Keith's Corner: Bicycle Crashes into Alfa GTV; Everyone Loses

Could it be any more ironic? Our family (Wendie, Bradley, Drew, and me) had just finished the annual Portland Bridge Pedal. Once a year, the freeways around the city are closed down, and close to 20,000 enthusiasts wearing tight shorts and jerseys grab their bicycles and go for a pedal. (I might say that a few of the jerseys on the “mature” men could have been just a bit looser.)

Bradley did well on his Trek tagalong, and in two more years I expect he’ll have his own bike.  He insisted on wearing his Spiderman costumer and cast imaginary webs at passersby.

When we got home, I moved the 1967 GTV from the driveway to the street, so Wendie could get her BMW 5-series out of the driveway. I opened the door to get out, and smacked a bicyclist passing by. The rider, an elderly lady, didn’t fall but sustained a couple of pretty good scratches to her leg.

The GTV did worse. The driver’s door was folded back against the front fender (I was just thinking it was time to reinstall the restraining straps on the doors), denting the door and fracturing the paint badly.

Yes, it’s reparable, and I can have a few other flaws remedied at the same time. But I wanted to have that stuff done on my timeframe, not because I had goofed up.

Well, with the ponton totaled, the boat missing its drain plug and almost sinking, and now the GTV / bicyclist incident, I hope I’ve had my three and can look forward to a few months without any automotive drama.

On the lighter side, I got to kick some English tires last Saturday at Cars in the Park at the Portland Art Museum, and realized I’ve never had a good Morgan or Triumph GT6. Got one, anybody? Drop me a note at keith.martin@sportscarmarket.com