This past weekend I learned/relearned some important life lessons.
Because of the situation at home with hubby, I ended up flying out to TO.
Air miles are a great thing....
Anyway - I was lent a bike to go on the ladies ride. I picked it up and rode it to where I was staying...there was a weird whining noise coming from the front end that bothered me....
When I got to the house I was staying at I decided to do a full walk around and check the oil etc.
I was a wee concerned about the shape of the tires and the fact that there was no oil on the dipstick. So, I added some oil, fueled the bike up and parked it for the night. We ladies were meeting at Heavy Duty Cycle which is under new ownership so I decided I would see if I could get the tires checked and the oil changed and have the primary and tranny fluids checked. (Originally I thought I'd do the oil change as a thank you to the gal who lent me the bike.)
Upon inspecting the tire, it was determined that the bike could not leave the shop without a new front tire as the sidewall was coming out of it. While taking off the front tire, the wheel bearings were inspected and there was NO grease left on them, they were rusted and had flat spots - in other words, they were hooped and ready to seize which would effectively put the rider over the handle bars, hence the whine from the front end. There were many other things that need to be addressed, like the back rotor, the gauges, broken mirrors....
The oil change was done, the oil was sludge - black as tar and almost as thick. The primary oil was pretty dirty as was the tranny oil, but the levels were OK.
The back tire had almost no tread left but as long as I didn't hit rain I'd be fine to ride. And if I did hit rain I was counseled to sit on the side of the road and wait it out - do not ride this bike in the rain was what the mechanic told me (I already knew that is what I should do but it was nice to hear the mechanic cared about that).
So, I spent the $400 to repair the bike - it was either that or not go on the ride with the Divas.
I did not have my cell phone or the bike's owners number with me, and I was raised with a father who taught us - you borrow something - return it in as good or better shape than when you got it. If it breaks while you are using it - fix it.
So, I spent $400 to fix this machine only to have my arse chewed on royally in front of about 10 ladies at one of our meet up stops. I was told that "I didn't have the right to "#uck" with someone's bike, did I even know what kind of oil to use?" That was not a reaction I expected. You'd have sworn that I had asked this person to pay the bill...which I had not.
Anyway, after a bit, this person apologizes to me and we all continue to ride to our next meet
up point. She never did say thank you for looking after her bike however.
When we got to Wasaga Beach, this person goes to the president of the Divas and proceeds, again in front of a whole group of people, to chew her a new ass over the bike repair issue. You see she took exception to the fact that she was not called and felt that if I couldn't call her the president should have.
When it began to rain, I took her back her key and said, I don't feel safe to ride your machine in the rain(it was pouring hard) with the back tire that is on it. She asked me if I was returning the key because of what she had said and I told her no, I don't want to wreck your bike or myself and cause further anguish or drama for anyone. I hugged her, kissed her on the cheek and thanked her again for her kindness.
Afterwards, when speaking to one of the ladies about the drama everyone had witnessed earlier, I said: I am not mad at this gal, she lent me the bike with good intention - and probably doesn't know much about mechanical - she obviously just rides it. I am however angry at her husband. How could he let his wife ride a bike that is truly a mechanical death trap...he deserves a size 8 in the crotch.
The next thing you know, people who work with me are getting emails that defame me, telling them they should be ashamed to be associated with me. I am being further slammed for leaving the bike in Wasaga. (The owner of the bike lives 20 minutes away from the beach and had assured me she could get it home OK. Today however, that's not the story being told. No, now we left her bike stranded and I am being labelled as a trouble making, backstabbing #$%^&.)
The feeling of the gal who lent me the bike and the gal I had talked to afterward was that I had no right to "%uck" with someone else's bike and I am wrong in their opinion for having taken care of the problems and that I should never have made the comment about the husband being wrong for letting his wife ride an unsafe bike.
Some people it seems just don't get it. The bike was unsafe - period - end of story, but to the way of thinking of these gals - I am the bad girl...
So here are the life lessons I learned or relearned:
NEVER borrow a bike unless you have seen it and know it's in good repair.
Had I just rented a bike I could have had it for 5 days and it would have only cost me $525 plus tax. This machine cost me $400 and I rode it for 4 hours, sometimes free can cost you way more than you anticipated....in this case - "Free" cost me money, prevented me from getting to ride around the region as much as I would have liked to and it caused a whole ton of hard feelings that would never have been there had I just rented a bike.
So there you have it...Important Life Lessons learned/relearned....
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today, PLEASE, ride like everyone around you is blind, stay hydrated - oh and before you get on that iron steed, give it a walk around...use respect with your throttle hand and have a wonderful day.
Belt Drive Betty
Because of the situation at home with hubby, I ended up flying out to TO.
Air miles are a great thing....
Anyway - I was lent a bike to go on the ladies ride. I picked it up and rode it to where I was staying...there was a weird whining noise coming from the front end that bothered me....
When I got to the house I was staying at I decided to do a full walk around and check the oil etc.
I was a wee concerned about the shape of the tires and the fact that there was no oil on the dipstick. So, I added some oil, fueled the bike up and parked it for the night. We ladies were meeting at Heavy Duty Cycle which is under new ownership so I decided I would see if I could get the tires checked and the oil changed and have the primary and tranny fluids checked. (Originally I thought I'd do the oil change as a thank you to the gal who lent me the bike.)
Upon inspecting the tire, it was determined that the bike could not leave the shop without a new front tire as the sidewall was coming out of it. While taking off the front tire, the wheel bearings were inspected and there was NO grease left on them, they were rusted and had flat spots - in other words, they were hooped and ready to seize which would effectively put the rider over the handle bars, hence the whine from the front end. There were many other things that need to be addressed, like the back rotor, the gauges, broken mirrors....
The oil change was done, the oil was sludge - black as tar and almost as thick. The primary oil was pretty dirty as was the tranny oil, but the levels were OK.
The back tire had almost no tread left but as long as I didn't hit rain I'd be fine to ride. And if I did hit rain I was counseled to sit on the side of the road and wait it out - do not ride this bike in the rain was what the mechanic told me (I already knew that is what I should do but it was nice to hear the mechanic cared about that).
So, I spent the $400 to repair the bike - it was either that or not go on the ride with the Divas.
I did not have my cell phone or the bike's owners number with me, and I was raised with a father who taught us - you borrow something - return it in as good or better shape than when you got it. If it breaks while you are using it - fix it.
So, I spent $400 to fix this machine only to have my arse chewed on royally in front of about 10 ladies at one of our meet up stops. I was told that "I didn't have the right to "#uck" with someone's bike, did I even know what kind of oil to use?" That was not a reaction I expected. You'd have sworn that I had asked this person to pay the bill...which I had not.
Anyway, after a bit, this person apologizes to me and we all continue to ride to our next meet
up point. She never did say thank you for looking after her bike however.
When we got to Wasaga Beach, this person goes to the president of the Divas and proceeds, again in front of a whole group of people, to chew her a new ass over the bike repair issue. You see she took exception to the fact that she was not called and felt that if I couldn't call her the president should have.
When it began to rain, I took her back her key and said, I don't feel safe to ride your machine in the rain(it was pouring hard) with the back tire that is on it. She asked me if I was returning the key because of what she had said and I told her no, I don't want to wreck your bike or myself and cause further anguish or drama for anyone. I hugged her, kissed her on the cheek and thanked her again for her kindness.
Afterwards, when speaking to one of the ladies about the drama everyone had witnessed earlier, I said: I am not mad at this gal, she lent me the bike with good intention - and probably doesn't know much about mechanical - she obviously just rides it. I am however angry at her husband. How could he let his wife ride a bike that is truly a mechanical death trap...he deserves a size 8 in the crotch.
The next thing you know, people who work with me are getting emails that defame me, telling them they should be ashamed to be associated with me. I am being further slammed for leaving the bike in Wasaga. (The owner of the bike lives 20 minutes away from the beach and had assured me she could get it home OK. Today however, that's not the story being told. No, now we left her bike stranded and I am being labelled as a trouble making, backstabbing #$%^&.)
The feeling of the gal who lent me the bike and the gal I had talked to afterward was that I had no right to "%uck" with someone else's bike and I am wrong in their opinion for having taken care of the problems and that I should never have made the comment about the husband being wrong for letting his wife ride an unsafe bike.
Some people it seems just don't get it. The bike was unsafe - period - end of story, but to the way of thinking of these gals - I am the bad girl...
So here are the life lessons I learned or relearned:
NEVER borrow a bike unless you have seen it and know it's in good repair.
Had I just rented a bike I could have had it for 5 days and it would have only cost me $525 plus tax. This machine cost me $400 and I rode it for 4 hours, sometimes free can cost you way more than you anticipated....in this case - "Free" cost me money, prevented me from getting to ride around the region as much as I would have liked to and it caused a whole ton of hard feelings that would never have been there had I just rented a bike.
So there you have it...Important Life Lessons learned/relearned....
If you are fortunate enough to be riding today, PLEASE, ride like everyone around you is blind, stay hydrated - oh and before you get on that iron steed, give it a walk around...use respect with your throttle hand and have a wonderful day.
Belt Drive Betty
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