STAN

Biking along the highway at around 33rd street, I lose control of my bike.  I fall under the bike and land on the side of the highway. I can't right myself because my legs are caught under the bike. I am still and calm.

A car pulls over, and a plain middle-aged man walks over and asks what he can do.

"Why don't you stand up and I'll lift the bike."

"Well, that's the thing. I can't. I have ALS and I can't move very well."

(Which I hate saying, I hate saying the words. Maybe it's not even true! BUT, in certain circumstances you have to  make your point).

I ask for his shoulder. The man helps me stand. He sets me up on my bike. Gets it placed in the right direction. He tells me that he drives a pedicab. (So funny. Another pedicab reference for my blog).
He tells me I should get a three wheeler so I won't risk falling.

"Good idea, but where would I park it? ... it would have to fit through the narrow door of my bike room."

(Regardless) He gives me his card so he can email me the information.

He tells me his name is Stan.

And I can tell that we have experienced something here. We have shared. I share - so much of the time -with strangers, that I'm getting a bit bored, a bit jaded.

(I used to volunteer at the center for the blind on west 23rd Street and I remember thinking that blind people (as a rule) were so insensitive! So cold to my empathy, to my sensitive caring help, to their sad existence.)

What did Stan and I share? Something about the joy of helping a stranger, something about being intimate with someone for a few short minutes, something about the admission of disease and not letting it phase either one of us but just moving on to practical solutions...

____________________________



Hello Stan,

I just found your business card in my pants pocket.
I wanted to thank you (again) for helping on the West Side Highway last Wednesday night.
I love my Eco bike. It really makes miracles happen for me.
But sometimes there is nothing I can do except wait for others to help me when I land on the pavement. Thank you for being that person last Wednesday.

I remember you're telling me that you own a pedicab.
We rented one last month when my mother was in town, in Central Park.
We loved it.

Hope all is well for you and thanks again for being a good samaritan.

CHARLIE

___________________

Charlie,
You're welcome. I'd help any cyclist in need. Just be glad you weren't 15 feet out into the highway.

You should look up George Bliss. He creates personal trikes for people; an engineering kind of guy. He has a bike shop down on Morton Street about 3 blocks from the highway. You need something that
a. folds
b. is more stable
c. can carry or already has a motor.
That's a toughie, but George may be able to help.

Before they became illegal, many pedicabs had hub motors in the hubs of the front wheels. I bet they can be put into folding bikes. The bikes would just be more cumbersome to move around because of the added battery weight.

Just a thought: what if you had a trike with a foot-wide stance between the two back wheels? The hinge to fold would be on top of the horizontal tube, so the front wheel would swing up and over the seat, to rest in a basket between the two back wheels. I don't know if it's feasible, though.

Anyway, look George up. If anyone can engineer a folding, motorized trike, he can.

Best wishes,
Stan