smurfalicious
07-02-2008, 05:09 PM
Our new store is right next to a Bicycle Village store. Could be dangerous if they weren't such a joke. We were walking out to go to lunch and I saw a gal struggling to get her Trek hybrid into the trunk of her car. Instantly I ran over without a second thought to help her.
She was semi spandexed and apparently trying hard to give this bike thing a go. She seemed a little bewildered as I dropped my purse and water bottle to help her. I could tell even with the back seat folded down it was going to be a bear.
"It might be easier to take the front wheel off," I offered.
"I don't even know how to do that," she replied.
I asked if she bought the bike there, to which she replied yes, but a little while back. I was astonished. "They never taught you how to do that when they sold it to you?" I asked. I could not believe what would happen to this woman with a flat, which is why I suppose she was there.
She instinctively undid the quick release. I smiled and told her it was a good start and instructed her to unscrew the skewer a bit. By this point I think her fear that I was trying to steal her bike were gone. I showed her how I straddle the bike and undid the brake noodle and popped her wheel free.
The next step was to show her the easy way to fit a bike in a sedan. I joked with her that this was how I used to transport my bike that was worth more than my car. I spun the handle bar around and told her the trick was to put it in with the crank/chain side away from the seats.
We got it loaded, I made some rack recommendations and closed her doors for her and walked to my friend's rig. As she pulled away she flashed me a big smile and waved. I'm sure my coworkers think I'm nuts, but hey if I can help someone enjoy her bike more, then what's 5 minutes of my lunch?
She was semi spandexed and apparently trying hard to give this bike thing a go. She seemed a little bewildered as I dropped my purse and water bottle to help her. I could tell even with the back seat folded down it was going to be a bear.
"It might be easier to take the front wheel off," I offered.
"I don't even know how to do that," she replied.
I asked if she bought the bike there, to which she replied yes, but a little while back. I was astonished. "They never taught you how to do that when they sold it to you?" I asked. I could not believe what would happen to this woman with a flat, which is why I suppose she was there.
She instinctively undid the quick release. I smiled and told her it was a good start and instructed her to unscrew the skewer a bit. By this point I think her fear that I was trying to steal her bike were gone. I showed her how I straddle the bike and undid the brake noodle and popped her wheel free.
The next step was to show her the easy way to fit a bike in a sedan. I joked with her that this was how I used to transport my bike that was worth more than my car. I spun the handle bar around and told her the trick was to put it in with the crank/chain side away from the seats.
We got it loaded, I made some rack recommendations and closed her doors for her and walked to my friend's rig. As she pulled away she flashed me a big smile and waved. I'm sure my coworkers think I'm nuts, but hey if I can help someone enjoy her bike more, then what's 5 minutes of my lunch?