Sorry for my delayed reply, Leah. Yes, she's the same. Have you read Educated by Tara Westover? An unbelievably similar story and challenges posed by that background and doing well, a semester remaining. The number of things we take for granted that are not is humbling. Her reaction to a bicycle was both fright and joy. She'd never had "fun" in her life until riding her bike. Learning the city began with following my rear wheel's path and signal like I did to overcome any hesitance to riding in the city where she lives. She rides in such a straight path now, others view her as a veteran cyclist and ask her for directions and advice. It happened so much one spring morning on a ride down to the Point that she kept riding for hours, repeatedly recognized and approached by other cyclists. A bike high for sure
It's hard to step back and appreciate how much you can help others when in a topic of your interest, we all do it here within our hive of knowledge. I've benefitted for sure and I hope my relation of experiences has helped others in some way, if but for the reading. It's humbling to see just how deeply you can affect another with what comes very naturally to you. We forget how into bikes we are compared to the other people on the street. I lose track of exactly how fortunate I have been despite what problems I've faced. Insight of the path and troubles of another sure reinforces that. Why folks smile when out in the rain, in the mud, far from destination, on a bike. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3SVEwyvgPenhmWuD6 Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 4:40:19 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > > I remember you mentioning this woman, maybe back when my son got his Clem > in 2018? You work together, right? How is she doing? > > I’m sure she is so appreciative , knowing how much your bikes mean to you > and all. She sounds like a good candidate for a new Clem when the next > batch arrives. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Dec 13, 2019, at 6:17 PM, ascpgh <asc...@gmail.com <javascript:>> > wrote: > > > Gift of the the Magi here, selling a bike to help a young student pay > tuition. She objectifies a Rivendell, so sometime. For now she has to get > through school and I opted to part with a bike for the cause. > > Andy Cheatham > Pittsburgh > > On Friday, December 13, 2019 at 1:15:15 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: >> >> Is anyone is getting a new bike or getting a loved one a new bike for >> Christmas? This will be a really fun thread if there are a lot of people >> planning for new bikes under their trees, or it could be really quiet here >> (I know winter is not peak bike-purchasing season for most of the country), >> but let’s see. >> >> I got a Clem a couple of months earlier, so I can’t contribute, but I’ll >> include a short Christmas bike story anyway. My favorite gift as a kid was >> the Huffy purple/black/gray mountain bike I got for Christmas in 5th or 6th >> grade. The problem was that I was born and raised in North Dakota, where >> the winters are long and fierce. I Could. Not. Wait. for spring that year. >> I would walk out into the garage and stare at my new bike all that winter. >> It had GEARS. It came with a WATER BOTTLE (that was cracked, but oh well) >> and it had a small handlebar bag! Sometimes it got the best of me and I’d >> wheel it out onto the street in front of the house and just pedal it a >> little bit. The tires were perpetually flat, and I usually gave up and went >> back inside quickly. But I was so content knowing that new bike - the first >> new bike I’d ever had - was waiting for me in that garage. I could not wait >> for spring to come. >> >> My very best friend got the same bike (both sets of parents favored >> shopping at Target), and on some lucky Fridays, after school let out, we’d >> pedal home to her farm where I’d stay and ride her horses with her all >> weekend until church on Sunday. It was gravel roads the entire ride, and a >> good 5 miles. We were just kids (11?12?) in the 90s and it was a real >> adventure. I don’t know how we weren’t killed by gravel trucks as they >> crested the hills; they’d never be expecting kids riding bikes on those >> twisty gravel roads. Also, what were our parents thinking?!? But the only >> thing I loved to ride more than my purple mountain bike was my friend’s big >> old quarter horse, Bud - so away we went. We were big stuff. >> >> That Huffy was probably the nicest bike I ever had until I was 31 years >> old and got a Betty Foy. I think Mom and Dad still have the Huffy in their >> storage unit in my hometown. I’ll look for it this summer and take a selfie >> with it. Now I’m completely bike-rich and marvel at my humble bike >> beginnings. My first bike was a garage sale bike I got when I was 7, and >> that is another tale. It’s so fun to look back at that Christmas and >> remember how excited I was to taste the freedom that a new bike was going >> to bring me. >> >> I hope someone is getting a new bike for Christmas this year. Christmas >> bikes are the most sacred of bikes. >> >> Leah > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/lKaAbGrprzI/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e4a55b46-36da-49d9-ab8d-10170d1eefa5%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e4a55b46-36da-49d9-ab8d-10170d1eefa5%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/aaf9952b-0175-4a8c-835a-9db99fc11c69%40googlegroups.com.
