General Cycling Discussion - Kindness of Strangers on Chicago's Lakefront

This morning, I got up at 4:10am to do my usual 30 miles on the lakefront, but we were having pretty bad weather- winds of up to 70 mph, hail, lightning and thunderstorms, so I decided to wait it out.

I waited 2 hours, and the worst of the storm passed, so I left out at about 6:15am. I wasn't going very fast, but I still felt ok, even though it was still raining out, which felt pretty yucky to be damp.

I'd gotten 3/4th of the way to home, when I suddenly felt my back wheel wobbling. I knew immediately what had happened- the rear wheel went flat. I was not happy about that- I still have those horrible Continential 1000 tires on the bike, and they are a b!tch to get on and off.

I'd just turned my bike upside down and was getting ready to take off my back wheel, when a guy I'd passed about 15 minutes earlier came ridingn up and asked if I needed help. I immediately heaed a sigh of relief and said yes- I'd hoped that another person would come along and help me, because I'd had such a hard time getting those freakin' tires on and off.

Well, after 30- 45 minutes and two new inner tubes later, the guy got my tire up to par. In that time, I learned he was a distributer for Cliff Bar, that he was an avid cyclist, and that I've seen him before on the lakefront. He had his Cliff jersey and helmet, and Cliff stickers on his bike. I told him about bikeforums and showed him my bikeforums jersey too, and we laughed about how involved we were with the people whose jerseys we wore, and he said he was definitely going to check out this website, so I hope to see him here on the forums soon! He even gave me a Cliff bar to eat on the way home, which came in handy because I hadn't had breakfast, and I was ready to bonk by the time I got back home.

To make matters worse, besides the bonk that was coming on, right after the guy leaves, it started raining again, so I felt twice as guilty- I'm sure if he hadn't of stopped, he would have beat the rain, but since he stopped, he got caught right in the middle of it! I just felt so yucky by the end of the ride that I cut it short after the 30 miles and didn't do the additional 25 I had planned for originally. :(

Anyway, I thanked him and offered to send the guy a new inner tube, as once he put the first inner tube on my tire, he discovered it also had a hole (:eek: ), so he provided me with his spare inner tube. He just told me to pay it forward and stop for someone else in need next time I'm riding along, which I do anyway, but the next time I stop and help someone else out, I will do it in his name! Funny thing, I stopped last week and helped a guy who had the same problems- flat rear tire, and it was a Continential tire, and I gave him my other spare inner tube. So I guess we all get a turn out there with helping other people out.

So to that guy (and I forgot his name, sorry!), thanks again for helping me out, and don't forget to drop me a PM when you've decided to register! I owe you!

Koffee Brown

Originally posted by Koffee Brown


I still have those horrible Continential 1000 tires on the bike, and they are a b!tch to get on and off.



I have those tires on my bike and I hate them too!!!!

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
...He just told me to pay it forward...


Thanks for this story, Koffee. The 'pay it forward' system is the best thing going, in my book.

:beer:

Michelin Axials with the Kevlar belt and the red sidewalls are a b!tch too!

Brendon

Koffee Brown - great story mate. I like the pay it forward idea. Glad to hear you were helped out when you needed it. It's things like that that make such a difference to a ride and the positive effect it has on ride morale lasts a lot longer in my experience than the ride you were on.

Good deeds pay for themselves down the road thats for sure!
Koffee, you get up early to ride! I get up at 2:00 am to go to work but I don't get up that early to ride on my days off:D

hillyman - what work do you do that means getting up at 2am? Does the world actually exist at that time?

Great story. It’s my impression that cyclist are good people. Even in Chicago.:D

Originally posted by Bokkie
hillyman - what work do you do that means getting up at 2am
Bread route. Heres my Wonder RV

its just good Dharma
(or is that Karma? I can never keep the two straight!).

Great story Koffee.

Marty

Originally posted by lotek

(or is that Karma? I can never keep the two straight!).


I think it's Karma.

Yeah, that encounter made a not so good ride a little bit better. Too bad it was raining, but on the other hand, if we hadn't of had such bad weather, I would have gotten the flat sooner, and I wouldn't have met the guy! So I guess that's karma too!

I will definitely pay it forward again. I carry my full repair kit now, plus a first aid and cpr kit (with cpr directions), and extra snacks. If anyone needs ANY kind of help and I come along, they're in good shape! :lol:

So far, it looks like Mr. X hasn't registered yet, but I'm still keeping my eye out for him. Hopefully, he'll register and still remember to PM me.

I liked the story koffee :D

I had a similar one about a month ago, I was riding in a group ride, when we stopped at a coffee shop for a short break. The rest of the riders were heading home, but I had to go the opposite direction (as I drove to this ride) so I was on my own... not 5 min on the road I get a flat. I hop off the bike and empty my saddle bag, when a car pulls up beside me and stops, it turned out to be one my friends who was just driving by, he waited around to make sure I got it changed and even gave me a spare tube and co2 in case I got another flat :)

aren't cyclists nice :p

Well, I got to pay it forward twice on the path this morning! Whoooooo!!! :D

Anyway, I was headed north and into my 26th mile when I saw a woman walking with a bike along the side of the road. I immediately stopped and asked her if she was ok, and she said no, that her rear tire had a flat. She had no equipment because she said someone stole her stuff out of her seat bag a couple of weeks ago, and she didn't know how to change a flat. So I told her that I had everything, including a spare tube, and that I would show her how to fix a flat while I was at it.

Another guy came along and asked if we needed help, and I said the more hands the better. This guy said he didn't know how to change a flat, but it was still ok, since I did. As soon as I got the tire off, another woman who was in the group of the woman with the tire problems came riding up and asked if everything was ok. We said yes, and that woman said "we all thought you blew a tire because we heard the tire pop". I asked her "why would you leave a team member behind knowing they had tire problems?" and I also said they were a cold group of riders :D . Everyone laughed and the other woman rode off. And just then, another guy rode up and asked if we needed help- he was also part of the team, so I said the more, the merrier! I got the tire off with a little wrestling. He came up and took the wheel and volunteered to put the tire back on the wheel and blow it up with my pump.

There was another cyclist I see EVERY MORNING- he saw me and our group standing there and didn't even miss a beat and kept on ridingt- the guy who was pumping up the bike said he knew the guy- they'd went to high school together. I said "was he always like that?". More laughs.

We get the tire back on the wheel and the guy is pumping and pumping, and all of a sudden- pop! He'd pinched the tube and it blew. We all laughed. That's when I pulled out my patch kit, eliciting more laughter. "Is there anything you don't have?" they asked. I said nope.

I patched the tire, but the first patch didn't take. I repatched the tire again, and by this time, another guy rides up and asks if we need help. The woman says we need an inner tube, so the guy pulls out a spare and rides off after ensuring we're ok. We put the new tube on the bike, and while he's doing that, I patch up my tube that blew, and her original inner tube. I told her to go home with the old one and practice. Finally, we blow up the tire and get the tire back on the bike, and success! We all introduce each other- Gretchen was the woman with the flat, Jason was the guy who came along but didn't know how to fix the tire, and Joshua, the guy who was part of the group. We high five, and move on with our rides. Funny enough, as soon as they were out of sight (I was still packing up my seat bag when they took off), I mounted my bike and noticed immediately that my chain slipped and it had slipped in front of the front der., and I had to spend a few minutes wrestling with the chain to get it back onto the biggest cog. Grrrrrrrrrrr! :D

As I'm going into my 28th ride, I see a couple on the side of the road- the woman is standing and looking, and the guy is holding an inner tube. I stop again and ask if they're ok, and they said yes, so I move on, but then they start yelling about a pump, so I turn around and come back. The guy wants to know if I have a CO2 pump, and I said no, just a hand pump. He says he has a CO2 pump, but that it's almost empty, but it should be ok. I told him to use my pump to pump it up as much as possible, then use the last of the CO2 pump to finish off the tire. So he's explaining to the woman about how to change the tire since she's never done it, and I'm telling them about our last tire change down the road I just did- and we are laughing again. Then this guy and I are comparing tires, and we're talking to her about the difference between changing the front and the back tire, and comparing our tire pressures we like to ride at.

The guy gets the tire back on the bike, and he uses my pump to pump it as much as possible, then used the CO2 to finish it off, and it's a rock hard. So I take off, and they introduce themselves as I'm leaving- Ian and Annie.

At this point, I'm thinking that I wouldn't be so surprised if I ran into anyone else needing help, but luckily, no one else did, and I got the rest of the way home without incident. So I got to pay it forward twice today! What are the chances of that happening?


Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
What are the chances of that happening?


Slim to none! :D That's good u helped 'em! What goes around, comes around. :beer:

These are nice stories. :) I've only had my bike a month & it's refreshing to hear there are nice people who will help out there. I went to the shop about a week ago & bought an extra water bottle, an extra set of brake levers, a mini pump, and a pack that goes under my seat that holds a little plastic wedgie thing (LOL), a new tube & a patch kit. I also asked the guy at the store to show me how to change a flat. I have to say -- I sure hope my flat happens on the front tire when it happens because I started getting worried about how much of the instruction I would remember when he showed me how to remove the rear tire. :eek: Maybe I need to carry along a card with printed instructions. LOL

By the way, I rode my first 25 mile ride (I've done several 10s and 15s and 23 one time) this morning at Ft. Jackson -- very hilly -- and I did great! :D I've signed up for the MS150 Breakaway to the Beach in late September. Hope I can make it. :p

Nice job, Koffee! I always stop to help stranded cyclists, too. Mostly, they're OK, but it's nice to meet fellow peddlers.

I have aided fellow cyclists on several occasions, and it always feels good to hear someone ask me if I need help repairing a puncture.