The other day I was out for a ride alone. I’m flying along and suddenly, my pedal falls off. It was no big deal, I pulled over and went back to pick it up, but as I’ve confessed here before, I’m totally clueless when it comes to even the most basic bike repairs so I had no idea as to how to reattached my pedal. Luckily, I was on my way back from my ride so my car was only a five-minute walk away. So, pedal in hand, I started walking my bike back to the car.

Now, the bike path that I was on is a pretty popular path for local cyclists so, during my walk of shame, I was passed by about six other cyclists - some alone, some in pairs, about an even split between men and women. And what really got me down was that only one of those people stopped to ask me if I needed any help.

Here I am, a fellow cyclist, walking my bike, holding my pedal, and only one in six of them even slowed down to find out if I was okay. They didn’t know that my car was just up the road. They didn’t know that I wasn’t hurt. And they just steered around me and rode away.

I was shocked - and saddened. I really think that one of the best things about cycling is the community of people that are involved in the sport. I have always thought about it as a kind of family or a huge group of friends. But that experience the other day really made me question that.

It’s just basic common courtesy folks. It’s the old Golden Rule: Do onto others as you would have them do onto you.

So, the next time you’re out riding (or even walking or driving) and you see one of your cycling brethren having difficulty on the side of the road. Stop, will ya? And see if you can lend a hand. That just might be you one day.