came to touring, but sadly I never put the miles on the wing that the bike or I deserved.

In total I added over 50 items of chrome and options to the wing and spent nearly $2,000. in the process, spending wisely and buying items on sale as they became available. I know this because I kept records of the purchases and itemized them as I added them to the glitzier and shinier wing. I still have the list, the catalogues and the fliers from the retailers and most of the receipts from the purchases, what I don't have is the bike itself.

In a fit of rider fatigue and a lack of friends to go riding with as I thought my riding days were over, I offered the bike up for sale through Andre's Motorcycle Accessory Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The bike when I bought it had 2,500 kilometers, and when I sold it I had only added another 27,500 kilometers. Andre sold the bike in due course, I collected my money, and as near as I can remember the bike went to a rider in Okotoks Alberta.

I can only reflect on my stupidity for selling the bike and sometimes while riding in the Calgary area I strain my eyes searching and scanning the bikes that zip by if per chance it is my long lost ride. I know that if I should come upon the bike it will be older and more seasoned as I remember the wing to have been, but I would embrace the chance to see that glorious machine again.