In article <[email hidden]>,
Roy Zipris said:I'm curious what folks think about the following.
On a ride this past weekend with two other cyclists from my bike club,
one rider got a flat. When he unfolded his spare tube, the valve stem
pulled right out, so I offered him one of my extras.
Besides the fact that I don't recall him thanking me, I'm curious to
see if he gives (or at least offers) me a tube to replace the one I
gave him. I can't say we're close buddies but we're certainly not
strangers either, having ridden on club rides together for the past
five years.
I would not say anything to him--I'd feel petty--and I don't really
care about a $5 tube, but I am curious because I do think that one's
attitude about such things--thoughtfulness, courtesy, helpfulness,
etc., on club rides--reflects one's general values in life. What's your
experience? --Roy Zipris
Well, I was in his position a few months back, and got the loan from a
clubmate who I knew I would see at the next ride (in my case, it was for
the embarrassing reason that I had a short-stem spare and needed a
long-stem).
I did the only accceptable thing: I gave him a new tube next week, and
though I didn't match the brand, I tried to be scrupulous about giving
him back a tube with a long stem and of comparable quality (he gave me a
race-grade brand-name tube, so the replacement I gave him was a
Bontrager race-grade tube, still in its chrome box; I recommend the
Bontragers as repayment tubes, because the box is very shiny and
impressive).
The philosophy here is to be generous in assistance and scrupulous in
repayment. I would have no problem in giving away a spare tube to a
complete stranger, with no expectation of recompense, if it was the
missing link to get them home, even if it was an overpriced Bontrager
tubes.
I relate the anecdotes above not so much to excoriate your clubmate, or
to encourage you to exact a quest for restitution (it's likely you have
no legal recourse, since you freely gave him the tube in the first
place). I relate it as a prescription for your own behaviour, which is
to continue to give away tubes even to those who don't return them, but
to be scrupulous about replacing the tubes others give you, to the
extent you can.
Just to give the converse, if I had to take a tube from a stranger, I
would offer them the usual (coffee at the end of the ride, $5 if I had
it and if they weren't going my way), but wouldn't fret if they said
"don't worry!"
Also, as Mike and Claire related, don't return a used tube. Even if you
got a used tube as a spare, be generous in repayment and give them back
a new one. It will make the donor feel warm and fuzzy.
Our club's Saturday Ride policies explicitly state that club members
should bring extra food, water and spares to share with underequipped
guest riders,
--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos
