flat tires bring out the good in people

so today i was riding my bike, and i decided to push a little further than i'd ridden around the streets of nashville. the greatness was that i got to ride a few more miles, the bad news is that the extra miles included a rough railroad crossing. i made it over in one direction with no problem, but on the way back, the crossing was so rough that it immediately knocked all of the air out of my rear tire. and i was about 5 miles from my car.

so i called my parents, because i didn't have a pump or tire patch with me and they were the only people i knew that would be able to come help me. but while i was on the phone with them, another rider stopped and asked if i was okay. and then he offered to help me patch my tire. but we couldn't find the hole. and then another rider stopped and ended up giving me a new tube. and then another rider stopped and let us use his pump, and then the first guy remembered he had a co2 cartridge that would pump my tire up to 80 psi in a flash.

so in a matter of 20 minutes, 3 people stopped to help me, and gave me a few dollars worth of stuff to get me up and riding. all this to say, i love nashville, and i love the community that is bicyclists.