Coming full circle

Funny story. Last week my good friend, Heidi, and I rode our bikes at 8:30 am to a delicious little bakery in the Mission called Tartine. After a half hour of chatting and caffeinating, we went outside to find that someone had relieved my bike the burden of its front wheel.

Granted, I was ticked off. Just a week after deciding to ride my bike to my every destination in the city, I was suddenly cemented to the ground. I honestly can say I was full of glee riding the streets of SF. That walk home was kind of torturous.

Now the amazing thing is that I put a posting on Craigslist for advice on what I should look for in a new wheel/tire combo, and this guy named Dave steps up and offers me a wheel & tire for free. All he wanted in return was a 'refreshing beverage.' Dave, who lives in Walnut Creek, a full one-hour commute away, came over to my apartment and even put the wheel on himself, adjusting and tweaking my bike. (He's a bike mechanic). He even brought me several maps which he thought might be useful to me, as well as an SF guide to riding around the city. He calls himself a "bike ambassador."

The next day, Labor Day, we met up. I got us some beers, and we sat in Golden Gate Park, talking shop.