So where have I been?

I hardly ever go two or three days without posting an entry to my journal, unless we're on the road without a laptop.  The truth is, it was a quiet and rather boring weekend.  Unless I had wanted to tell you about picking lint out of my navel or some such thing. 

There was Cliff's family reunion on Saturday, but that was uneventful.

At the reunion, Cliff talked to his cousin who recently bought a Gold Wing he's unable to handle.  He wants to sell it.  It's two years newer than ours was, and is available for the same price we got for ours.



Cousin Darryl wants Cliff to bring the motorcycle here, near the big city, and see if we'll have better luck selling it than he's having in the Ozarks.  While it's here, Cliff is to ride it all he wants; it's licensed and insured.  Have I ever told you that white is Cliff's favorite color vehicle?  Dirt doesn't show up as badly, on white.

And then we spent some time window-shopping for motorcycles locally.

Yes, you read it right.

We miss the motorcycle.  That's part of the reason why our weekend was so lame.  A three-day weekend with no motorcycle ride is like cake without frosting.

Sunday we discussed the possibility of finding an older Gold Wing:  there'd be less money invested, although it's surprising how well the silly things hold their value.  We went to a nearby town and looked at a 1986 model for $4,000 that was listed on Craigslist.  The guy even let Cliff drive it, which most people won't do (with good reason).  It was a good old, low-mileage bike.  We left, telling him we'd think about it. 

The man called us yesterday to tell us he sold it. 

"I really wanted you and your husband to have it," he said.

Yesterday we went after apples at our favorite orchard (95% of the apple crop was destroyed by the late freeze this year).  Coming back past Lexington, I said to Cliff, "I wonder if that old guy still has Goldie?"

There's a guy in his 70's who has this showroom-new-looking Gold Wing that he occasionally puts out in the yard for sale.  We had looked  at it twice  before, but didn't remember the price, year, or mileage.

This fellow loves to talk about Goldie and show her off.  He always says, "If you buy her, you also get the trophies she's won."

She was tucked into the corner of his garage yesterday, but she started right up and purred like a kitten.



$5,000 dollars for this 1985 Special Edition with 46,000 miles on her.  You'd have to see it closeup and personal to appreciate what a jewel this is.

However, a bike that old, no matter how it looks, is a risk.   And it's been our experience that anytime you take a Gold Wing in for repair, it's going to cost at least $400. 

"I'd really like to see you guys get Goldie," the old fellow said.  "A guy can't help getting sentimental about something like this when he's had it awhile, and I know you'd take care of her."

So yesterday we spent our day moping in the living room, watching the CSI marathon and listening to motorcycles roar by on the scenic byway in front of our house.

Tags: Gold Wing, motorcycles