I fought the good fight and WON (for a change).

Last post I wrote about my coming together with a car, destroying my bike, etc, etc, etc. In the aftermath, I had to fight tooth and nail to get the drivers insurance company to pay the full amount, plus deal with a stupid driver (driver on phone- "if your bike is written off and you get a new flash bike- I get your old one don't I????"). I was stuck with no bike for about 2 months. I was NOT a happy camper. During this time, a mate loaned me his spare bike- an Argon 18 Al bike with CF rear triangle, SRAM Rival and Ksyrium SL's. Pretty nice!

During these weeks on the loaner bike, I grew to like the SRAM shifters. The wheels were also a revelation- STIFF!! So this got me thinking about my replacement bike (once the insurance coughed up).

At first I was going to get a Giant TCR, buuut, try as I might, I just couldn't fall in love with it. I would walk past it several times a day at the shop I work at, and the price to me would be really good, but it didn't excite me in the slightest!

Then, one day while looking at the Wilier catalogue, I spied a Cento 1 with SRAM Force and it looked dead sexy! I made some calls. Hmm... if I put in a few hundred dollars, with my trade price on a frame set and some careful buying, I could own this very bike! YEEEHAAARRR!

Now the pressure was on the insurance company to pay up the write off costs of my old bike. But they were playing hard ball, even intimidation tactics (accept this amount, no negotiations will be entered into, blah blah blah...) to get me to agree to a lessor amount. It was disgusting what they were doing! I gave them 3 quotes from 3 shops, as they requested but NOW they wanted me to take the bike to "their" shop for a quote. Screw that! I know they shop they want me to take it to and they have a bad reputation. Plus, how was I supposed to get a bike in several parts to a shop 35km away? So I got some legal advise which I followed.

First I wrote a very to the point letter to the insurance company outlining my grievances. I told them, you have 7 days to pay into my account the full amount of one of my quotes, or I will take legal action against the driver, and YOU can deal with an angry client. Well... that stirred things up! 9.30am the very next morning I get a call from the supervisor (not just anyone) to talk to me. He was "oh so nice" and said things like "I don't think we want this to get out of hand do we?" LOL He was back pedalling so fast to me on the phone I was doing a little dance as he spoke! LOL

In the end, I said, "if you offer me $xxxx the issue is over as far as I'm concerned" to which he said "Done! Give me your account details and we will do it straight away!" Wow... did they fold like a house of cards. Assholes!

I'm not sure what I was more happy about- getting the money for my new bike, or taking on a insurance company and winning!

So in the end, I got the funds, ordered all the bits to build my new bike and started building up a pile of parts. It was so exciting. I really put a lot of thought into this bike, selecting every single part to make not only a great riding bike, but also a great looking bike. So much fun! I was even ordering single bolts off eBay. LOL

Finally I got it all built, finishing at 11.30pm one night. I couldn't help myself. I lycra'd up, popped lights on and went for a ride around the block. W-O-W-!

It rode sooo smooth and comfortable, yet, when I put down the power it took off. It felt so planted to the road, unlike any bike I'd ridden. Truly amazing!

And even now, 8 months down the track, it continues to put a smile on my face. :-)

I fought the good fight and WON (for a change).