It turns out there are still some nice people in the world. I thought lawyers had turned them all into horrible, spiteful people, but lo and behold, they come out every now and then. Take yesterday for example.

I got it into my head that I had to go for a bike ride after class because it was so beautiful outside. I strapped on my bike gear and headed out for a lap or three around Rice University. Until I remembered that my cleats were missing a screw:

This cleat is kind of important as keeps the cleat attached to the shoe, which keeps you attached to the pedals, which keeps your foot from suddenly releasing from the pedal and throwing you thence onto the hard pavement. So yeah, that screw is kind of important. It’s also hard as hell to find.

I rode to a nearby bike shop armed with a $5 bill and a gimpy cleat. They had the metal plate, but no screw. He gave me the plate…

…and said I should check out the hardware store around the corner for the screw. I asked him how much I owed him for the plate. He said, “Nuthin’, but hold on to that plates, they’re hard to find.” Wow. Bike shop people are usually a pretty nice bunch, but free stuff is a rarity. So I went on to phase two: Locate Screw at Hardware Store.

Imagine this: skinny white guy in bike shorts and a yellow jersey walks into old-timey hardware store complete with clip-clopping bike shoes on the bare concrete floor. I might as well have been holding a sign that read, “HI, I DON’T FIT IN. SOMEBODY PLEASE SHOW ME THE DOOR.” I proceeded to take off the offending shoe, and when I walked, I looked like a cowboy in chaps (but with only one boot). After clip-clopping around the store looking for the screw aisle, I walked to the first person I found – the girl who ran the register – and asked if she could help me. We searched and searched through the many different screw boxes to find one that might fit. Keep in mind I’m still in my bike get-up, wearing only one shoe.

She tracked down a guy that knew a little more about screws and he helped me out. After four or five close calls, he found a screw that fit:

I busted out the $5 bill and the girl said, “Um, I don’t feel like breaking that for a 17-cent screw. I’ll pay for it. Just come back some day and buy something.” WOW. You bet.

So through the kindness of my fellow people, I got a cleat plate and a screw for free. That sounded weird. But it’s true. I have the screw to prove it.

After that I did three loops around Rice and felt like my lungs were going to explode.