Bike on roof rack meets garage



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C

Claire Petersky

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I rode from work to rendezvous with my husband and elder daughter at my younger daughter's piano
lesson. By the time the lesson was over, it was 6:20, and in lazy suburban parent fashion, we
decided it was easier to grab dinner at Cucina Presto than cook decent food at home. By the time my
husband was driving the family station wagon down the driveway, all thoughts that my bike was on the
roof rack had rather fled from our minds.

The loud cracking noise startled my husband into an emergency application of the brakes. Upon
backing the car gingerly away from the garage door, we discovered that the Thule rack had partially
popped off of the factory roof rack, puncturing the roof of our station wagon. My front fork looked
scratched but unbent; the brake levers were broken and the brakes looked messed up.

We popped the Thule rack the rest of the way off. I inspected the bike, and then threw it in the
back of the coupe. My husband parked the station wagon in the garage, since it definitely needs to
be sheltered if it has a whole in its top. I then drove my bike down to the shop.

It was late, and the real wrenches weren't there -- just an apprentice assembler was still in the
back. I filled out a slip, but I won't get an estimate until the morning.

Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed -- what
you do think?

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky ([email protected]) Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm Singing with you at: http://www.tiferet.net/ Books
just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky
 
On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 20:15:48 +0000, Claire Petersky wrote:

> thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> what you do
think?

Cannondale, tops. For a Lightspeed he'd have to have broken a bone or two, too.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems. _`\(,_ | -- Paul Erdos
(_)/ (_) |
 
I did the same thing in 1992, thanks to a low flying parking structure beam.

Cracked the frame on my beloved Zeus Professional. Separated the side from the top on my '85 Camry.
Patched the car with silicone bathtub caulk, and it held fine until I sold the car 4 weeks ago.

Art

Art Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me
 
According to Claire Petersky <[email protected]>:
>
>The loud cracking noise startled my husband into an emergency application of the brakes. Upon
>backing the car gingerly away from the garage door, we discovered that the Thule rack had partially
>popped off of the factory roof rack, puncturing the roof of our station wagon. My front fork looked
>scratched but unbent; the brake levers were broken and the brakes looked messed up.

My girlfriend has twice rammed her bike into her apartment building. The Thule rack is intact but
tweaked, the raingutter trim on her car is mangled, and there are holes in the stucco. Her Centurion
Dave Scott Ironman is weirdly undamaged.

Lars
 
Claire Petersky wrote:
>
> Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
> thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> what you do think?
>

You have just proven yourself to be a real woman. Now if you were a little more unselfish you'd see
to it he gets the car fixed first of all then you can look into a bike, maybe. The shop can probably
repair the old one anyways. Oh yes, see to it you get a carbon frame, they rock.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.
 
This will conjure up rude shouts about barn doors and horses, but...

One way to prevent this, at least as regards your own home garage, is to put the garage door opener
transmitter doo-hickey in the seat bag of your bike when you put the bike on the roof rack.
 
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
> thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> what you do think?
>
First thought is that you are a manipulative ***** ;-). But maybe he can get a new VW Passat wagon
out of the deal. Hope you enjoyed your dinner at least.

Matthew Bet you can tell I'm still single
 
Claire Petersky <[email protected]> wrote:
: Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
: thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
: what you do think?

i think, claire, that it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission. especially now. such a golden
opportunity may not present itself for quite some time (i hope, if he whacks a litespeed it's
grounds for divorce). i think that you've already shown remarkable restraint.

go reward yourself.

do it.

it's no worry.

go.
--
david reuteler [email protected]
 
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
> thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> what you do think?
>

I think that you might not have to work on your husbands's guilt -- but rather your insurance agent.
And then after that you might want to invest in a rear rack -- I will never have a top bike rack for
exactly the reason you discovered (it would only be a question of when, not if, the same thing
happened to us). In fact, I know two or three people who've done the same thing you've done, with
expensive damage to both bikes and cars.

OTOH, the guy across the street got rear-ended by an SUV towing a boat with a couple of very nice
old road bikes on a rear rack. But it was a happy ending as the insurance company bought them a
couple of very nice new road bikes. Still, I think the chances of being rear-ended are far lower
(and at least then it's not your fault ;)

Mark

.com/friend/Cpetersky
 
> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the
> > fall, thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a
> > litespeed -- what you do think?
> >
snip

Stick him for a Moots.

He crunched your bike. Now you will have to stay home and ***** and moan at him 24 X 7!......:)

You GO, girl!

HAND

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution
 
I think you had better talk to your homeowners insurance agent. You might be covered. My dad was
when he did the same thing.

Regards, Ernie

Claire Petersky wrote:

> I rode from work to rendezvous with my husband and elder daughter at my younger daughter's piano
> lesson. By the time the lesson was over, it was 6:20, and in lazy suburban parent fashion, we
> decided it was easier to grab dinner at Cucina Presto than cook decent food at home. By the time
> my husband was driving the family station wagon down the driveway, all thoughts that my bike was
> on the roof rack had rather fled from our minds.
>
> The loud cracking noise startled my husband into an emergency application of the brakes. Upon
> backing the car gingerly away from the garage door, we discovered that the Thule rack had
> partially popped off of the factory roof rack, puncturing the roof of our station wagon. My front
> fork looked scratched but unbent; the brake levers were broken and the brakes looked messed up.
>
> We popped the Thule rack the rest of the way off. I inspected the bike, and then threw it in the
> back of the coupe. My husband parked the station wagon in the garage, since it definitely needs to
> be sheltered if it has a whole in its top. I then drove my bike down to the shop.
>
> It was late, and the real wrenches weren't there -- just an apprentice assembler was still in the
> back. I filled out a slip, but I won't get an estimate until the morning.
>
> Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
> thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> what you do think?
>
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky ([email protected]) Home of the meditative cyclist:
> http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm Singing with you at: http://www.tiferet.net/
> Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky
 
The update:

First: I was just joking about using guilt to get permission to buy a litespeed, ok guys? Actually,
ever since my husband sunk all this money into a new Bianchi this spring, he's been encouraging me
to upgrade my ride, too.

And I just got off the phone with the mechanic, and to make this bike whole again is going to cost,
with labor, in the neighborhood of $275. I was joking with him, I don't need a new bike, after all
the money I've put in this one (new wheel, new drivetrain, etc. and now at the very least a new
fork, new brakes, etc.), I've got the damn new bike, just hung all over the old frame.

So, one thought is not to put even more money into this bike, which retails for $1100 these days and
I bought on clearance for $699. Bikes are on clearance right now, there's still 2003s in the shop
waiting to be sold, and I should go out there and find myself one.

(Recently at work we hired a new clerical assistant for our group, and he's been just bugging me
incessantly about buying a Seven, probably because he knows I like bikes and I get paid more than he
does, and he thinks I can afford it and he can't, and he wants to live through my joys, or
something.)

I'd like to decide this soon, as I'm leading a ride this weekend, and if I would like to have a bike
to do it on, I need to figure this out.

Also, just to note -- we have a roof rack because we also have a tandem. It's the fact that the
tandem extention wasn't on (just a single up there) that made the rack sharp enough to pierce the
top of the station wagon. $2100 to repair the car roof, can you believe it? My husband was talking
with the insurance people today about it. I told him to ask about homeowners for the bike and the
roof rack -- or does that fit under car insurance?

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky ([email protected]) Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm Singing with you at: http://www.tiferet.net/ Books
just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky
 
Claire Petersky wrote:
> thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> what you do think?

I think anyone who can get 'mishagas' into a post on Usenet should definately be riding a
Litespeed ;)

Ellen
 
Claire Petersky <[email protected]> wrote:

: Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
: thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
: what you do think?

Let us know what your LBS tries to sell as a bike for meditative riding :)

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi
 
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message

> Horsed around a little in the shop, looking at the bikes which have been discounted for the fall,
> thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> what you do think?

No. I'd say the best you can get out of it is a rear rack.

If you rode an old Schwinn Varsity, then you would just throw it in the trunk and this accident
would never have happened. The LAST thing you should get is an even MORE expensive bike. It's really
your fault that there a need for a fancy-shmancy roof rack in the first place. You should sell that
expensive bike to pay for the repairs to the car. ;)

Mike "Ron Hardin can probably set you up with a nice Huffy" Kruger
 
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message

> My husband was talking with the insurance people today about it. I told him to ask about
> homeowners for the bike and the roof rack -- or does that fit under car insurance?
>

Well, he ought to ask about both, but I'd expect that it would be more likely covered by the car
insurance (and you don't want to have to deal with more than one deductible if you can avoid it). I
know car insurance policies usually include coverage for the contents of the car, but I don't know
if bikes strapped on top count as 'contents'. Good luck.

Mark
 
Ellen G <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Claire Petersky wrote:
> > thinking that I might be able to work my husband's guilt over this mishagas into a litespeed --
> > what you do think?
>
> I think anyone who can get 'mishagas' into a post on Usenet should definately be riding a
> Litespeed ;)

See mishagas joke at end of post.

Anyway, a further follow-up: I'm just not emotionally ready to change out this bike for a new one on
short notice. I really want to take my time with getting a new bike, and I don't want to have to
pick one out on a rush job.

So, what the heck, I'm spending an extra $95, getting a carbon fork for this thing, replacing the
Richey headset, and at this point, I've put enough into the bike I could have bought another one,
new, on clearance again. If I buy a new bike this spring (which would be the soonest I'd buy a new
bike), and I amortize the extra cost of the carbon fork over 6 months, that's ~$16/month in costs
for the benefit of the carbon -- or about 5 cents a mile, another way to think about
it.

And seriously, I don't want to think about a new bike until Fall 2004 at the very soonest.

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky ([email protected]) Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm Singing with you at: http://www.tiferet.net/ Books
just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

Joke is below, one I can tell, having lived in Japan a while back:

Two Japanese businessmen run into each other at a karaoke bar, and one says to the other,
"Tanaka-san, I have bad news for you. I have heard from others that your wife is being
unfaithful to you."

Tanaka says, "That is impossible. Who would do such a thing?"

His friend continues, "It is said that the man is a gaijin, a Jew."

Tanaka can scarcely believe it. He rushes home, and confronts his wife: "I have heard that you are
being unfaithful to me, with a gaijin, a Jew."

"That is a lie," replies his wife. "Who ever told you such mishagas?"
 
On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 10:00:59 -0400, "Mark Weaver" <[email protected]> wrote:
>more than one deductible if you can avoid it). I know car insurance policies usually include
>coverage for the contents of the car, but I don't know if bikes strapped on top count as
>'contents'. Good luck.

If a bike attached to the top doesn't count as "cargo", which is probably the language used, then it
is an "accessory", which should also be covered -- after all, it's bolted to the car.

>Mark
--
Rick "IANAL" Onanian
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"Mark Weaver" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> > My husband was talking with the insurance people today about it. I told him to ask about
> > homeowners for the bike and the roof rack -- or does that fit under car insurance?
> >
>
> Well, he ought to ask about both, but I'd expect that it would be more likely covered by the car
> insurance (and you don't want to have to deal with more than one deductible if you can avoid it).
> I know car insurance policies usually include coverage for the contents of the car, but I don't
> know if bikes strapped on top count as 'contents'. Good luck.
>
> Mark
>
>

Your best bet is to carefully read your policies.

Most auto insurance does NOT cover ³cargo² on top of or attached behind the vehicle ( Hitch rack ).

I now carry my bikes inside the vehicle when necessary.

Anyone figured out how to tow a car behind the bike...:)

HTH

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution
 
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