The New Bike.

Went out today and bought the bike.
This will be the last bike I buy for the rest of my life....but I rode it home just now, and I wanna tell ya, it's pretty darned nice.
Mind you, I felt like I was riding on top of a load of hay or something, since I'm really not used to riding something that's the proper size, but I'll get used to it I'm sure.

I felt like Piet Pelle on my Gazelle!!....(you Dutch folks will get that one)

I did take a couple pics, and you're welcome to go to the website...

but here it is....

Of course by the time I was on my way out of the store it was getting dark, so got to try out the lights. The front one runs off a generator that inside the rear hub and the back light just takes batteries. So there's none of the usual resistance that you get from a wheel mounted generator.
After the bewilderment of shopping on Saturday and then going back again on Tuesday to Leenders Bikes, I did some looking online and realised that there were very few places that had a bike in my size. Turns out there was a place in Enschede and here in Delden.
So I printed out what I had and took it to the store here in Delden, and he had sold that model. It was an "Orange Limited Edition" and they can only be ordered once a year.... you can order as many as you want, but only once a year. Looked to me as though the "special edition" was only a bit of smoke and mirrors, since the only difference between that and the one I ended up with was a slight modification to the shape of the frame, and the whole "limited edition" part.
Pretty much looked like the same bike, so...I just said, "I'll take it..." and that was that. I also bought three years of theft insurance, which is only valid if I'm in possession of the keys, since all bikes here have keys to a built in lock on the back wheel. It's already been registered with the cops. And now I understand why I see people locking their bikes every single time they leave it for even a few minutes....'cause that's the only way you can get the key out of the lock.
Couldn't take it right then and there this morning, since they like to do their "dealer prep" unlike any experience you might have had at Walmart of Canadian Tire, where you're lucky if some pimply-faced kid has actually put the thing together right.
You might be wondering about what to any non-European might sound like a bit of a goofy name, but Oranje is the name of the House of the Queen of the Netherlands. That would be Queen Beatrix btw.

This is a pretty good link.

But you can also read about it here... or here .

You have to watch the video in that last one....it's a hoot.
If you're not too thrilled with all that reading, suffice to say, on April 7th 1999, crown prince Willem-Alexander (of the House of Orange) put the finishing touches on their 10 millionth bike.

As of 2005, Gazelle has produced over 12 million bikes.

I should also mention. There's something to be said for buying the bike here in Delden, since with the purchase of the bike, I get three "service visits", with the first one being free, then half price, then something like 40%. So taking it to Enschede would have been a pain, since I would have had to get it there by car somehow. Besides, at this dealership they give you a loaner to ride home!

*snort!*

Mind you, I have no friggin' idea what they're going to do, but I figure even though it's no way as important as your free oil changes with a new car, it can't hurt.

So now I think I'll go out to the garage and switch over my "fietstas" (bike bag) from old and skanky to new and shiny.