Archive-URL: http://search.bikelist.org/getmsg.asp?Filename=internet-bob.10506.1444.eml
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 12:23:53 -0400
From: "Bill King"
Subject: [BOB] Re: Old stuff
This reminds me...
Back when I was in college (early 70s) and working in a bike shop (Geo.
Rennie in Rochester, NY) my boss told me a story. He told me that a few
years earlier a guy had come in with a old bike in pretty bad shape and
asked how much it would cost to fix.
My boss told him that the thing wasn't really worth fixing and that he
should just get a new bike instead. The guy said, no, he wanted to fix
the bike. My boss persisted. He told him that it would cost over $100 to
fix and he could buy a brand new Raleigh Sports for that $100.
The guy said, "no, you don't understand. I was in Germany before the war
and I needed to get out but I couldn't get a train or boat ticket. All I
had was my bike. So, I rode my bike across France. When I got to the
coast I found a farm and asked the farmer if I could leave my bike in
his barn and come back for it later and he agreed. Last year I went back
to France and back to that farm. The farmer was still there and
remembered me. I asked him if my bike was still there and he said it was
and that I was welcome to take it. So, you see, that bike got me out of
Germany and saved my life and I want to fix it."