Wednesday, April 29
th, 2009.
Sharon, Momma, and I got up at 5am and hit the road before 6am for the trip to Winter Garden, Florida. Weather was great and the trip as long. We arrive 590 miles later and 15 minutes till the WinterWheels bike shop is to close up.
David was there I thought he was Dennis (They really look quite alike), we said our "Hello's" and David pointed out Onyx in the area right in front the the main window of the shop.
Onyx already had her "cover" on her fairing already for bedding in. I quickly removed it and just could not believe how "Good" Onyx looked in person. Well I had to just sit in her seat just for a moment before we had to leave for the night. That is when I found out how loud the Airzound horn really is. In a small LBS no less! She is LOUD! Well I said real quick we got to move that before I try that again.
About this time Dennis came in (David called Dennis and warned him I was in town) We said our "Hello's again. We talked briefly about the time they had getting Onyx together in the last week prior to our trip down to pick her up. He even told me about how Mark from Catrike came over earlier in the day and took Onyx out for a ride and put her through her paces - checking her out!
So Onyx got his blessing's. Well it was time to close up shop and we were all tired. So we said "Goodnight".
I had reservations for us at the Edgewater Hotel - right next door! Boy was that great. We checked in and checked out the view from the 2nd story of the Hotel. They have an very old but fully working Otis elevator that took us up and down the trip. It was still daylight and the Lady's wanted to walk around a bit before bedding down for the night... So about 9:30 we called it a night and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day for me while the Lady's took off to enjoy this wonderful part of Florida.
Thursday, April 30 th 2009.
Of course I could not sleep, tossed and turned all night, just waiting for daybreak. 7:30am could not stand it any more just had to get up! Got dressed and stepped out of the room, while the Lady's made themselves ready for their day. They caught up with me in the dinning area of out "Bed and breakfast" where Katie took our request and served us a breakfast fit for any royalty.
By 9:30am I was next door peeking through the windows at WinterWheels to see if Dennis had made it in early.
Yep! He motioned me to come in and I was starring at Onyx in a flash. The rest of the day was a blur of excitement. Meet Karen, Dennis's better half while, Dennis checked the fitting of the boom and the fairing, we moved the horn, so I could get in the seat without setting it off. I picked out shirts and a helmet to match Onyx's color theme with Dennis and Karen attention to detail. Tried on my new sandals for Onyx (a must have). We took off for a test run to make sure everything fit just right. The fairing started rubbing both knees while I peddled. So back to the shop.
It was now working on 1:30pm. Dennis had lunch waiting on him. My Lady's were out and about, and I was getting hungry. I found a Pizza shop right across from the LBS and I pick out an Italian sub sandwich with everything. had it cut into three, just in case the Lady's found me. In 15 minutes I had another meal fit for a king. I ate 2/3 th's of the sandwich in 10 minutes guess I was hungry. Paid my bill and put the rest in a box for later.
By now it was getting to be 2:30pm and I heard that the guys had planned a special trip to the Catrike plant for me. I was told the was something very special and rare. After a quick trip to the plant about 6 miles I guess, I was there at the Mecca of trikes, the Catrike plant. Where just 7 days prior Onyx was custom built just for me. Dennis introduced me to Mark (like 2nd in command), where he took me through a walk about in the plant briefly describing each station in the process that Onyx took in her creation, meeting and thanking each Catrike team member along the way. All to soon the tour was over. Then Mark said that he wanted me to meet Paulo, Wow, you know the main Guy himself. I soon learned that Dennis and Paulo had a friendship that went way back. It was a great meeting, they shared with me a soon to be released secret, if I would not spill the beans... I said of course I would... err... not! Boy does it look cool, great colors and graphics. Way to go guys!
So we go back to Onyx, Dennis has an idea how to solve the problem with the fairing rubbing my knees plus get me in Onyx easier. After shortening the derailleur post about a inch or so and re- mounting the fairing. It looked like a job well done. They even had my GPS and camera mounted. Now I got a chance to hit the West Orange trail on my own. Alright! After riding a while down the trail I notice the time 4:15 Oh no that is 5:15 here right, well I better start back, about 15 minutes later going up a "hill" I finally turn around. After a quick count I realize I have about 6 miles or so to get back.
Yep! the Lady's are waiting, they had called but I was in another world and did not even noticed that they had called me - wondering if I was hungry - if I was having a good time - if I was ever coming back! Dennis offer to bed down Onyx for the night and we took off for the night. Tomorrow we would mount the rack on the car and head back to Cullman, Alabama.
