Electra Glide: No Longer a Wannabe

Sunny Days

While the winds howled and the mercury sank well into the wrong side of zero, I read and re-read everything and anything I could find on Harleys. I also spent many hours just staring at the picture I had taken of my new bike on the day I had left my deposit. I would quietly gaze into space and somehow find myself rumbling down some long and open highway, searching for adventure (or whatever would come my way). The days dragged on as I impatiently waited for spring to arrive and along with it the warming sun.

After what seemed at times like eternity, the day arrived for me to pick up my Harley. Although the snows were gone, temperatures were still in the single digits and the winds made it feel even colder still. But I didn't care. I packed my snowmobile suit and full coverage helmet in the trunk of Caroline's car, and she drove me the 40 or so kilometers to the shop. My gleaming bike was waiting outside as we pulled up. After going over all the operational basics with the salesman, we shook hands, and I was officially part of the Harley family. I think some of the guys there thought I was a bit weird getting into my snowmobile suit and turning myself into a facsimile of the Michelin man, but I didn't let that bother me. I was going to be taking a longer route using back roads and I didn't want to freeze due to fashion. I chose the longer way because I tend to take more time than most to acclimate to a new vehicle, two wheeled or four. So for my first ride I preferred to avoid the heavily traveled main highway in order to concentrate on getting to know the bike

It turned out to be a great ride, although I did later experience lots of pins and needles like discomfort in my hands as they thawed once back home. The Electra Glide on the other hand didn't seem to mind the temperatures at all. The big surprise, however, was how quickly I had become comfortable on the bike. All the controls were in the right place, and the seating was spot on for my slightly below average height of five eight and 30 inch inseam. The hundreds of pounds of additional weight over what I normally was used to, never became apparent. The only issue that bothered me was the windshield which interfered with my line of sight.