Borrowing is one of those tricky things. Whereas you'll happily extract blood from a stranger via insurance, finances between friends can get a lot nastier because you try to be nice about it.

I borrowed a friend's bike to test ride the sugar frame, but I only rode it on some extremely tame stuff, even though I know he rides the crap out of it. Even so, I was really nervous about damaging it or, more likely, having someone steal it off my car. If it hadn't been the only obvious way to get a test ride of the geometry, I wouldn't have done it.

Before I got Roxie (my WRX), a friend of mine offered to let me drive her Audi A6 into the mountains to ski. Eric and I decided the liability was just too great. And when that ... woman ran over my bike, there might have been a small chance of getting a $5K loaner bike. Eric and I decided not to pursue it; again, too much responsibility.

I try to be generous where I can, but when it comes to big-ticket items, I try to follow that old adage: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

Still sweet that she lent you that bike, though =)