it's funny how life aligns itself sometimes.... and here's an example of that and why Cycling is the best sport in the world...
Did the Weekly Race at Hardwood Hills as i normally do with Luke and before leaving, and while chatting with Coach Rob, a lady came up and told me that "your son is a great person and should be complimented"... haven't heard that in a while!!! apparently he saw one of his team-mates crash during the race and stopped to help him get his bike and himself back together, insisting on staying with him while he got his wind back and onto his bike.... makes me want to cry.. sniff sniff....
on the way home from the race, i was explaining to Luke how there are so many great people in Mountain Biking... and that "there isn't anyone that i would say i don't get along with"... we are all our own characters, but in the end, we are all in this for a good time....
the next day while attending the Cottage Training Camp Program as i prepare for Nationals, i ran over a piece of glass with my tubular and my sealant wasn't enough to plug the hole... what does this mean? it means i'm stranded an hour away from home....
so rather than call sue and have her pack up the kids to collect my sorry butt, i put out my thumb and trust in the Goodness in Society (i also had this conversation with my kids at school - we hear about lots of "Bad" people, but we need to believe that society is still filled with more "Good" people....)
a few cars pass, and as i make my way to a small golf course on the side of the road, i see a van pull out with 4 bike racks on top... could be a Compassionate Soul to rescue me... but he turns and goes the Other Direction... oh well....
a minute later, i notice that he has pulled a U-turn and comes up beside me asking if i need help, and offers to drive me all the way back to the Boat which will take me to the cottage.... he passes his own Cottage Road and continues out of his way by about 25min (each direction) to drop me off.... turns out he does a lot of road and MTB riding himself and has "felt my pain walking a bike home"....
Nothing more than a Thanks and a Handshake did i have to offer him in return, and a lesson to all of us that we are a Family, a Tribe, a Group of like-minded individuals who need to remember what brought us to this crazy sport in the first place... not the glory or money or fame, but the love of wind in our hair, the sweat on our jerseys, the pleasure of hearing another rider's story, and the fact that we all just love to ride... no matter how fast that may be.
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