Anyone else have Good Samaritans who stop to help with your bike?

[Jiffer]

In the past couple of weeks, my riding buddy and I have had to deal with three tire issues out on the road. Two flats and that tire "tumor" I posted about, all three resulting in taking the BACK wheel off and on and putting air in the tire. (Not to mention my front tire was flat just before a club ride once recently and I changed it all by my very own self ... my very first tire change on my own ... and I was even on a time limit to get to the ride before everyone left! )

Anyways, all three of the times out on the road, we were pretty far along in our tire fixes when one or more guys stopped to see if we needed help. The first time, the help was really useful. The second it was nice, but less necessary. However, when it happened today, I was pretty excited for us to accomplish the entire task all on our own, which we could have done perfectly well. But just as we were putting the wheel back on the bike, which takes some doing with the back wheel, a couple of friendly guys stopped to see if we needed help. We both said, "No thank you. We're fine", ... but they felt inclined to come over anyways and just to make sure. Since they were there, I went ahead and let one of them put the wheel back on. I did, however, fill the air all on my own with the C02 cartridge (something that frustrated me the other two times, resulting in either letting the guy do it or the guy using his own regular pump). But today I did the C02 cartridge on my own. Woo hoo!

When my husband heard of our latest adventure, he said, "Well, I guess i don't have to worry about you guys anymore." Not only are we getting pretty capable of taking care of things on our own, but there always seems to be a Good Samaritan guy or guys going by ready to lend a hand, whether it's wanted or not!!!

[MtnBikerChk]

Nice job!

We've had a few people offer to stop and help - even 1 guy in a passing truck but my favorite was the cop that pulled up and said "can I call AAA for you?"

(he was kidding - it was pretty funny)

[Dogmama]

It's about 50/50 here.

I always slow down & yell, "Got everything you need?" I always carry two tubes so I can give one away.

It's a karma thing. Or a bike-ma thing?

[Aggie_Ama]

Sometimes, usually someone asks if you have everything you need. I say yes and they head on. I usually ride with DH so maybe that is why but personally I prefer they go on their way. We did take a CO2 off a nice guy one day when we were on our third flat. Had three tubes but not CO2.

[indigoiis]

I have found mostly good samaritan action. Yesterday my red flashing taillight went flying off my bike, batteries and everything scattered, on a steep downhill (so everything went everywhere.) I set my bike down by the side of the road, walked back up (klunck, klunck, klunck) and used my headlamp to look for all the parts (amazingly, the thing was not broken - it is a Cateye and I will buy this brand again). As I searched around, three cars came down the hill and all of them slowed and asked if I was okay. Granted it was dark and may have looked odd with me wandering around in cleats and a headlamp. But it was still nice of them to stop.

[Kalidurga]

Not only have I had multiple people stop and offer help on the rare occasions I've had a flat, I've also noticed that folks show concern when I'm just stopped for a break. I'll be leaning on my top tube or sitting on the ground admiring the view, and folks will slow down to ask if everything's ok. A guy in a pickup truck even stopped and backed up to check on me one day recently when I was out riding gravel backroads (and, no, he didn't seem at all psycho).

I usually pride myself on being self-sufficient, but it's definitely nice to know that the majority of folks would be willing to help if it was needed. Definitely inspires me to offer help whenever I can.

[RolliePollie]

I've had several flats on the road this year, the latest being today. I usually don't see too many other cyclists on the road...it's a very rural area. But also friendly...99% of other cyclists I see wave or say hello.

Today while I was wrestling my tire, two women rode by on hybrids within a few minutes of each other and neither said a word to me. One even stopped to stretch about 50 feet past me but never looked back. They're certainly not obligated to stop or to talk to me...but if I come across someone with a flat, I always ask if I can help or if they have everything they need. Maybe they figured my wheels were too skinny for their tubes? I don't know, but I was sort of disappointed that they didn't even offer any assistance.

I would be forever grateful if someone in a car happened to come by and offer me a full sized pump! My frame pump wears me out and I gave up on CO2...I can never get those things to work when I need them!

[crazycanuck]

I often will pass a person slowly & ask if everything's cool. I'll stop if need be.

I did pass someone last week & knew I couldn't help him as i didn't have the tool required. I thought it would be stupid to say "everything cool?" if I knew it would be out of my hands! I think he bent a crank..?

[pardes]

I can be waiting at a bus stop and people stop and want to help....they think I have a flat tire. Then when I start to put the bike on the bus, several people offer to help. Then you'll hear the bus driver say, "She don't NEED no help, that woman's got it DOWN!"

If I get this reaction at 62, I can just imagine the reaction I'll get at 72.

[SouthernBelle]

I've frequently received offers of help, esp if I'm in a high traffic area. Once, before I got my CO2 carts, I let a guy help me pump with my mini-pump.

Another time, I decided to walk the bike about a mile home and change the flat as it was extremely hot. I walked by a guy out mowing his yard. He stopped mowing, got his jeep, came and got me and took me home. Bless his heart.

[jobob]

My husband was riding our local MUT (the Alameda Creek Trail) yesterday. He saw a cyclist stopped on the side of the trail working on her bike so he pulled up and asked something along the lines of "do you have everything you need?"

(which, I might add, is the standard question both he and I ask any cyclist stopped along the side of the road with an apparent mechanical problem).

According to Lee, this woman came unglued on him - "Why would you think I need help just because I'm a woman!!!" (and so forth).

Getting the hint, he gave her a cheery wave and continued on his way.

[Jiffer]

I had another Good Samaritan experience, this one a little more interesting. First of all, I had a flat again before I ever left for my ride with my friends yesterday. The same tire that was changed on my last ride. We fixed it, but about 7 miles into the ride, going uphill .... thump, thump, thump. It was flat again!!! (Taking my bike to LBS today, by the way. Getting new tires and having them check it out for me.)

Anyways, since we were so close to my friends house, where we started, and it was pretty much all downhill, I had hoped that if I simply put air in the tire, it would get me back.

But the funny part is, right after I stopped and got off my bike, I heard a honk and looked to see my pastor waving to me as he rolled by the opposite direction with a car behind him. I pushed my bike up to where my friend had stopped and, as I suspected, Pastor Danny pulled up behind me shortly thereafter, to see if everything was okay. (He rides, too, by the way ... we even sucked him into trading up his ancient cobweb filled bike for a decent newer one!) I was about to put the air in and must have at least "appeared" to look competent, so he went ahead and left to get to the gym. I laughed and told Dawn, "Another 'guy' stopped to help!" Who'd a thought it would be Pastor Danny?!

Of course, 100 feet down the road, the air was gone and we had to replace the tube ... again. Three guys came zooming by downhill as we changed it and asked if we needed help. I yelled, "We're good!", and waved them on, which I think they were happy to do.

I'm off to the LBS now!!!

[Kvixen23]

I recently had the misfortune of a flat tire while out on the road with my husband. We changed the tube, aired her up and headed out. However, within less than a half mile, it was flat again. We didn't have anymore CO2 as we fumbled with the one I had and then used my husbands for the first flat.

We knew we were 5 miles from home and I couldn't walk it with my bike shoes or barefoot. Seeing as how we both left the house without a cell phone and were nowhere near a gas station or other useful public place, we decided that he would ride home and get the truck to retrieve me. However, we saw a couple of women coming out of the museum up the hill and rode up to ask if we could borrow a phone. One lady was kind enough to let us try our friends but we had no success.

So, my hubby pedaled away and I sat in the grass on the side of the road with my bike and my flat. While sitting there I was working out what to say if someone did stop to offer help. However, no one stopped. I started counting cars due to boredom. I stopped counting after 30.....no one even slowed down.

Thankfully my friends called back the unfamiliar number and the lady told him where I was stranded. He showed up and rescued me while his partner waited at our house for my husband so he would know I was being retrieved from my demise.

Usually people in Oklahoma are very friendly. I don't know what happened that day that no one stopped. I'm still trying to figure that out.......Needless to say, we will not be forgetting a cell phone anytime soon. Also, I took my bike to my LBS and they found a small piece of glass in the tire.....go figure!!

[Jiffer]

Ino one stopped. I started counting cars due to boredom. I stopped counting after 30.....no one even slowed down.

Were there any cyclists who rode by? All of my help has been from cyclists going by, and in our area, there are always cyclists on whatever road I'd be riding MY bike on.

The only time a car stopped for me, so far, was when it was my Pastor, so he knew me.

And, yes ... ALWAYS have your cell phone on you!!! When I was with my two friends and one of them crashed and went unconscious, my other friend didn't have hers. She purposefully left it since she knew we had ours. But it was so frustrating for her not to have it to be able to call her husband and other people during the midst of our crisis. I used mine to call 911 and friends and she took the "fallen" friend's phone out of the back of her jersey and used it some, but it didn't have phone numbers on it that her own phone had.j

Glad you got home okay.

[SouthernBelle]

If you were just sitting, they would assume you were resting.

My little story today: I ride with a bandanna tied around my wrist for mopping sweat, etc. Today it blew off and was sitting in the middle of the highway. I stopped, laid down the bike to run back and get it. A car stopped, blocking traffic so it wouldn't get run over. Wasn't that nice? And it was my good orange one that Meg gave me.