Kudos!
This month the award goes to Banks Bicycle Repair and Rental.
Banks Bicycle Repair is a full-service bike shop, so you can get anything done on your standard bicycle. They rent bikes, too. They do not service or rent e-bikes (but as you will recall from “Bicycle Safety and the Law: Quiz #1,” e-bikes are not bicycles at all; they are e-bicycles). If you have visitors from out of town and you’d like to show them the Banks-Vernonia State Trail, Banks Bicycle has a whole fleet of bikes to rent. They also have snacks for after a long ride or to take with you at the start of one. And it is not merely a full-service bike shop. Their generosity and humanity is the story. ✎
A couple of weeks ago it was hot, as you will remember. I was on my bike and almost back to Banks. I passed a jogger who had “the look.” Awkward gait, slow pace, shoulders down, about ready to sag. I gave her my last water bottle, and she drained it. I told her I’d ride on to the finish, fill my bottles back up, and come back. When I got to the Banks trailhead, I remembered the bike shop there and had heard they would assist people on the trail.
I described the jogger’s situation and asked if I could call them when I got back to her and get an assist. The man in the shop (Len Punzel) never hesitated, and said, “Of course.” I tanked up my water bottles and was headed back out the door when he called me back and said, “Take this” while handing me a cold bottle of Gatorade out of the refrigerator. “No charge,” he said.
Well, when I got back to the jogger, she had covered another half mile or so. I gave her the Gatorade, and she drained that. I asked if she’d like a lift the rest of the way, but she said “No.” She did look better and picked up the pace some. I rode with her the rest of the way, and she went into the bike shop (it’s air conditioned) to say “Thanks.”
Kudos to Len Punzel and Banks Bicycle Repair!!
Also, this month’s membership report shows an increase in total active members of 30 (yeah, that’s right, 30!) members compared to July 31, 2023. In fact, year over year, our membership has been at least slightly higher almost every month in 2024.
Kudos to ALL OF YOU for making this a welcoming (and growing) club!!
Dave McQuery, Membership Secretary