Meet Val. She is Today’s Nice Stranger. I met her while I was Traveling at the Speed of Bike yesterday around Atlanta. She was working at the Atlanta Zoo and she called me over.
Val told me that she just recently got her first bike in years and was excited to ride it! She said a friend found it by a curb and she got it fixed. Val said a woman about my age had ridden by earlier and was meeting up with a bike group, and Val was wondering if I was with the same group, and if it would be a good group for her to join. I told her I was just riding around by myself but directed her toward my website in case she might find some of the information (such as the Classes or Bonus Resources tabs) helpful.
Val’s experience with a found bike is a good reminder that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a bike in working order so that you, too, can start riding again. My bike, Magic, was a discard that my friend, Jon, fixed up for me! Fun fact: Jon was also a stranger I met while riding my bike a few years ago. Here’s that story. (Jon is now trying to help possibly get a bike for Diana! Small, wonderful world out there, folks.)
Also, fixing up my bike, Attica (who was in my attic for twenty years) cost only $35. You can hear that story here:
Is the only thing standing between you and pure joy (at a time when joy is in short supply) a bike that needs fixing? Swing by a local bike shop today and drop it off. And then get ready to join me. And Val.
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 