Globalti
Legendary Member
I can't speak for the younger contributors to this forum but I was brought up with a stong ethic that you don't borrow money apart from what you need to buy your house. Aged about 8, I emptied my piggy bank onto the counter at the local hardware store to buy an Airfix kit; I was 3d short but the shopkeeper told me to bring it later as she knew me, so I went and asked my Mum to advance it to me out of my 2/6 a week pocket money. My Mum gave me a bollocking I have never forgotten for borrowing the 3d. Many years later rmy son borrowed a cherished Scalextric car from a neighbour, crashed it and snapped off the spoiler, which caused much grief.
As for lending, I should know better. Three times I've lent cash and not got it back. As a teenager I lent the family Vango tent to a friend who left it in the boot of his car with a can of petrol; he had painted the inside of the boot with bitumen underseal so when the petrol leaked out the tent laid in a pool of liquid tar and when we got it back the fly had a nice big inkblot pattern going right across it. Did he offer to replace it? Nope. On a couple of other occasions I've lent things and got them back with the words: "Oh it got a bit scratched.... sorry!" Never enough to make a fuss but it all contributes to a gradual deterioration in the condition of something you cherish,
Last week my neighbour, a novice cyclist, took out the BB of his BTwin bike and sent off to Amazon (should have just gone to a shop) for a better replacement. When he mentioned his frustration at not being able to ride I offered him the use of my beloved Roubaix, which is a little too small for him but anyway he accepted happily. Can you see where this is going? Off we went for an early Saturday leg-loosener. Coming down a fast hill on a narrow lane I thought to myself: "There'll be people coming up here on their way to the shops..." so I slowed right down and hugged the hedge. Seconds later, round the corner came a car. I went past fine but behind me I heard a lound noise. Looked back and there was my neighbour, flat on his back. He had been too close behind me and had seen the car, braked too hard, locked up and gone off the tarmac. The damage? Scratched helmet and a headache, skinned shoulder, bruised ribs, thigh and wrist. Thank God he wasn't hurt badly because he has a young family. And the bike? The front wheel, a Mavic Ksyrium SL, was slightly kinked and the Charge Knife saddle gashed open. He rode home and got a roasting from his wife but now all is forgiven.
I managed to true the Ksyrium with some very judicious and small adjustments to the spoke tensions and I filled the gash on the saddle with glue then taped it over with vinyl. As I told my neighbour: "There's nothing on a bike that can't be repaired!" but it all contributes to a gradual deterioration in the condition of the bike as it ages. It won't stop me lending things as I'll never learn the lesson.
As for lending, I should know better. Three times I've lent cash and not got it back. As a teenager I lent the family Vango tent to a friend who left it in the boot of his car with a can of petrol; he had painted the inside of the boot with bitumen underseal so when the petrol leaked out the tent laid in a pool of liquid tar and when we got it back the fly had a nice big inkblot pattern going right across it. Did he offer to replace it? Nope. On a couple of other occasions I've lent things and got them back with the words: "Oh it got a bit scratched.... sorry!" Never enough to make a fuss but it all contributes to a gradual deterioration in the condition of something you cherish,
Last week my neighbour, a novice cyclist, took out the BB of his BTwin bike and sent off to Amazon (should have just gone to a shop) for a better replacement. When he mentioned his frustration at not being able to ride I offered him the use of my beloved Roubaix, which is a little too small for him but anyway he accepted happily. Can you see where this is going? Off we went for an early Saturday leg-loosener. Coming down a fast hill on a narrow lane I thought to myself: "There'll be people coming up here on their way to the shops..." so I slowed right down and hugged the hedge. Seconds later, round the corner came a car. I went past fine but behind me I heard a lound noise. Looked back and there was my neighbour, flat on his back. He had been too close behind me and had seen the car, braked too hard, locked up and gone off the tarmac. The damage? Scratched helmet and a headache, skinned shoulder, bruised ribs, thigh and wrist. Thank God he wasn't hurt badly because he has a young family. And the bike? The front wheel, a Mavic Ksyrium SL, was slightly kinked and the Charge Knife saddle gashed open. He rode home and got a roasting from his wife but now all is forgiven.
I managed to true the Ksyrium with some very judicious and small adjustments to the spoke tensions and I filled the gash on the saddle with glue then taped it over with vinyl. As I told my neighbour: "There's nothing on a bike that can't be repaired!" but it all contributes to a gradual deterioration in the condition of the bike as it ages. It won't stop me lending things as I'll never learn the lesson.
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