When I got my first road bike, I bought a tool bag and a frame pump. Not long after, I got a flat about three miles from home. It was then I realized that although I had mounted the frame pump, I had forgotten to put the spare tubes in the tool bag. I started to walk the bike home along a rural road where I was passed by a guy on a road bike without so much as a nod.

The tube began to work itself out of the tire, making it hard to even walk with, so I stopped to try to work it back in. A moment later, a man in an SUV stopped and asked if I needed help. Fearing he might be a Ted Bundy, and a little embarrassed at my situation, I said, "No, I'm okay. I don't even have a tube."

He called out, "Hey..." When I looked up at him, he was holding a boxed tube in his hand and said, "i ride, too. Let me help!" As I struggled to remove the real wheel, he said,"If you wouldn't be offended, I can change that pretty quickly." He did, and when he had finished, he produced a handy wipe for me to clean my hands! He wouldn't except money for the tube, but as he got back in his car, he said, "Just always carry an extra tube in case you run into someone who needs one." To this day, I always carry three tubes; two for me, one in case I run into another cyclist in need.