When opportunity presented itself in the form of an eBay auction gone wonderfully right, our Ramblings man drained the bank account and borrowed grandpa's Chevy to pick up his latest off-road acquisition.
For mid-August in the Northeast, it was a surprisingly perfect Saturday afternoon: clear skies, temperatures in the mid-80s, low humidity. Perfect day for a ride, I thought to myself as a helmet-less soft-tail rider buzzed past me on the inside lane. I was traveling westbound down Route 79 en route to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from the crowded confines of my grandfather's borrowed Chevy S-10.
The days leading up this epic odyssey were anything but typical when compared to my usual cycle acquisition process. As I have been confessing in recent columns of late, the desire to explore the trails and fire roads (with a dose of weekend motocross thrown in for good measure) has been making its presence known. As so often is the case with a steadily building obsession, my free time has become consumed with internet classified ad browsing and eBay scanning with hopes of stumbling upon some irresistible deal on an off-road bike.
As I am often guilty of a bad habit made possible by the miracle of modern technology, I enjoy placing low bids on eBay auctions knowing darn well the item in question will be driven up astronomically before the auction's actual close. Living dangerously? Perhaps, but I suspect it's more of a case of entertaining the slightest hope of getting an out of reach item for a song. As a result of this would-be logic, I found myself meandering around the ATV category, throwing bids on machines that were by all facts and circumstances, well beyond my budget.
I watched with great interest as, one by one, my meager bids were crushed by wealthier investors (or perhaps by individuals with a habit even worse than my own), until finally all that remained was a single auction in which my bid still held the top spot. Exciting was hardly the word to define the auction's final 12 hours, then six, two hours at nearly midnight, then the final 30 seconds while the rest of the East Coast slept soundly in their beds. The email confirmation was instantaneous: "Congratulations- You won item #...."
Initial elation was followed by a flood of issues that had somehow escaped my attention in the earlier phases of the transaction. First and foremost, of course, was what did I win again? Ah yes, a 2006 Suzuki LTZ-400. For those unfamiliar, the Z400 is a vastly popular ATV on Suzuki's Quadsport line. First introduced in 2003, the quad is based on the proven DRZ-400 engine and offers such goodies as electric start and reverse. While it technically wasn't my first choice, I took comfort in the fact that rave reviews and positive consumer feedback littered the net. A few hours worth of research and I had concluded that the Z would make the perfect vehicle to accomplish my trail-taming lust. Now the next issue on my plate was a small geographic hitch in that the seller (and the ATV) was inconveniently located in Virginia. A quick Mapquest of the situation revealed a little over eight hours of road travel each way. For a man without a truck (or trailer for that matter) this is quite a haul.
After the usual plan of attack failed; the plan in which I solicit family members and loved ones into believing they are overdue for a road-trip (in their vehicle) down to Virginia, it was looking like I had finally bit off more than I could chew. Fortunately, I happened to bid on not only one of the few honest sellers left on the Internet's auction community but also one of the most understanding. He agreed to meet me halfway, which in this case worked out to be Pittsburgh.
And so it was that with my freshly drained bank account, borrowed pickup truck, and bag of miniature Butterfinger Crisps, the open road beckoned on a fine Saturday morning. As planned via cell phone communication, meet-up in a drug store parking lot and departure went without hitch. Come to think it, even load up was a breeze. I arrived home Saturday night in deep dusk, using the remaining moments of gray daylight to cut a quick lap in the wet grass.
The Suzuki Z400 ATV is a popular quad, and Jason just owned the ranks of owners via a smoking deal conducted in the confines of cyberspace.
My cousin and primary riding partner in crime, Mike, was over at the crack of dawn on Sunday to assess the purchase. Fearing the worst - a scolding for buying a vehicle that we hadn't first discussed over coffee - I rolled my shiny new Zook out of the shed with apprehension. Most surprising was his focused stare: A blend of awe, respect and perhaps even a hint of motivation. A lecture wasn't to follow, but rather a few hours worth of conversation and research. By the looks of it, I had sparked something within the recesses of Mike's cranium, namely the memories of all of our adolescent ATV adventures.
The following Friday I received a call that I had been secretly expecting.
"Hey," Mike said on the other end of the line, "do you feel like taking a ride with me up to the dealership after work? I just signed the papers on '06 Suzuki LTR-450."
Didn't have to ask me twice. Thanks to a chance bid on eBay, I've managed to load the remainder of our summer weekends with some long overdue off-road adventuring and, who knows, perhaps our snowy winter weekends with some of the same. For the first time in recent memory, one of my spontaneous bidding habits has paid dividends. But perhaps, just to be safe, I'll refrain from going online for a little while, at least until there's a one in front of the zero on my bank statement.
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