... with a little help from my friends

As per usual, I rode the Reaper ride today. About 1/2 from the turnaround and about 9 miles from home, my chain broke. Specifically, the special chain connector broke, allowing the chain to fall on the ground. I had no tools or spare connector, so I was in a pinch. Thankfully, about 6 of the 9 miles home are downhill. Walking and coasting from there would take a long time.

A fellow rider, Josh, saw me standing on the side of the ride pondering my fate and EXTREMELY kindly volunteered to push me back. Soon, Marty and Chris joined to help as well. It's quite a helpless feeling to be pushed along while sitting very still and trying to maintain a straight path.

A couple weeks ago, Chris and I were heading towards the start of the reaper when we came across a fellow rider whose connector link had fallen off. He had 1/2 in his hand, so we helped look for the other 1/2. After about 5 minutes, we gave up and tried unsuccessfully to catch up to the rest of the group. Just as we were leaving, a maintainance worker asked us if we were really abandoning our friend. This occurred a block from his building, so our friend was in no danger of being stranded. He just missed the ride.

I can't help but wonder if the two events are connected.