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kahn: Stuff happens.
One time (the time I broke a couple levers and almost broke my house key) I nearly called my wife. Thing is, she needs her sleep, she needs to take care of herself, she works hard and really long hours when she is on shift, so calling her is a last resort. If needed, sure .... if avoidable in any way .....
What I have done is to pay more attention and tried different techniques for getting tight tires off rims ... because there will be times when no one is going to be there no matter who I call, and when I am 25 miles from home, and wearing my road shoes with cleats which make walking uncomfortable and eventually painful. So I have been trying a bunch of things ..... but like yourself, when it really mattered I managed. (I never thought to try blood as a lubricant, though ....
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Sometimes life is not easy .... even for us spoiled Americas. Not as tough as it is for the children who only eat if they can find discarded food in the dumps they pick through, and whose drinking water comes out of muddy puddles, or sewers .... But mildly uncomfortable, to be sure.
Stuff like that burns karma and builds character. A little mild hardship should be appreciated if it cannot be conveniently avoided .... and if you pass it on to others, trust me, it will come back eventually anyway ..... and maybe multiplied. No free rides in this amusement park.
But sure .... there are times when calling for help is the smart thing to do. Those times are Not (IMO) when a person is just too lazy and selfish to lift a finger to help him/herself and would rather someone else does twice or three times the work on his./her behalf .....
Stuff like making sure a person hasn't done something crazy to my bike .... since I do my own work, that isn't an issue, but thanks you, because i will remember that and maybe check some stuff I might not have .... I understand that I often have to pay for my education.
Funny though ... it is so often hot sun with no shade, no shoulder, or long grass full of predators and biting insects ... or it is raining, wat night, with no streetlights, in long grass full of predators and insects, adjacent to a mosquito breeding ground .... Whenever I get a flat on a long straight road with lots of shade and places to rest the bike, people slow down and ask if I need help. When I need help there are no people ... only biting insects and worse.