Originally Posted by
LaserBear
I believe I posted an introduction in the "Introduction Thread" a couple months ago, so without further ado...
My name is Tom. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My stable includes a 199(6)? Trek 520, 1984 Raleigh Teton Mountain Tour, and my girlfriend's 1987 Bridgestone CB-1. The 520 is equipped with a Surly Nice Rack in the rear and a Trek brand full size rack in the front. I ride using a set of Arkel panniers in the back and Sunlight in the front. I was excited to share photo's of my bike. Unfortunately I was struck broadside by a car yesterday. She failed to stop at a stop sign and nailed me. My bike and I flew on top of her hood and immediately fell off after she slammed on her brakes. She pulled up next to me and asked if I was alright.
I said "Yeah, I think so, but let me check my bike". I turned around to look at it and she drove off! I quickly jotted down her license plate and called the police. So they made contact with her and gave her a citation. Personally I thought she would have gotten more from that but oh well. The bike is unrepairable because the frame is bent fairly good.
So now I'm looking into filing legal action against her so she will pay for the replacement of my bike. The bike is currently at the shop getting estimated. They mentioned that since the frame was bent she would have to replace it with a new 520...So here I am, waiting for Monday to come so I can go to the court house. I live in a no fault state so I'm not sure how the procedings will go.
It was nice to finally make a post on here. Too bad I waited so long.
-Tom
Thanks for posting this. I had something similar happen while on tour.
And I think this is an entirely appropriate place to post. It could provide some useful information to others; and it is an interesting case in itself; and it does directly involve a touring bike, as well as a model that a number of people here have. It would be great to hear how things proceed from here.
Good luck with it, and please keep us posted. It's an interesting situation, and one wonders how a judge will handle it. Sometimes justice is done. That's what they are there for.
You're lucky you weren't hurt. That can be a long and expensive road, much more so than a damaged bike.
She should at least provide you with a new frame or a new 520.
And thanks for the reminder and refresher, to watch out for inattentive or otherwise dangerous drivers.
That is something that could serve touring cyclists well.