BobbyG

Sometimes while riding my bicycle I will stop to help a fellow cyclist. A serious, long-time commuter, I carry tools, a patch kit, a spare inner tube and a pump. Over the last 25 years I have stopped to help fix flats, true crooked wheels that are rubbing against rim brakes. Earlier this year I saw a mother watching her young daughter ride a bike with training wheels and a handlebar that was loose and crooked, I fixed it. Turned out to be the girl's first bike, bought just that day.

And not just fixing bikes. Last month I stopped to help a older Asian couple I have seen over the years move some furniture from their car to their house. Sometimes I will call the authorities if I see people passed out in a remote area, especially when winter's cold can be deadly. One time I saw two men forcing an unwilling woman into a car. I rode on until I was out of sight of them and then called the police.

So when I see people walking their bikes, I will often stop to let them know I have tools, and can I help in any way.

But I have to be careful, as my commute route takes me through a rough-ish part of town, and I don't want to be lured into a bad situation.

However, on this evening's ride home I passed a 30-something looking guy walking his older mountain bike in the opposite direction with a flat. He wore jeans and a t-shirt with a plastic grocery bag with some clothes tied to the seatpost. I assessed the situation. He seemed to walk with a calm determination, not agitated, with a very steady step. I circled around and asked if I could help.

"I usually carry tools," he said with a thick Jamaican accent, "but the one day I left my backpack at home I get a flat."
So he popped off his front wheel and I immediately saw the goat head thorn sticking out. He removed the worn mountain bike tire and asked for the pump. He pumped it up and inspected it, while I felt around the inside of his tire for foreign objects and any protrusions. He couldn't find the puncture. I told him I have a trick (a trick I learned on bikeforums) I wet my lips and rotated the tire in front of them. I felt the small, cool sensation of air escaping from the innertube. It was a miniscule hole like you get from goathead thorns.

I sandpapered the surface and spread on the rubber cement. While we waited for it to dry he said his name was Willie and he was in Colorado Springs working at a hotel. He had a wife and four young kids and sent some money home to his folks in Jamaica.

I patched the innertube and Willie installed it and mounted his tire and then began pumping.

When everything was done he extended his hand and thanked me.

And then he asked, "Why did you stop and help me?"

So I told him. "Three years ago my step-daughter developed a painful and debilitating disease that I can't fix. So far nobody has been able to fix her. And while I have always tried to be helpful, to people, it is even more imperative since then that I fix what I can, it makes me feel like I have control, at least over some things in life."

As I was thinking about it tonight I remembered the jewish concept of "tikkun olam" or "repairing the world". I always assumed people did that to please G-d. I'm not religious. I'm more of a "be good for goodness' sake" kinda guy. But it occurred to me that perhaps by helping others, we can help ourselves. That's a dimension of Tikkun Olam I hadn't considered before. I suppose in this way it's related in a way to the christian concept of "leading by serving".

So, what is my point, and how does it relate to bicycles and cycling?

The mental and emotional and social rewards are as much a part of cycling as are the physical rewards and aspects.

And more and more I see the bicycle itself as a tool with which one can help repair their world, even while repairing a bicycle.

Jon T

Good for you, Bobby. I always have a tool kit, patches and pump and whenever I encounter a fellow cyclist on the side of the trail I always ask if they're ok.
Jon

qcpmsame 

Good on you Bobby, I wish more cyclist think the same way. Peace be with you.

Bill

canklecat

Thanks, Bobby. You've helped make the world a better place.

mcours2006

Juan Foote

Keep that Karmic wheel spinnin' good. Awesome.

kevindsingleton 

Great story, well told. The world could use more people like you.


If you don't mind, I'll pray for you and your daughter.

JonathanGennick 

Great story. Love your thoughts here. Thanks for sharing.

TimothyH

One does not need a bicycle to do God's work.

Dave Cutter

The word "g-d" as (I think) you referred to it is/was actually Yahweh. The word/term G-d originally referred to the whole of the universe. Which of course includes yourself and all others... including Yahweh.

Good service.

_ForceD_

Thanks for the inspiring and heartwarming story, Bobby. That's an attitude that would make the world a better place if more people shared it (and I'm not necessarily referring to fellow cyclists). I too have stopped occasionally to render assistance to other cyclists and non-cyclists alike. And I will admit that it makes me feel better afterwards. Sometimes it makes me wonder if there is a greater power that put me in that location at that time. Although he eventually became a disgraced cyclist, I have always believed that...at least for me...the title of Lance Armstrong's first book is a good mantra: It's Not About the Bike. And I would say that incidents like this make cycling about more than just the bike.

Dan

Milton Keynes

While I'm not religious, I do follow humanism as a life philosophy. Basically it's treat everyone as you want to be treated and helping each other out to solve problems makes the world a better place. I haven't come across too many cyclists in need of a roadside repair, but if I can render assistance I will. Mainly because if I were in that situation and desperately needed help, I'd want someone to stop and help me. I think that helping others is far more rewarding than the "screw you" attitude we see too much of these days.

caloso

Beautiful story. You could also frame it in a Franciscan way: acting as an instrument of peace.

dabac

What! A MAN accepting help?
I'm about to say "pics, or it didn't happen".

While I don't have your extra burden, I do ride rather well equipped.
But I have just about given up offering to help males.
They're simply not accepting.
Last time I tried, the guy calmly stated he was fine walking the bike the rest of the way.
5 miles, in cycling shoes with road cleats...
Your roadside manners must be better than mine.
Women, sure. No excess pride getting in the way there.
Flats, derailed chains, wheels pulled askew.
Even rotated a fork once.
Husband had been adamant that the brakes should be on the rear side both front and rear.

My reason?
Nothing big.
Do unto others as.... would suffice.
If saving someone's day is as easy as handing over a spare tube and lending them a pump, it ought to be illegal not to.

indyfabz

Many years ago I patched a guy's flat (he didn't have a spare tube or QR wheels) in Valley Forge National Park. He hit on me, basically asking me if I wanted a B.J. Nothing wrong with that if that's what you're into. I just thought it was rude to respond that way to someone who was helping you.

Milton Keynes

Well, the way I see it is if they say they don't want or need help, no harm in asking and then going on your way. But I'd rather make sure than to ride by and leave someone who might be in need of help without even asking.

On my century ride a couple weeks ago, I came across a group of riders I knew, one of them was busy patching a tire. I offered my assistance even though I figured they had things under control, being more experienced riders than me. They said they were fine so I didn't insist, just stuck around and chatted for a while before pressing on. But yeah, it would have been a different story had one of them been pushing their bike.

And I will usually turn down offers of help because I have a spare tube and patch kit and am capable of fixing a flat on my own, but if they want to hang around and help or even offer moral support I won't turn them away.

berner

I've been on the receiving end of good deeds numerous times in my life. If I'm in a position to do the same for others, I'm merely passing on a gift previously received. If we wish to make the world a better place we begin by being a better person.

Korina

Just say 'No thanks' and move on. At least he wanted to thank you for your kindness.

indyfabz

I was literally in the middle of the work and I felt somewhat responsible to finish, having pulled the guy's inner tube partially out of his tire. Once I was done I let him know that he should be more polite in the face of kindness.


Now don't get me started on the guy who was sort of stalking me while I was taking a lunch break at a c-store one day during one of my cross-PA tours. He was really creepy and asked me if I wanted a ride somewhere in his RV.

Happy Feet

On the first day of a Calgary - Vancouver tour I saw a car on the side of the road across the median of the hwy. It was an isolated stretch near Kananaskis and as I passed I saw two elderly ladies by the trunk so I swung across and asked them if they needed help. They had a flat and were trying their best but said yes and I set about changing the tire. When done they thanked me profusely and offered some cash but I refused though I relented at the offer of a bunch of grapes and we all went our separate ways...

Best grapes I ever tasted

jefnvk

I'll help if I can be of help. The couple minutes it takes to help is inconsequential, and the benefits of you stopping can be tremendous to those in need.

Did he at least have candy?

indyfabz

Probably in the RV. He was eying me inside the store. (I look good in spandex. What am I going to do.) After I used the bathroom and grabbed a sandwich I went behind the store to get out of the sun and away from the noise. (There was big Interstate Highway interchange there.) He drove around back. He must have seen me, stopped and got out of his RV. I was on the phone talking to my GF when he walked right up an interrupted me. I finally gave him a clear message by telling him who I was talking to and stating that I didn't want to be interrupted. He made a nasty face, walked back to his RV and drove off.

Milton Keynes

Why do I get the feeling that "squeal like a pig" would have been part of that afternoon's festivities?

coney462

A mitzvah by a real mench

tnburban

Nice post OP. I have a lot of stuff in my life that I need to and try to fix. And I use mechanisms like this.