I did a good-karma do-si-do with a co-worker this week. She's the nurse practitioner for the mental health clinic where I work, and also an avid cyclist (she owns a beautiful Soma). When I told her I had caught another head-cold while I was in Moab, and it was hanging on way too long, and I was thinking of going to the doctor to get some kind of insight into my immune system, she asked a handful of questions and drew the simple conclusion that my system is still recovering from pneumonia; tiredness, catching colds, etc., are part of that. This was amazing to me; I haven't had obvious symptoms in weeks. But it explained a lot, so I was grateful, even though it extends the whole "take it easy" period by yet more weeks to come. (She said it can take six to eight weeks after symptoms have disappeared until the body has normal energy... No hard training until then. Sob! I haven't truly trained since January, and words can't describe how I miss it.)
Yesterday, she left me a voicemail saying she'd gotten a flat on the way to work, and, surprisingly, didn't know how to begin repairing it. Would I have time to help? Well... of course. We wheeled the bike outside, and I taught her how to remove her rear wheel, check for debris, properly seat the tube, all that good stuff. She was very grateful, and just that was worth it. (Plus I got to stand in the sun and work on a bike during work hours!)
Later, I was driving home and saw a cyclist up ahead. I'd never seen her either coming to or going from work, even though she rides my road once a week. But lo, it was her, pedaling along happily.
Talk about payoff! I'd helped her fix that very wheel just hours earlier! It made me happy to see her chuffing along toward home.
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