@bender@twtxt.net It cost what you mentioned here too, but they had a special discount, and the shop gave 20% discount for all the gear we needed (since I bought the bike + gear for two persons), so all in all I got a really good deal on it. Also interest rate is locked for 3 years (low rate) so that was also a good deal.
I just took the longest time I could on the loan, to have a low price each month, and then i just pay extra whenever I can to get it payed down faster.
Luckily the Marlyn, my son, and my daughter all fit the same gear, so the 3 of them share that, that saved a lot of money too :)
When i met Marlyn (before we had kids) I asked here to go on her first trip with me (I had a bike before I met her back then), and we went on a 2 week ride from Norway to Italy and back (venice) through the alps and all that. Was super fun, and I think it’s pretty cool of her to say yes to a 2 week trip as passenger :)