this week's news

• I had the handlebars on the Pilot replaced with the new ones. I just got the bike back last night, so I've only taken it for a little test loop around the driveway. So far so good--the narrower grip is much more comfortable. I still can't comfortably reach the brake levers from the drop bar, but I think that's a brake shim fix. It's not the distance to the drops that's the problem anymore--it's the gap between the bar and the lever. Though I have long fingers, they're not quite long enough to make a secure grip.

  Also, when they replaced the standard stem with an oversized, they put on one that is 5mm shorter (I didn't even know there was such a thing as a 75mm stem...thought they all came in 10mm increments). I'm both thrilled and vexed by this. On the thrill side, my new bike's top tube will be 4mm longer, so this stem adjustment is going to give me nearly the same reach on the Orca as I used to have on the Pilot. With the narrower, shallower handlebar, it will actually feel a bit shorter. On the vex side, though, having the shorter stem makes it harder to determine whether my shoulder problems were related to width or reach. Not that it matters so long as they go away, but I just feel so unscientific, changing two things at once. :)

• In only tangentially bike-related news, I think I might be getting my new truck tomorrow if my current lease passes inspection. Finally! The truck has been ready for 2 weeks, but with one thing and another, I haven't been able to pick it up. It's been really frustrating, because I am not terribly fond of the car I'm currently driving (Camry). I mean, it's a good car...and it's going to stay in the family (Rob's buying it--more on that in a minute), but I was used to the horsepower on the loaner car, and the cargo space of the van before that, so going to a 4-cyl mid-size sedan was sort of a letdown. I don't think I'll be driving another car for a while. It's SUVs, trucks, and vans for the Joy from now on...gotta have that cargo space. The whole reason I had the Camry in the first place was because Rob was thinking of buying it, and I'm glad to be passing it along.

• And just in time, too, because Rob totaled his car last Thursday.* He was going to pick up the boy, who was sick at school, and didn't notice that traffic was stopped in front of him until it was too late...rear-ended a truck at about 50 mph. He was the only one injured, with a dislocated toe and severe bruising on his chest from the seatbelt/airbag combo. I shudder to think what would have happened without them.

  At any rate, he was treated and released, but he's still in a lot of pain...not supposed to drive or go to work for the rest of this week. The insurance is going to cover most of the cost of medical treatment, and we'll break even on the car--the settlement is just about equal to the balance of the car note. After I was sure Rob was going to be okay, that was the thing I was most worried about. We had a pretty huge loan on that car, since I was upside-down on the loan for the car before it and tacked on an extended warranty besides. Hooray for safe cars w/high resale value and good insurance!

  Though the car wreck experience has been totally scary and stressful, it couldn't have happened at a better time. I was turning in my Camry this week anyway, which will be available to buy in about a week...just enough time for the insurance company to process the claim. We got more for the car from the insurance than we probably would have on a trade-in, so that's also good. And it's the time of year when we have the most cash on hand, so making a down payment on the new car won't be an issue. So basically, Rob gets a nicer car for the same price as he was paying for the old one. It's perfect!

  Well, except for the part where he could have DIED.

  *how's that for burying the lede? :P I thought starting with that one would be too dramatic, especially since I waited until the crisis had passed to even say anything about it at all.

  Posted by Joy at March 8, 2007 03:05 PM