FLCC> 5'4" woman wants to rent a touring bike and gear for 4-7 days

[Jessica Forbess]

 This is an odd request, but here goes: Does anyone have a spare 43 -
 51cm touring bike and panniers or trailer to rent to me for a week?

 I'm an experienced bicycle tourist who just realized that I have the
 month of June wide open to bike around the beautiful upstate NY
 region. However, my Bike Friday was stolen last September, and my Trek
 520 and Bob trailer are in a garage in Austin TX. You can find some of
 my bike trips documented at
 http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/j4lum2006 and
 http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/bigsur2006. I spent four months
 bicycling around New Zealand and I've biked from Boston to Iowa, all
 self-supported.

 Is there anyone on this list who would be interested in renting me
 their bike and panniers or trailer for a tour? I can ride during the
 week so you can have it on the weekend, if you prefer. I'm only
 planning to do one 4-7 day trip, and at the moment, I could do it any
 time in June to be convenient for you. I'm 5'4" and have a 43 cm Trek
 520 at home, but I could ride the 48 cm model, and I've ridden my
 friend's 51 cm Cannondale on a day trip, so there's a wide range of
 bikes I'm happy with. I've got my own helmet, shoes and pedals, pedal
 wrench and bike toolkit.

 I'm thinking $150 for a week, depending on how much gear I'd need to
 find separately. We can talk about whatever kind of insurance /
 reassurance you need from me to feel comfortable lending me such a
 valuable item. You can contact me at jforbess at gmail.com or 512 350
 9420.

 Thanks for your consideration.
 Jessica Forbess
 http://jforbess.org