As with all flat tires, I peeled the tire off the rim. I checked the tube, found the glass chard that cut it, and patched it. I checked the rim tape for problems, checked the tire for any other foreign objects and replaced it back onto the rim. After pumping it up, I dropped my solid axle back into the dropouts, replaced the nuts and aligned it. Then, I replaced the brake cables on the cantilever brakes. All in all, I spent 45 to 50 minutes.

After making sure the bike was roadworthy, I replaced my enormous pack (80 pounds), and bungee-corded it all back onto the rack. At that moment, I pulled my water bottle for a swig to quench my thirst. As I sat on the piling of the guard rail, that same SUV rolled to a stop across the highway. A kid jumped out with a pizza box and two cans of lemonade. He ran across the highway toward me.

"My dad said you might like some refreshments," he said. "He remembers when he rode his bicycle across the country after finishing college. He still talks about it. It was the best time of his life. He's got an 8"X10" photo of him and his buddies celebrating on the Atlantic Ocean."

"Well thank you," I said, as I waved to the entire family.

They all smiled. "Safe travels," the father said. I waved, "Back at you!"

They drove off. I sat there realizing that my two buddies were eating dinner and drinking beers up ahead, but as I sat there munching on the MOST incredible and tasty pizza of my life, to this day, it will be the greatest pizza that I ever ate. Why? Because it was given to me on a very hot day in Vermont on a very lonely road. It rewarded me for fixing my flat tire. It tingled my tastebuds like no other pizza because of the kindness of other human beings. When I finished, I placed the empty pizza box on top of my pack. With the last gulp of lemonade, I flattened the two cans to be recycled when I reached the next town. I remounted Condor and pedaled east with a big smile across my face and an even bigger one across my spirit.

"Damn," I muttered to myself. "Sometimes, flat tires are a good thing!"

"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change."

– Bob Kerrey

Share these videos all over America:

In a five minute astoundingly simple yet brilliant video, "Immigration, Poverty, and Gum Balls", Roy Beck, director of  www.numbersusa.ORG, graphically illustrates the impact of overpopulation.  Take five minutes to see for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=LPjzfGChGlE&feature=player_ embedded