Who has a
good samaritan story they'd like to share?
Looking through all of my touring photos this evening had me reminiscing about everyone who's helped me at some point along the way. And with the holidays coming up, we could all use some good in our lives. Could write a book alone about them all. Hard to pick just one.
But....
Deputy Yenulonis of the Fall River (South Dakota) Sheriff's Office stands out the most when I think back. I was riding up US-18 between Edgemont and Hot Springs after riding ~90 miles from Lusk (Wyoming). I had been dealing with tendonitis in my left achilles tendon and it was bothering me especially bad this day. The Meloxicam wasn't working and I was fighting a steep grade to my campground on the North side of Hot Springs. Exhausted and tired I stopped on the shoulder to take a break. 100's of cars passed and no one stopped. Then Deputy Yenulonis went by and pulled a u-turn 1/4 mile ahead of me and slowed down as he approached from the opposite direction. Rolling his window down he asked if I was okay. I explained where I was coming from and why. He explained that the hill into Hot Springs was far from over and offered me a ride to the campground. Defeated I took him up on the offer and loaded my bike into the rear of his patrol vehicle and chatted him up while we rode to the campground. Still talk to him today.
My tendonitis was so bad at this point I'm not sure I could have continued the trip without his assistance that day. It allowed me a few extra hours to rest and recover. The next few days were short, relatively flat and included a rest day. It never bothered me the rest of my trip.
I never planned to take a jump but did so a total of 12 miles on this trip (another 6 I was forced to when a road crew in Montana refused to let me ride through the construction zone). My decision to accept his jump probably saved my entire trip.
Hope to hear some other stories from y'all! Feel free to tell as many as you'd like. No pressure to pick just one.
