Last weekend we received an email from a gentleman looking for some help with his new bike. He lives in Ely but is staying with his mom until after Christmas as he recovers from surgery. On November 4th, he needed a life-saving emergency brain surgery to remove a blood clot after having acute headaches for a week. He also lost his father this summer so life has been rough lately. Although he nearly lost his own life, he mentioned in some ways it’s been a blessing as he is now able to spend Christmas with his mom.
He has been saving for a while and finally bought a fat tire bike. In Ely, he rents a home on the lake and in the winter months dreams of riding on the lake and on the back-wood trails into town. Being cleared by his neurologist to ride again, he reached out to Wheely Good needing studded tires and help with a few bike adjustments. He can’t afford to take his bike to a traditional bike shop and is dealing with major medical bills. Not exactly realizing the cost of studded tires, I said, “Sure we can help you out.” This is what we are all about; coming alongside others and loving them.
Well, after a bit of research, we quickly realized that a new set of studded fat tires will run $225 each and an additional $20 each for tubes. Okay, now what? We wanted to help him out but I was not sure how. We reached out to some local companies with little success and then decided to drop Trek an email to see if they’d like to partner up on this. I explained what we do, this guy’s situation and how we are trying to help. Trek responded within an hour and said I was assigned a case and someone would reach out. The next morning, I heard from Trek again and to make a long story short, Trek donated a brand-new set of Gnarwhal fat tires and tubes. It was so incredible! These are top of the line studded tires. The next day, at our doorstep, were the tires and tubes…a $500 gift.
I am so happy we were able to make a little difference in this guy’s life right now because of Trek’s generosity. They are truly an amazing company and their kindness here speaks volumes on the type of company they are. This story is so much bigger than a set of tires and tubes, it’s the story about a man recapturing the joys of life and breathing in fresh air. About stepping outside and riding across the lake and through the trails and, even if for a bit, letting go of the difficulties of life and smiling.
It’s a beautiful Christmas story. These stories don’t happen without the many people that have come along and entered into our story at Wheely Good. May you each have a very Merry Christmas and happy and healthy New Year! God Bless.
