M
Mike Jacoubowsk
Guest
First really, really, REALLY nice day of riding in Northern California in some time, and got out
this morning with a couple guys from the shop. On the way back one of them got a flat, so we're
stopped at the side of the road, replacing the tube and inflating it with one of those fun mini-
pumps... probably a good 15 minutes or so, with maybe 30-40 other cyclists passing by.
Not one asked if we needed anything. Weird. Are we so self-absorbed in whatever we're doing that we
no longer ask if somebody might need anything? (True enough that we were OK, but there's no way
anybody riding past can know that for sure without asking).
9 times out of 10, when you pass somebody who's stopped at the side of the road and doing something
with their bike (or just looking a bit out of place), they're OK. But there's always that chance
that somebody might have discovered that their spare tube doesn't hold air, or their pump isn't
working, or maybe they can't figure out how to get the wheel back in and knocked out a brake shoe.
Of course, lots of people won't say they need help even when they do, especially guys, so when I
pass somebody at the side of the road, I don't ask if they "need help" but instead "Do you have what
you need?" It's truly amazing how many more people will say something like "Yeah, if you've got a
spare tube that would be great" if you ask them if they need anything... but asking them if they
need help and they'll almost always say no.
It doesn't hurt to look after other cyclists on the road. Someday you just might need help yourself.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
this morning with a couple guys from the shop. On the way back one of them got a flat, so we're
stopped at the side of the road, replacing the tube and inflating it with one of those fun mini-
pumps... probably a good 15 minutes or so, with maybe 30-40 other cyclists passing by.
Not one asked if we needed anything. Weird. Are we so self-absorbed in whatever we're doing that we
no longer ask if somebody might need anything? (True enough that we were OK, but there's no way
anybody riding past can know that for sure without asking).
9 times out of 10, when you pass somebody who's stopped at the side of the road and doing something
with their bike (or just looking a bit out of place), they're OK. But there's always that chance
that somebody might have discovered that their spare tube doesn't hold air, or their pump isn't
working, or maybe they can't figure out how to get the wheel back in and knocked out a brake shoe.
Of course, lots of people won't say they need help even when they do, especially guys, so when I
pass somebody at the side of the road, I don't ask if they "need help" but instead "Do you have what
you need?" It's truly amazing how many more people will say something like "Yeah, if you've got a
spare tube that would be great" if you ask them if they need anything... but asking them if they
need help and they'll almost always say no.
It doesn't hurt to look after other cyclists on the road. Someday you just might need help yourself.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com