I was horrified when  I read about the poor woman in  Avondale who was hit by a city truck. I  have a daughter who lives and bikes there. She was horrified when I  e-mailed  her  about that crash.

This is a big city and not  every story about city trucks is so disconcerting.

Yesterday I left work in  the loop and  found  that my front tire was flat.  When  I took the wheel off the bike and inspected it I easily found the  piece of  glass that was the cause of the flat. I also  found that for some reason  my spare tube had a Schareder valve which fits my wife's bike but not the one I was riding.  I only had one spare. I didn't think I could get enough air in  the flat  one to ride to a shop. I was getting ready to admit defeat and take the bike upstairs to  my office when  a city worker in a pickup truck came to empty the garbage cans at the bus stop by the  location  where the bike was parked. He engaged me in conversation and asked about my predicament. He asked if "that shop on  Wells Street" was still open.  I told  him  it was open  until  8pm.  He told  me to throw the bike into the cargo bed and he would take me to  Village Cycle. We had a nice conversation on the short  drive and I told him  I would  try to pay it forward. I bought a tube, put it on my wheel and rode home.  When  I got home I put the Schraeder tube in the pannier on my wife's bike. I put two Prestas in  mine. I want to be sure I have an  extra one for the time I find a cyclist in  need so I can repay my debt to the city worker with the pickup truck. Thanks.