One time my wife and I were out for a ride (a rare enough thing right there), she I the lead. We passed a guy who was futzing with his bike. I stopped to see if he needed help. And he did; really did. He had a flat and no pump/patch kit. My wife still hadn't stopped and was already a quarter mile away. I realized this guy was going to use up fifteen minutes of my time and ruin my wife's ride. This was before the days of cell phones, fwiw. If I didn't catch up with my wife soon, she'd pass a intersection and I wouldn't know which way she went. "Sorry, man!" sez I, and left him in the lurch.
Sometimes you just can't.
What's really disturbing there, is that your wife didn't stop when she saw you stopped.....
Originally Posted by
Blue Belly
Might be relatively geographical. The 13 years i spent in Los Angeles did't offer up a lot of helpful, friendly people. Here in Vermont, people will stop. People will offer you a ride. Different culture.
DING!DING!DING! Same here. In my 39 years in the NYC metro area, if you were stuck- be it in a car or on a bike, whatever, your primary concern was that if somebody stopped, it was likely to rob you. Here in Bumpkinsville, if you see a car break down, the first three cars to come by will stop and offer help. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised, after living here for 14 years now, if I were stranded on the side of the road with my bike, if passing motorists would stop and offer a ride. The contrast between the two cultures is so extreme, that since moving here, I have had no desire to ever set foot back in the Northeast, or any big metropolitan area/city.