Water
I am a long-distance cyclist and have been for close to 30 years. Good hydration is paramount to effective long-distance cycling.
I took off for a 32-mile ride. I rode a few blocks only to realize I didn’t bring any water with me. At some point, while riding, I stopped and picked up a fair-sized bottle of water. The cage on my bike was slightly larger than the bottle. What that meant was as I rode, the bottle jostled around, and at one point, I almost lost it. I kept riding.
I crossed a major boulevard. Simultaneously, while traveling, the bottle slipped out of the cage and lay in the middle of the boulevard. I got to the other side of the boulevard, turned, and saw the water bottle in the middle of the boulevard. Traffic was intense, so the thought of going back into the boulevard was a non-starter. I resigned myself to another lost bottle of water. I moved on a short spell and turned and saw the bottle still sitting on the boulevard. Pissed off, I got on the pedals, continuing my ride. I would find another bottle of water along the way.
I rode about a block’s worth when I heard a trucker leaning on his horn, trying to get my attention. I stopped. The pick-up truck pulled up even with me and stopped. He rolled his window down and handed me my bottle of water.
His kindness shocked me, and breathless.
I eked out, “Thank you, brother.”
He countered with, “Ride safely.” And drove on. As I rode on, I thought this kind man might not have been originally going down the street I was on, but as he sat at the light, he saw the bottle of water fall out on the boulevard and me to turn around twice to look at it. He jumped out of his truck amid traffic, picked up my bottle of water, and drove to hand it to me. Did he go out of his way for me? Possibly.
It was the best bottle of water ever.
