The Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom

It's my first weekend in a few years without my bike, which is heading back to the factory to be either repaired or replaced. I found some fissures in the frame (most likely, just in the paint layer) and the bike shop gave me the option of either putting tape over it (ummmm, no) or being without the bike for 3-4 weeks. As this is my least favorite time of the year to ride, I opted for being without for a few weeks and just do other exercise during the gap. It's been one of those customer service moments that I've come to expect in France but still drives me insane. The shop asked me to send photos, which I did, and then it still took eight weeks to get a response. The response was to bring it to the store and they would disassemble and return the frame to Italy. Eight weeks. During that waiting time, I phoned the manufacturer in Italy (Kuota) who kept telling me that "Maurizio" wasn't in today, but he'd be in tomorrow and respond. That went on and on and on as well and in fact, Maurizio never so much as emailed or made contact. Since I don't have a car, my bike is like my car, so I did drop enough hard earned money on it. I put a lot of miles on the bike over the year, probably more than many put on their car. The service from Kuota has been horrid to date, but maybe I'll find a pleasant surprise when I finally get my bike back later this month. Then again, if the recent history is an indicator, I'm likely to be underwhelmed.