Irish Twins

Below, you read about the latest addition to our family. Donna says from the get-go it was obviously a male. Since he was the color of the golden sun, and he was a little uppity and needed to be conquered, the name Apollo was almost too easy. He has already seen his first road trip, some personalized upgrades, and he's assimilating nicely.

Problem is, we have the same taste, and the FXSTC happens to be my favorite bike, too. I *love* this thing. Donna's been riding it every time we go out, and I have to watch with envy. She's on her big-girl bike, and I'm a big guy draped all over a little Sportster with 70,000 miles on it. A couple weeks ago, we were at the dealership picking up one of the aforementioned upgrades, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but another one in an awesome blue and silver. Not the limited-edition gold leaf thing that Apollo wears, but sweet nonetheless, with some cool chrome upgrades and a nice set of detachable saddlebags.

It was a year older than Donna's, and I could have gotten it for about the same price, but I hate spending money. And we didn't really have room for the last bike, let alone another. But after a week of double-checking prices, and working a deal for winter storage of my current bike, I eventually decided if I could steal it, I'd take the plunge. I called with a lowball offer.

Well, all that did was get me more wound up. Then, that weekend during the dealer's Open House, I was there as a volunteer and ended up watching the bike ridden off by its new owner, who was willing to pay a fair price. Now remember, not only can I certainly not afford a new Harley, they stopped making this model 2 years ago.

I suppose in an effort to console myself by proving that these things are out there, and to prove that this was not the deal of the century and I missed out on it, I began really looking in earnest. I did find a few for about what "mine" was sold for, so it made me feel a little better. If I could get one for a good chunk under market, I'd grab it knowing I could get back out of it without taking a bath. If not, no biggie. Time is money.

And then, just like that, I found it.

It was an auction on eBay, ending the next day, located in South Carolina. As fate would have it (and I have a strong relationship with fate,) I'd already had the day (Friday) scheduled off to use up my PTO days before the holiday rush. I'm certainly not about to spend that much money on something sight unseen, but I was able to book a last-minute flight at a great price, and in a whirlwind of activity, I loaded up my T-Bag with rainsuit, jacket, and chaps, grabbed my helmet, and soon found myself disembarking in Greenville, SC on a sunny Friday afternoon.

Three hours later, I was riding up I-85 on my "new" Envy Green 2007 Harley Softail Custom. (Envy Green: another shadow of fate?) It's the prior year version of the limited-edtion paint thing, color-shifting in the sun and also emblazoned in gold leaf script, and all the chrome accessory goodies that are already on it are also to my taste and didn't cost me a dime. It really was a great deal.

I don't have a name for her yet, and I'm not even sure if she's even going to stay green - I have a line on an awesome tank and fender set. But now Apollo has an Irish twin, and we have as many bikes as we do kids. And despite the fact that it rained half the way home, as you surely assumed, Kevin is smiling ear to ear!