06/06/06 was a bad day for me. I am not superstitious, so it's probably just bad luck. I was going to my PADI class at sport chalet. As I was about to park (literally, within maybe 10 meters of the parking spot) I heard a *pop*. As I was taking off my saddle bags I noticed the *sssssss* sound. Yep. rear tire. About an inch-long screw.
Then came the most dreadful moment: dealing with my insurance company's roadside assistance -- or rather lack thereof. My insurance company is Markel (www.bike-line.com). They are cheap -- that's the only good thing I can say about them. But forget about relying on them when you need help.
I already had one runin with them before -- ended up calling them 5 times and waiting 4 hours for the truck to show up. So this time I picked up the phone with more than a little trepidation. "Maybe they just had a bad day" I thought to myself.
(BTW, Markel is very quick to point out that they actually outsource roadside assistance to some other company, and try to shift the blame, but to me, as a customer, that makes absolutely no difference).
Anyway, I called roadside assistance during the break. This time, knowing their utter incompetence, I made sure to tell the lady no less than *3 times* that I have a *motorcycle*, so I need a tow truck for a *motorcycle*. "Do you understand?" She said "yes". And what did she do? She sent a tow truck for a car anyway!
The a$$hole in the truck said that he can't pick up my bike (which was obvious anyway) "Should have told them you have a motorcycle. Our flatbed truck is broken". (!!!!!!!!!!!) Instead he said he can patch up the tire, but I'd have to pay for it (!!!!!!!!!!!!). This was outrageous!!! The fact that I told the b1tch 3 times that I have a motorcycle AND this is supposed to be covered by the insurance didn't matter. While I was trying to explain that, the guy got in his truck and took off!!!
So I had to call roadside assistance again. Explained the new lady what happened. She put me on hold for 20 minutes, then finally took my information, put me on hold for another 20 minutes, and hung up! Yep. This time I was not surprised any more, but it didn't make me feel any better.
After that I called roadside assistance 3 more times, and *every single time* after about 5 minutes waiting for an agent, the line would spontaneously disconnect. Nice!
It became obvious that I will get no help from my insurance company and resolved to ride or even push the bike home (this was less than 5 miles from where I live). By that time I'd already missed the second half of my class. I got unexpected help from one of my classmates. He plugged the hole, and told me where to find the nearest gas station (luckily only a block away). I managed to ride there vey slowly, got some air, and rode home safely, staying within 30mph.
When I got home, there was a message on my cell from the second markel lady informing me she dispatched a truck and that I've used up my roadside assistance and next time I need help, I'd have to pay. I got a better idea: next time I'll call ghost busters! Probably get more help from them too.
