We've all held the door for someone or help someone pick up their change when they dropped it, but how many of us have ever really helped out a stranger? These gestures I mentioned above are nice but they are really of very little inconvenience when you think about it.
A few days ago on my ride I was the recipient of something I have never really experienced before. The kindness of a stranger...
While on a very long ride I was lost in Chambéy and I saw a woman standing by her car on the side of the road that looked like she needed help. I was thinking this should be interesting, my French sucks. I rolled up to her with her son in the car. She was motioning that I couldn't go this way, thinking back it was a freeway entrance, for lack of a better word. I pointed to a map and said Grenoble, then to my bike and said velo. She motioned to her car like she was going to give me a ride. I thought why not. It was late in the day, starting to rain and I was bonking for the second time. She got into her car then I realized she meant that she would show me how to get there by following her.
She took off and I started motor pacing behind her at 20mph. It hurt, but it was better then being lost. I was thinking I really hope she's not some nut that is just going to get me lost or worse. I followed her for over half an hour while she drove all over this city then through these vineyards and farmland. She even stopped and waited for me because I popped. Long story short I got back on the road and 2 hours later made it back to Grenoble.
The point of this isn't that I had a tough day in the saddle it's that a complete stranger took real time out of their day to help me, a foreigner, a stranger. I had to ask myself while this was all happening have I ever really taken time out of my day to ever really help someone, I mean really help them? I owe karma in a big way! I was in really bad shape, I was alone in a foreign country, I didn't speak the language and was 30 miles from my only refuge, my hotel room.
When was the last time you really helped someone? Something to think about...
-nate
-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Chemin des Effonds,Le Bourg-d'Oisans,France
