I had a good one a few weeks ago on a local river trail. Poor guy was wearing cleats and walking his bike with helmet on the handlebars. Something was obviously wrong. When I first stopped it sounded like a quick spoke adjustment would get him going. Turned out that he'd crashed and flatted his rear tire as well as bent the wheel. It was easier to give him a new tube than fix the big snake bites in the old one. We loosened the rear brake for clearance on the wobble and he was good to go; slowly, but at least not walking. But what I think was most comforting to him was someone stopping to help and telling him that things would be ok.
Guy Taylor, Anaheim, CA, USA
wheelman@nac.net wrote: All the discussion on help given for parts scrounging let me reflect on how many times I happened upon a poor soul who needed help on the road. My all time favorite was coming upon a guy who was on what we might call an economy road bike with several miles on it. It was loaded with panniers and kind of grungy. He was stopped on the side of the road looking over his bike and trying the kick to fix method. When I pulled up the first thing I noticed was the chain had fallen off the front ring but was bunched up in the front derailleur. Strangely enough the same was going on in the back. After having corrected that I noticed that his brake levers we installed inside the drops and asked him why. He told me that they came loose and wound up that way. I then corrected that, next one of his calipers was on in reverse. After questioning that he explained that the pads kept coming out the other way. I reversed the caliper and the pads. I noticed his seat was kind of low for his size. After giving a quick twist to see if it was loose, it just spun freely, he said he could not figure out how to fix that. Another hex wrench solved that problem. I could go on but you get the idea, nearly a full tune up on the road.
I believe Mikey Schimdt was with me and assisted for this one or perhaps it was another CR member. I do not recall a thanks from the guy but it did give me a story to remember the rest of my life.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ