A very nice little story

 The six of us were a bit chilled but sun soaked as we rode up to Karma Coffee Bar and Bakery in Dallas for warm-up and refueling. This was a late November Salem Bicycle Club ride, 37 miles out and back.  Someone spotted a truck parked out front, with a rear window decal featuring a combat-style weapon and the wordplay “OreGUNian”.  I facetiously suggested that we inquire as to the capacity of the magazine on that semi-automatic*. My imagined stereotype of the truck’s owner was that he voted hard right, and that he stereotyped us (bicyclists) as hippie hard-leftists.  We laughed. 

Good down to 30 degrees

After some good coffee and carb loading, we spent two hours replacing all our winter riding gear (seems like it sometimes), and pulled our machines out, ready to roll. One of us habitually locks the bike every time, especially since it’s a high-end custom (really a good policy for us all).  There are downsides to locking, and one we rarely consider is lock mechanism failure.  No way that key would turn!  It was no surprise that the Coffee Bar did not keep a supply of lubricants on hand. Our multitools lacked bolt-cutters. The locksmith down the street? Closed. I noticed a couple at a table (presumably the truck owner and his wife) and approached them, beseeching could they perhaps help us?  Surely, he had plenty of tools in his truck-bed toolboxes, and he searched them both.  Nope.  His wife suggested hand sanitizer as a lube. Nope. He tried the key.  Nope.  Let me try…Nope. Let ME try… Finally, she went to her car, returning with 2 ordinary pairs of pliers.  Employing these tools deftly, the bike’s owner broke a chain link, and we were ready to roll.  Two lessons: compassion, friendliness, and an orientation toward helping others are likely to be completely apolitical, and women often are the better prepared. 

 

*Out of 2 million votes cast, Oregon Measure 114 passed in November 2022 by a margin of 25,000 votes (1.25%).  Like the laws in 8 other states, the Oregon measure bans bullet magazines of more than 10 rounds capacity. It also would require anyone who buys a gun in Oregon to pass a gun safety training. 

Seen while biking 

Preview of coming posts: our grand-daughter Alice, grand-dogs Miles and Cooper, and our son Tyler The first night home for Alice, after 26 days in the NICU.  She is now 36 weeks "gestational" age.