Have you ever helped an invisible cyclist?

Yesterday I rode to the USPO. As I was unlocking an elderly gent on a battered Huffy rode up. He actually had an interesting front rack he'd made of a milk crate. It looked better than the usual plastic bags on the handlebars I see 'round here. :rolleyes:

As he wrapped the chain around a pillar I asked him "can I give you a tip?" not sure if he spoke English. He nodded yes.

I showed him it's not secure. Mimed and said that all someone needs to do is lift the bike upright and voila, it's off the pole. Pointed to my bike and showed the lock round secure post, then front wheel, and frame.

He gave me a big smile, his bike is important to him, maybe more so than mine to me. :o

I should have gone on about helmets, I had not seen him ride so I dunno if it's on the sidewalk but figured one thing at a time. Maybe the next time he sees someone kitted up in lycra he'll think "they're not so bad"

Good job! He probably can't afford to get another bike if that one gets stolen, so you helped save his job too!:)

Raleighdon has given freely of his road morph pump.

Nice!

Actually,
I did the opposite today
I was doing a brevet, and was about 60 miles from Home. I had a flat , and my first attempt to repair it resulted in a exploding tube :mad: I got successfully fixed on my second attempt. But then I didn't have any spare tubes.
Later on, riding thru Hemet, I ran across a sidewalk cyclist. I noticed that had fairly new Raleigh. so I asked where the LBS was and made a detour to pick up some more tubes.

He will remember you Trek.
I helped a guy out on Mother's Day. He was on a very popular MUT Trail here, sitting on a bench studing his tube. He was looking for the hole...but had no repair kit.
He was a heavier fellow with a hybrid bike that was running 700s. I asked him if he needed some help fixing his flat. He did. No spare, no repair kit. I offered him a tube. He took it but looked at it with some confusion.
He then continued to tell me his stor. Bought the new bike yesterday, on disability for a bad back and looking to get some excercise. He couldn't walk the 3 miles to his car so he was just waiting...for what I am not sure.

I took his rim and realized that the wheel/tube was set up for a schrader valve and the tire was a tad wider than my 700/19-25 tube. I helped him change it, the presta fit into the oversized valve hole and pumped it up.

Every time he said something negative (every other word) I threw something positive back at him. I told him he should be proud of being out here and that this was a minor set back in his new cycling venture. I hope he is still riding and that too small tube got him to his car...

I told my husband about it when I got home and he asked me if he the guy offered to repay me for the tube. I told him that the $3 tube was the least of his problems and that it didn't even cross my mind. Its all about the Karma.

Oh nic, that is SO COOL!!
I always seem to have stuff in my car. The other day on the way to the shop I saw a girl I always pass (usually she's riding) walking her bike down the hill. She was 5 miles from the nearest anything, so I pulled over. She had a flat, and the glue in her patch kit had dried up, and she didn't have a spare tube. I gave her a tube, and got helped her change it.
I also believe that it's all about good bike karma!

yep, paying it forward gets to be one of the most delightful games of life. I once ran out of gas on a country road, and the woman at the first house I made it to - full of rambunctious kids and dogs and I'm sure she had a zillion things to do - acted like she had been waiting & hoping all day for a chance to help someone.

I like the idea of "we cyclists" being the secret support crew for the "invisible riders." My life has been very hardscrabble at times, so I know how big a teeny bit of help can seem.

Ha - we do have a desire to publicly vaunt our random acts of kindness, don't we ;) Me too.

Most recently I helped a car driver - even more fun.

I was waiting behind her in the left turn lane when her trunk lid popped open. I pulled up and asked her for permission to close it. No, she said, she'd been rear-ended recently and it wouldn't close. When the light turned green she proceeded through the turn and pulled over. I stopped with her. She had a kid in the back. She'd tied the trunk with a flimsy piece of twine and it had worn through as the trunk lid bounced in traffic. So I gave her my bungie cord, helped her fasten it and she was on her way.

Vehicular cyclist diplomacy!

Oakleaf, you are a sweetie!

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Vehicular cyclist diplomacy!

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"I hereby hand you, a driver the olive branch of peace ... ok, so it's the bungee cord of peace" :D :p :)

When my husband and I used to ride together when I was still in school, he would often do a longer route and I'd sit at a park reading for class while I waited for him. It seemed like I was always seeing people with flat tires when that happened, and I lent out my pump and spare tubes pretty often.

One guy was surprised when I offered him my pump and said, "Women never offer, it's always guys! Thanks!" I am glad to see from this thread that he was wrong.

Women never offer? Bah! While on my mountain bike, I've stopped to help more guys than I can count. Most recently just a few weeks ago at Heil, I lent a guy my pump, and at my most recent ride on the same trail, he saw me and said hi. Cool to be remembered.

I definitely believe in bike karma, and I also believe in carrying tons of tools. Not that I would necessarily know what to do with them, but *someone* on the trail would.

I am a firm believer in bike karma, but sometimes I am a little wary of stopping to help men when I am on a rural or otherwise little-traveled route. I am a pretty tough chick, but I’m also a street smart chick and I try not to put myself in situations where I could be hurt. I’m sure that most men changing a flat on the side of the road are not serial killers trying to lure their next female victim, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.

I guess this raises a question…am I ruining my bike karma by not helping stranded men in rural areas?

I don't think so. And I'm a firm believer in not taking chances.

Sometimes we're helping just by being out there "look, this is how it's done. With traffic, visible".

We have an "Invisible Cyclist" in our shop at least once a week. If it's raining, cold, or hot outside, Calvin parks his bike back in the shop to get out of the weather.

Three years ago, multiple shop employees went in together to purchase him one of our bikes. We had been regularly working on his Magna junk without much success. We put him on a decent hybrid and didn't feel so bad always working on our bike. We have "Lifetime Basic Adjustments". For Calvin, this means we pretty much do everything on his bike - he just needs to pay for parts. I greatly reduce his parts price also.

Calvin is always looking at our cool new bikes. I have offered him opportunities to purchase one of the cool bikes, but he would have to work for it. I've been quite creative in offering him work opportunities. In the 4 years that I have know Calvin, he hasn't taken up the offer to work. He just waits for his monthly check to purchase his bike parts.

Great thread, some really lovely stories.

I have done my bit but not when on a bike, probably because I avoid people and try and go off road..........no, not in a total wilderness like some of you guys! ;)

Many times when in my car have stopped to offer help, for all sorts of reasons.

It gives you a nice feeling reading all these stories, it just makes you smile, as they say "it's better to give than to receive"...........well most times. :D

Clock

On my way home today I noticed a woman across from me smile. I thought it was the new Obama spoke card. While not an invisible cyclist she did not fit the urban fitness cycle chick mold. She was dressed in traditional Muslim garb albeit with some business tweaks to the outfit.

As I exited the train she stopped me to ask questions; how much do bike shoes cost, where do you get them, how much does this and that part cost ... I was helpful but said I really don't talk about the cost of my bike, it's parts etc. :rolleyes:

She said she'd just purchased a Giant bike but she has to ride in a skirt. Where could she get skirt guards? I mentioned some of the bikes that come with them like some of the townies.

She said she has to ride the bike she's got because she rides a 26" frame.

If you're lurking here .... "on what planet do you ride a 26"?"

She's about my height, a little taller.

I think my commutermoblie mtb is either a 13" - 17".

Lady, you got sold a hill a'beans. :rolleyes: But maybe a LBS will fit her to a Townie Amsterdam or Bianchi Milano or ...

KnottedYet would be proud of me, I did not debate her.

But as I walked away I heard her muttering loudly "why don't they tell me what things cost? Why are they so secretive? Why don't cyclists talk about how much their bikes cost? ..."

So maybe she's been trying to get info.

When I got downstairs I flagged her down and suggested two local shops. I referred her to the one that carries Giant and told her who to ask for there. That if her Giant needs a part to have a chain guard they should have it.

She thanked me and I rode away :)

She probably meant her bike has 26" wheels. Lots of people don't know the difference between wheel size and frame size.

Ahhhhh. You are probably right :D

When people ask me how much my bike(s) cost, I give them a range. I get that alot with my Bike Friday, but I really don't want to reveal what I paid for it. So I say, you can get Bike Fridays anywhere from $1000 and up, and sometimes you can find used ones, too." That usually satisfies them. The point is to give them useful info, not focus on my specific bike (or checkbook).

The how much does your bike cost questions always makes me really uncomfortable. I don't ask how much people's cars cost, and in some situations I don't know why they're asking. I've spent a lot of $$ on bikes - but I've spent way less on other things than most people. I've definitely given the range with the Bike Fridays too.

Off topic: I was at my brother's house and his mother-in-law was staying with them. She kept asking me about my Cervelo. How much it cost, etc... I thought it was rude, and I gave vague answers (it was more than my first car- a 1982 Honda Prelude, it's less than replacing my roof). I had just gotten mad because I was cleaning it, and it fell and scratched the heck out of the front fork (something they all said I could fix with nail polish :rolleyes:). Finally I decided that if you're rude enough to ask, I'm going to shock the heck out of her. I told her it was about $3K and her jaw dropped. Then I said that some of my friends buy a Starbucks coffee every day, and at the end of the year they've spent as much on coffee as I've spent on my bike and that at least I have a bike in my hands at the end of the year (she smokes a couple packs a day- so the coffee comment was really an underhanded attempt at pointing out how much money she blows on cigarrettes with nothing to show for it at the end of the year but ruined lungs).
I used to hate telling people how much my bike things cost (strangers I won't tell- but family/friends are another thing). Now I figure- if you're rude enough to ask- I'm going to be rude enough to answer. And since to them a $200 bike is a lot of money- I'll up the shock factor by telling you what it really costs to buy an good entry level bike, and what I spend on my hobby. :p Don't ask if you don't want to know. I don't ask how much your recent vacation to the Virgin Islands cost, or how much money you spent on that great boat, so don't ask about my bike.
Sorry: rant over. :)

More off topic: Last week my rheumotologist (sp?) asked me if I paid $10,000 for my bike :eek::eek:! We were talking about the lack of price tags at the LBS and how the owner always thinks you should spend that much if you live in Concord or surrounding towns.
I laughed and said, "Are you crazy?" And I added "much less," That seemed to end the conversation.

My fave LBS took the price tags off his bikes after his shop was burglarized. He felt that someone came in, checked out the bikes, came back and went right for the most expensive of his $evens. :(

My commuter's very cheap. The Mavic Cross Ride wheels (I got for a 50th birthday present thanks Duck, Mom and my LBS), the powdercoat job, both cost as much or more than the bike did originally.

Cheeeeap bike, nice wheels.

I guess I was sortof shocked by the question at the end of the day, tired, hot from the first part of the ride and all. I forgot the whole "range of, it can be anywhere from ..." party line. :rolleyes:

I would never shop in a bike store with no price tags. It's a huge inconvenience for customers. What, am I supposed to take notes on the different bike prices?
The guy is insured, right? Or HE can just hang the tags on during his open hours and take them off at night.

The other day on a 20 mile ride my husband turned around, not to wait for me, but to pick up a set of keys in the road. We continued to ride along, every so often he would push the panic button to see if the matching car was in someones driveway or garage. We got to a restaurant that we decided to eat and, and guess what-the matching car was in the parking lot. All we had to do was make the alarm go off, and a confused person was looking out the window of the restaurant. She wasn't aware of having lost her keys, and seemed really confused when I handed them to her. Apparently she had another set, and had left these on top of the car and drove off.

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

I would never shop in a bike store with no price tags. It's a huge inconvenience for customers. What, am I supposed to take notes on the different bike prices?

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This shops clients know the pricing as well as he does :cool: I've seen Chris and his wrench spend a lot of time with customers touring them around the bikes "this would be in your price range, or this with different set of wheels" and go over all the details.

I think it's better for newer riders too. Otherwise they walk in, see the prices ... walk out. He can show ways to make each bike more afordable, or upgrade their bike instead of just looking at a tag. That may be why he does it this way.

Wow, Becca - cool story! I was waiting to see how they got the car to the restaurant without the keys! ;)

I've had more people lately stop me and ask about my bike. Not my fancy road bike...not my weird looking commuter...but my beat up mixte frame with a basket on the front. Where did you get that bike? How much did you pay?, etc. I think that people are truly starting to look for alternatives to driving and since I ride this bike in work clothes (often skirts) and around town, it interests the 'average' person. I love helping these people out. I don't mind telling what I paid for anything on this bike (it was $80 with about $50 worth of additions like the basket and the fenders). I also love to give them ideas about where to find affordable bikes and what to look for when buying. I figure that it's my duty to fan that little spark into a flame...

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Originally Posted by Trek420

My fave LBS took the price tags off his bikes after his shop was burglarized. He felt that someone came in, checked out the bikes, came back and went right for the most expensive of his $evens. :(

My commuter's very cheap. The Mavic Cross Ride wheels (I got for a 50th birthday present thanks Duck, Mom and my LBS), the powdercoat job, both cost as much or more than the bike did originally.

Cheeeeap bike, nice wheels.

I guess I was sortof shocked by the question at the end of the day, tired, hot from the first part of the ride and all. I forgot the whole "range of, it can be anywhere from ..." party line. :rolleyes:

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Having saved up and purchased a $even, I got that type of question a lot and I usually just blew it off by replying that "to me, it's an investment and I'm worth it".
Come to think of it, I got the same kinds of intrusive aka rude questions about my custom-made steel Rodriguez...to which I responded in the same way.
To me, those types of people are the same who make thoughtless comments and ask questions about things that are none of their business in every direction; they really don't deserve an answer, but I usually give the courtesy of some type of response that is comfortable to me...

My bikes cost a lot compared to most on the road. I think it's not very polite either to ask how much someone's bike cost them (unless it's a close friend who's interested in bikes).
When strangers ask me how much my bike cost, I just say "more than the bikes at Wal-Mart." If they continue to press, then I just say something like: "Well there are all kinds of prices levels bikes, depending on what you are looking for in a bike...Why, are you thinking of buying a bike?" that turns things around pretty quickly.