When I lived in Washington, DC, a woman on my regular route (a the top of a hill, so I was going slow) came running out of her house in her bathrobe, calling after me. She stopped me to tell me that seeing me ride by every day had inspired her and her husband to go out and buy bikes. She hadn't ridden a bike since she was a kid. She invited me up to her porch to show me their new bikes. She and her husband would ride them on the nearby greenway. It was great! From that day on, we always waved to each other and sometimes chatted, always about bikes.

You never know how you inspire people without even realizing it.