Cyclist are a strange lot. You have all these “Type A” types that seem to ride by you on a mission to complete their “miles” who seem almost oblivious to your existence. So you learn to settle into that mode yourself. If you have been doing the sport for awhile you also learn to have all the tools you need to avoid the dreaded flat. I learned the hard way years ago during a training ride when I had a flat 10 miles out and ended up having to walk 8 miles back to my car (someone gave me a ride the last 2). Believe me it was not pleasant! You learn to carry a spare inner tube and get good at replacing them quickly.
So last weekend was no different when I could feel the compression of the front tire quickly drift down to nothing and knew I had a flat. Now here is the strange part. As I sat by the side of the road fixing my flat, it seemed like at least 10 of those Type A’s came out of their “miles” trance, stopped and asked if I needed help. I’ve been in this sport long enough that changing a tire is a snap so I said “No” but thanked each one for offering. I will also admit to feeling pretty self-sufficient and not the helpless female in the 5 minutes it took me to change the tire and get back on the road.
But life has a strange way of testing you… about 8 miles from the end of my ride I got this sinking feeling as the front tire once again drifted down to nothing. I had another flat! And, faced with the prospect of an 8 mile walk, the very next Type A that came by and asked if I needed help I responded with “Yes”. It felt like a moment of helplessness but I had to admit it in order to get help.
To my surprise the guy that stopped, Richard, was not a Type A at all but a really nice guy who checked my tire diligently until he found the sliver of glass that was causing the problem. Then he made what I consider a huge sacrifice and gave me his spare inner tube. I was overwhelmed by his gesture because it meant he faced the prospect of being stranded if the same thing happened to him. I went out of my way to thank him, but his response was “Don’t worry about it. It is one of those pay-it-forward deals.” Pay-it-forward, meaning I should help the next person I see with a flat by the side of the road.
As I settled back into my own “miles” mode it came to me that none of us is truly self-sufficient or alone and that there are angels just waiting for us to ask for help…
Oh, I agree, by no means none of us are… I know that I want to be, and there are things that I can do on my own… I do know instead of physical help I really appreciate and know I need emotional support as well…Paying it forward makes me feel good, it makes my day to know that I helped someone and to know that their stress was relieved just a little…I always believe what u put out u get back in some way…
Well said Chrissy,
Richard made my day and reinforced that there is no harm in acknowledging that there are times when we need the help of others. And, just like we need help we can also offer help. It's a great unending circle…
Sometime help comes along or even guide you along without even asking. It happened to me a few times, makes me feel blessed. And yes, I do feel good whenever I've helped someone. I'm a strong believer in what goes round comes around.
He was very nice. I wondered if one day my bike's got a flat tyre, would anyone come up to me and offer me some help. Hmm.. Maybe a miss nice girl… anyway thank you for a good post! 🙂