A 'New' Work Horse

I used to own an '82 Fuji Del Rey.  I gave it to the Charlottesville Community Bike Shop almost a year ago because I had swapped it out with a smaller Gran Tourer I found.  I thought the Del Rey was too big for me, and that the Gran Tourer would fit me better.  I was wrong.  I began to regret giving the Del Rey away, and began missing it.  I didn't realize how much it had grown on me.  I even missed the yellowish color of it.  After moving here to Pa, I saw a picture of the Del Rey in a craigslist ad, at least I thought I did.  That was last November, but I didn't really need it, even though the asking price was very low.  My youngest daughter was only about 7 months old then, so she couldn't be in the child trailer yet.  Well, she'll be a year in only a couple of weeks.  The Gran Tourer is still down in Charlottesville.  Also, we're doing Bike New York in a couple of weeks.  I don't want to use my Fuji Touring Series IV at Bike New York, just in case something were to happen to my bike, and I don't want to use it to pull the child trailer on a daily basis.  I have bigger plans for that bike in the future, like taking it cross country at the very least.  So I want it to be in tip top shape.  I still had Lazaro's contact info, so got in touch just a couple of weeks ago to see if he still had the Fuji.  He did!  Except it wasn't the Del Rey like I thought.  It was the Royale II.  I used to want the Royale II actually (in the beginning of all this fuji craziness), so it was kind of a pleasant surprise.  I like the gold rims, and it also has quad-butted Ishiwata tubing like the Del Rey I had.  They are similar in many ways.  It is going to be a better fit than the Gran Tourer, and should serve me well as my new work horse bike, hauling the girls in the trailer and taking us anywhere we want to go.  

Epilogue:  I've recently seen Lazaro since he sold me the bike.  I helped him with some mechanics on his Fuji Supreme.  These two Fujis (the Supreme and Royale II) used to be his father-in-laws' bikes.  They are getting new life in our hands.  Lazaro and I have plans to see each other again, and eventually our wives and children will meet.  We definitely plan on getting out on a ride together.  It is just another special element of these older Fujis, how they can bring people together.