This morning I was about three miles from work when I heard that old familiar hissing sound.

I was a bit annoyed, since the tire is only a month old and I've got a Mr. Tuffy tire liner in there. I had a spate of flats and wound up replacing both tires and put tire liners in both of 'em.

This time it was the sidewall. It had come unraveled. I was about 15 minutes (by bike) away from work, and I had 25 minutes to get there.

There's this guy that rides in that neighborhood. I've seen him quite a few times. He's retired and took up riding his son's old Peugeot to build up his knees following some knee surgery. We've stopped and chatted a few times and always at least wave at each other as we pass.

He happened by, asked if I needed a hand and I said "Man, I could sure use a ride to work." He said "No problem, let me go get my truck!". He got me to work with two minutes to spare. I thanked him profusely.

I've never seen anyone stuck by the side of the road trying to repair a flat. I'm sure glad that guy stopped when he saw me. I think I'll pay it forward.