The bike in our window took 28 years to get here.Putting a motorcycle in your front window is usually some kind of (arguably played out) design statement. In our case, it was just bad mechanics.Back when David and I were still in the just met you awkward stage, one of our first dates was at a Christies motorcycle auction. Thats when we spotted her in the cornerparked far from the nice collector bikes.. 1976 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi SS125. Theyd shined her up to try to get attention.Nobody gave her a second look, let alone a bid.$400 bucks.Naturally, we brought her home. Naturally, she wouldnt start.Looking back, it was a weird move for two people who barely knew each otherbuying something broken together. But that little Harley became our first commitment, our first project purchase. We didnt know it at the time, but it was the start of a lifetime of finding and fixing up old things together bikes, cabins, and eventually, a while run down camp For the next 10 years that bike sat in our living room while we failed to get her to fire. She became a heavy coat rack. Most folks dont know we used to be motorcycle nerds. Not collectorsjust serial buyers, sellers & traders. (until a crash at camp ended with a titanium pin in my jaw & me retiring my helmet).Wed just bought Wandawega, so our weekends shifted from trail riding to cabin rehabs.Flash forward another decade. My brother-in-law Adam (a real mechanic, unlike us) took pity and hauled the bike home, 5 hrs south. Our deal: if he could start it, it was his. An hour after pulling into his garage, our phone rangnot Adams voice, just the throttle revving. For the next decade, he, my sis, & their kids kept the cobs blown out. Flash forward again to last month, They came back- our now 6 ft nephew Clay showed up at our new Bureau of Tourism with a delivery: our first date bike. She slid right into the window like shed been waiting for that spot all along.Shes not dcor. Just a reminder: some things you think youve lost have a way of circling back.turns out commitment doesnt always start with a ring. Sometimes it starts with a $400 Harley that wont start.

September 28, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram