Earlier this year while it was still hot and humid, I was riding my bicycle on the Leelanau Trail near Mawby Vineyards and Winery when I heard the thud-thud-thud of a flat tire hitting pavement behind me. “Oh no, not again,” I thought.
On my initial inspection, I couldn’t find a puncture in my bike tire. Flats are a somewhat regular occurrence and there are maintenance stations at the trailheads on the Leelanau Trail, so I walked about a mile to the nearest one at Shady Lane for a closer look. I then found that the point of failure was the valve, which is beyond my ability to fix with a pump and some patches.
Now, one of the perks of working for Leelanau Enterprise has been working from home on Fridays. The weekly edition prints in house Wednesday and we typically have in-person newsroom meetings Thursday, but physical attendance is optional Friday. We also have some freedom in choosing how long and when we work Fridays, to avoid overtime.
I happened to be doing this particular ride on a late Friday afternoon during working hours. I also live about 15 miles away from Shady Lane in Traverse City. So, I needed someone to bail me out, but didn’t want to impose on my coworkers in Leelanau County or ask someone to leave work early to give me a lift.
While I was getting ready to call an Uber or wait for someone to get off work at the trailhead, I chatted with another cyclist who had just finished a ride with her son. She was waiting for her other son and their grandfather, who were just behind them. They were about to hop into their SUV and get some ice cream in Elmwood Township, so they offered me a lift.
With some pushing, we barely crammed my bike on the rack with their other four bicycles, and after a short drive, I was back home. I offered them money so they could buy their snacks on me, but they respectfully declined.
When I looked in my bathroom mirror, I realized I was covered in grease. My hands got dirty while trying to fix the flat tire, and while I was trying to wipe sweat from my brow with my forearms, I apparently still smeared my face before I asked for help. The family was kind enough to not point out the fact that it looked like I just emerged from the coal mines.
I think one of our defining characteristics as Midwesterners is our willingness to help people when they need a hand. It’s partly an extension of our famous “niceness.” It also probably has something to do with helping each other so we can all make it through the long and brutal winters.
While driving on the back roads of the Upper Peninsula in the 2021-2022 winter season, I lost control on some ice. I stayed on the road but got partially stuck on the snowbanks on its shoulder. Fortunately, some folks in a truck stopped and offered to pull me out via a trailer hitch, and they got me out as quickly as I got in.
These truckers were believers in karma, sometimes known as “pay(ing) it forward.” Although tensions are high right now with the coming elections, I hope that we’ll be able to come together again afterwards and make it through another snowy winter and beyond.
