Angels Named Tony and Kelly

Kelly and Tony

Yesterday was a very difficult day.  It started out okay.  We made our way out of the Albany area and worked our way to St. Johnsville -- a 60 mile trek.  Most of the day was on the Erie Canal Bikeway.  It was a very flat crushed stone and packed dirt trail for the most part.  The trail was off the main roads -- which was relief after the harrowing experiences in Albany where we crossed bridges which were under construction and had only one narrow lane. 

Anyway, somewhere along the way my rear wheel went out of true.  By the end of the day I had a broken spoke and a bicycle that was as David said, “dead in the water.” 

Luckily, we did make it to the very nice marina camp ground, but after taking the cassette off the wheel and trying to fix the spoke it was clear that the job was bigger than I could manage – especially without a right sized spoke and a lot of time. 

So we were pondering what the hell we were going to do, when David saw a man and asked him if he knew where the nearest bike shop was.  The man, whose name was Tony, answered that the nearest one was in Herkimer, which was about 17 miles from the campground.  He told us he was going there in the morning to pick up a wheel he had left there for repair.  David asked him if it was possible for him to give me a ride with the wheel so I could get it fixed.  He said sure, that in fact he could get us and our bikes and gear there because he had his cargo van at the marina and was staying overnight on his boat with his girlfriend Kelly.

The wonder van!

We couldn’t believe his generous offer and accepted it immediately.  We didn’t know if the wheel would be fixable or not, but we could only find out by going to the bike shop. 

We have no idea what we would have done if we hadn’t met Tony.

 

As it turned out, David and Tony were cut of the same cloth.  Both had been smokers who gave up the cigarettes for running marathons.  Both had blown out their knees and had to have meniscus surgery.  Both had returned to athletic activity way too soon after the surgery and their knees had suffered.  (Kelly and I also had a lot in common as partners of these guys.)  And both David and Tony had turned to bike riding, when they could no longer run.  Strange how these things happen!

Tony and Kelly gave us a ride to Dick’s Wheel Shop in Herkimer and dropped us off.  It also turned out that the owner Dick was a customer of Tony’s.  He owns a water and coffee company called Campione Water Company.  He told us to tell Dick that Tony sent us, in fact brought us to his shop, which we did.

I believe that things happen for a reason and that the Universe will provide what I need.  This was born true by this incident. (David said that the whole thing made him believe in a higher power.) Tony and Kelly were our angels and we are so grateful for their generosity and kindness.   May they be blessed as we were (without the broken spoke though)!  Thank you again, Tony and Kelly.