Electric bicyles get flats too, I learned this past Sunday, Father’s day. The eye-catching bike that I’m riding these days, an electric A2B produced by Ultra Motor, allowed me a swift ride from Bed-Stuy to the Upper West Side, (as well as the added badge of pride that I made it to dinner with my dad, on time).
On my way home, riding a path alongside the West Side Highway near the Hudson, it started to rain … but that wasn’t too bad because the air was warm and the ride still pleasant, almost like sailing. Until … the bike seemed to halt.
On the Williamsburg Bridge in the dark and pouring rain, the front wheel was difficult to turn and I thought it might have something to do with the wiring. I realized on the other side of the bridge, when the impact of the curb onto the street came with a thump, that it was in fact a flat. That was a relief. Simple, but it also left me stranded on Broadway and Bedford in the dark and rain. I would have to push the bike somewhere, and everywhere I could think of was too far away. In this drenched and dark vortex (my pant legs by this time were dragging down past my shoes) something special occurred: a Hassidic couple came to my aid as if from out of the heavens. In their tan SUV, they pulled up and asked if I needed help. The woman jumped out and told me she had a bicycle pump at their home a half-block away. She sprinted away and the husband drove on. She came back a couple of minutes later, handed me the pump. And because she was in a rush, she instructed me to leave the pump in the newspaper box on the same corner when done. It worked. I filled the tire up with air, and was back on my way. I didn’t have a chance to get her name. It was just one of those random acts of kindness—an electric moment.
