
Originally Posted by
7rider
I've lent out my spare bike (the Axiom) to a friend (for as long as several months at a time). In fact, this friend will be borrowing my bike this weekend perhaps as she prepares for a multi-day tour through Oregon in September. She'll be riding a drop-bar bike during that tour and she has only a flat-bar bike. She'd like to get her long training rides in on a drop bar bike.
If someone comes to the area (friend/family) that wants to go for a bike ride (and fits on this bike), they are welcome to use it. However, I don't think I'd rent it out to a stranger. If the bike walked, insurance money just wouldn't cover the true loss I'd feel. And I trust my friend with the bike.
This. I'd be happy to lend any of my bikes to a friend or a TEer who was in my area for whatever reason, but I doubt I'd let a stranger rent one of them. None of my bikes are just "off the rack." They've all been customized in some fashion. Even if I got insurance proceeds for a stolen or damaged bike, I wouldn't want to go to the trouble of buying a new bike to replace it(assuming that I could even buy one) and then customizing it to my specs.
Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.
--Mary Anne Radmacher