Hi,
Really glad I found tihs forum. I spent the last couple of hours reading around in here and decided to join. Hi everyone!
I used to ride road bikes pretty frequently, but only in Europe when I would go visit my family there. Recently, I finally decided to get a bike here and start getting back into riding. I live in Chicago, close to the Lake Shore Drive path, so I figure there is a great place to ride right out my door.
My dad still had his old road bike (ca. 1988) which was custom built to his body size back then. Since he's about the same size as me and since the bike was pretty much top of the line when it was new, I decided to completely restore it for a few hundred bucks and I started using it.
I started riding on the LSD path, but with all the kids and other people carelessly crossing in the bike lane constantly, I eventually decided it was too dangerous and I hit the road. I wasn't on the road for a mile and....crash! Someone coming the opposite way as me on the same street made a left turn right in front of me and went flying into his windshield, completely destroying it. I got lucky and walked away with a few stitches and a really bruised thigh, which is probably going to prevent me from walking properly for the next 2 weeks. The X-rays in the ER confirmed that there were no broken bones.
Since I trashed the dude's windshield, at least he had to stop. Witnesses immediately called 911, police came and filled out the report, the whole nine yards. The driver's insurance co also contacted me already by mail....
Now I'm wondering, how will I deal with getting his insurance company to pay for a new bike. Someone may be able to fix mine, but I think the frame is bent, the fork definitely is. Has anyone had experience with that? Obviously, if I can get a new one, that would be sweet, but how would I value such an old bike? I mean, it was a few grand in 1988, but what is that worth fully restored today and how do I prove it?
Also, for those of you who have had similar experiences, how nervous were you getting back onto a street in traffic and how did you deal with that?
Sorry it got so long....
Cheers,
FriarTuck
Really glad I found tihs forum. I spent the last couple of hours reading around in here and decided to join. Hi everyone!
I used to ride road bikes pretty frequently, but only in Europe when I would go visit my family there. Recently, I finally decided to get a bike here and start getting back into riding. I live in Chicago, close to the Lake Shore Drive path, so I figure there is a great place to ride right out my door.
My dad still had his old road bike (ca. 1988) which was custom built to his body size back then. Since he's about the same size as me and since the bike was pretty much top of the line when it was new, I decided to completely restore it for a few hundred bucks and I started using it.
I started riding on the LSD path, but with all the kids and other people carelessly crossing in the bike lane constantly, I eventually decided it was too dangerous and I hit the road. I wasn't on the road for a mile and....crash! Someone coming the opposite way as me on the same street made a left turn right in front of me and went flying into his windshield, completely destroying it. I got lucky and walked away with a few stitches and a really bruised thigh, which is probably going to prevent me from walking properly for the next 2 weeks. The X-rays in the ER confirmed that there were no broken bones.
Since I trashed the dude's windshield, at least he had to stop. Witnesses immediately called 911, police came and filled out the report, the whole nine yards. The driver's insurance co also contacted me already by mail....
Now I'm wondering, how will I deal with getting his insurance company to pay for a new bike. Someone may be able to fix mine, but I think the frame is bent, the fork definitely is. Has anyone had experience with that? Obviously, if I can get a new one, that would be sweet, but how would I value such an old bike? I mean, it was a few grand in 1988, but what is that worth fully restored today and how do I prove it?
Also, for those of you who have had similar experiences, how nervous were you getting back onto a street in traffic and how did you deal with that?
Sorry it got so long....
Cheers,
FriarTuck