It's interesting that your cycling buddies are willing to loan strangers bikes for a while. In our club your bike is your baby (or as some guys put it "wife") and no one else is touching or riding it and i feel the same way!!! No one else is allowed to ride my bike and only two people are allowed to do mechanical work on it. Some people will loan their old bikes to people who've had theirs die in a crash, but only to people they know & like. Doesn't sound as friendly hey? But, they're just very possessive.