Poor Samaritan

Have you ever tried to help someone and it went terribly wrong?

I went for a ride on the canal bank on Sunday and on my way back stopped off
at a nice little spot for some lunch.

As I was eating I was approached by a chap asking if I had a pump that would
inflate "pressures", I told him that mine did both so he was welcome to use
it. It appeared that he carries his in his saddle bag but it was missing and
whilst his tyres were not flat they were a little soft.

I handed it to him and carried on eating without giving it much thought. The
chap unfortunatelyjust put the pump on his valve and pressed thus letting
all the air out if his tyre. He told me that his adjusted for different
valves automatically.

I took the pump from him and tried to alter the valve setting but it was too
tight so had to lever it and guess what happened - yes you've got it - the
pump broke in to two.

This was a Zefal all aluminium pump but where the barrel meets with the
fitting it is plastic and it snapped. I tried to fix it with insulating tape
but to no avail.

This chap is now far worse off than he was when he borrowed my pump and I
had a broken pump (now replaced).

He did ask a few passing cyclists if they had one and none did (I wonder
what they would do?). He decided to start walking on the road to either find
a bike shop or Halfords or a passing cyclist on the road.

If he is reading this I hope you got the help you needed quickly and I'm
sorry that I was no use to you.

Dave

Dave typed:

As I was eating I was approached by a chap asking if I had a pump that
would inflate "pressures", I told him that mine did both so he was
welcome to use it. It appeared that he carries his in his saddle bag but
it was missing and whilst his tyres were not flat they were a little soft.

This chap is now far worse off than he was when he borrowed my pump and I
had a broken pump (now replaced).

If he is reading this I hope you got the help you needed quickly and I'm
sorry that I was no use to you.

At least you tried to help, which is better than anyone who simply ignores
it or walks away.

--
Paul - xxx
ebay 140130737796
Wheelchair PowerPack

Dave wrote on 19/06/2007 12:46:
Have you ever tried to help someone and it went terribly wrong?

Not really (sorry). I've just done my good deed of the day. I cycled
from here to the Lowry and met a young lad (aged 9ish?) on the new white
bridge over the Quays who asked me if I had a pump as I went past.

I stopped, as I do; he said he'd had a puncture but fixed it but it was
clear that as I pumped air in you could hear the air coming out again;
he said he'd cycled over some glass (not difficult in Manchester). To
cut a long story short, it looked fairly easy to glue a patch on so I
did (going with the other three patches on his inner tube!) and we
pumped up both his tyres and away he went.

A few minutes later as I was parking, he and his dad rode up to me at
the stands. His dad was most appreciative - he'd tried to pump it up,
but his pump broke, so he'd gone off to get a new one but I got to the
lad before he returned. He and his son were both local and they were
both thanking me all the time for sorting it out. It gave me a warm
feeling, not only to have helped them but also that they'd been out on
their bike together. It only occurred to me afterwards that I thought
the lad should have been in school :-)

I'm not an expert at bike maintenance myself but it was nice to have
been able to help.

Peter

--
http://www.scandrett.net/lx/
http://www.scandrett.net/bike/

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:31:59 +0100 someone who may be Peter
Scandrett wrote this:-

It only occurred to me afterwards that I thought
the lad should have been in school :-)

They are fairly long periods of holidays throughout the year.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

David Hansen wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:31:59 +0100 someone who may be Peter
Scandrett wrote this:-

It only occurred to me afterwards that I thought
the lad should have been in school :-)

They are fairly long periods of holidays throughout the year.

Although most schools are currently between periods of holiday.

It's also possible, of course, that the youngster was home-schooled.

--
Danny Colyer URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

David Hansen wrote:

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:31:59 +0100 someone who may be Peter
Scandrett wrote this:-

It only occurred to me afterwards that I thought
the lad should have been in school :-)

They are fairly long periods of holidays throughout the year.

The people were local to Greater Manchester, an area which is not
currently on school holidays.

Cheers,
Luke


--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire http://www.shrimper.org.uk

David Hansen wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:31:59 +0100 someone who may be Peter
Scandrett wrote this:-

It only occurred to me afterwards that I thought
the lad should have been in school :-)

They are fairly long periods of holidays throughout the year.

And nowadays many (all? some?) schools have "inset days", which are
basically staff training days during term time, so the kids at that
school all have a day off that doesn't correspond to a traditional
holiday. I've taken my lad out for a day on the bikes when to an
observer it would appear he should have been in school.

Matt