The Bike Whisperer

Have you ever encountered a situation so wonderful that it nearly stops time? One that creates a story that, simply, begs to be told because it portrays such kindness and goodness that you fill to bursting with the need to share it? I have and it has become a sentinel event in my life. An event on which I have reflected much and discovered a great deal about how to live and create a positive impact.

So, you might be saying, get on with it. You can’t lay something like that out there and then withhold information. It is not right! Alas, I can and must withhold this story because I know in my bones that to share it publicly, however well-deserved, would taint the entire idea. I will get the story out of my head and heart and commit it to paper. I need to do this for myself, but I will not publish it until an appropriate time which may be years from now. I will not be the destroyer of the magic. I will share it with the creator of this magic, because he needs to know the magic he created for my grandsons, TJ and Emmit, for their mother – my daughter Nicole and, thus, for me. And he needs to know how appreciative we are and how special we feel to be the recipients of this magic.

I don’t remember the year I first met the man, as several years have now gone by and I didn’t mark the occasion at the time. I do remember that Tom and Nicole, along with TJ and Emmit, had visited a bike shop in Whitewater. Later, Nicole asked if I knew of this shop or had ever done business there. She added that I should check it out. So, when I next needed a bike shop, I checked it out. I met the owner and his wife, and I clearly knew what Nicole meant. Seldom have I visited another bike shop since then.

Initially, I had no clue about the extent of this man’s biking knowledge. As we interacted over time, I was able to make sense of the pieces. As time elapsed, he helped me select bikes and equipment for my four grandsons. I realized quickly that he has likely forgotten more about bikes than I will ever know.  When my own bike needed serious attention, he advised that he could fix it, but I might want to weigh the cost of repair against the cost of a new bike. I got the scale out and, indeed, heeded his advice about the great new bike he helped me select. It turned out to be the perfect machine for me at my age, weight, fitness, weight, and biking habits. Double Shot and I bonded immediately, and I have never looked back.

The boys all looked forward to visiting his shop. They drew pictures and brought them to the shop. If I’m not mistaken, at least one of those pictures still hangs on the wall. High points of being a grandfather have been watching these cherished young men – the looks on their faces - as they grew into new bikes that I was blest to be able to help them buy – all with this man’s trusted knowledge and advice.

I loved conducting business with him, becoming acquainted, and learning. In my Corporate Human Resources career, I often had the opportunity and responsibility for teaching customer service and carrying the torch for upholding customer service values. Thus, I am an active observer of this body of knowledge whenever I am out and about. I admired the way this man interacted with me and his other customers. I was pleased and impressed when he became the purveyor of great coffee drinks. We discussed this a bit, and he explained how he had visited places where they served coffee drinks just to observe what customers wanted and were ordering, and how these places were being managed and operated. Discovering “best practices” as it were. I found this impressive. Not only is this guy a phenomenal bike man, but he is also a great barista

If I were to create a list of his demonstrated qualities I have observed over the years, it would go like this – competent / professional / no nonsense / customer driven / not easily impressed / sense of give-back. I have come to refer to him as “the bike whisperer”. My reflections on the concept of a “whisperer” are that it is not easily attainable and encompasses an entire gamut of values and skills. It is a label that I use very discriminately. All of this is part of the magic referred to earlier.

One of this man’s many skills is that he is a consummate custom bike builder. That’s a never-never land for me but I understand and admire it. I know a couple of bikers who have the passion and the resources to go there. Imagine my surprise early one day last spring, as Covid -19 was upon us, when he asked me into the shop as he had something to show me. I wondered about this as, generally, customers remained outside the shop at this time. He went behind his line-up of used bikes and came out wheeling and absolutely gorgeous, small, custom-made road bike. He asked if I knew anyone who might be able to use it for the summer or until they outgrew it. It looked about perfectly sized for Emmit and TJ so I immediately replied, “Yes, I do know two boys who would be ecstatic to use this bike”. He then explained the background of the bike, how he had crafted it for a nephew many years ago, and how he now lent it out to those who might appreciate it and take care of it. He reviewed the caveats of being selected – how to care for the bike, where to ride it, how to love it, and the expectation that it be returned at the end of the season or when outgrown.

What a gift! What a gesture! This man saw an opportunity and took it. He became a giver of happiness, a giver of wonder, a giver of smiles. Some of the “stuff” of a whisperer? Yes, I think so. I say “became “a giver, but that is not accurate as I’m sure my grandsons were not the first to experience this gift.

I couldn’t wait to arrive home with the bike and get the boys to my house so I could show them this wonder. What fun! Sample comments from Emmit & TJ were, “It’s fast – I can keep up with mom.” “It was a bit tricky learning the handlebars and shifting at first.” “I was able to do a 25-mile ride with mom for the J-Hawks.” “It is so light.”

Well, my grandboys have now outgrown this amazing bike and it’s time for me to return it to the bike whisperer with such grateful feelings for a season of joy he gave to them and for some powerful life lessons he gave to me.

 By now you know that this is not the end of this story. I don’t know what the next chapter will be, but I do confidently there will be a next chapter and more after that because I know, and now you know, the character of this man.

My favorite American author is Wallace Stegner. These words from his piece, “Everything Potent Is Dangerous”, speak to what I see in the bike whisperer.

 “But I believe as well in a whole catalog of Christian and classical virtues: in kindness and generosity, in steadfastness and courage and much else. I believe further that good depends not on things but on the use we make of things. Everything potent, from human love to atomic energy, is dangerous; it produces ill about as readily as good; it becomes good only through the control, the discipline, the wisdom with which we use it. Much of this control is social, a thing which laws and institutions and uniforms enforce, but much of the time it must be personal, and I do not see how we can evade the obligation to take full responsibility for what we individually do. Our reward for self-control and the acceptance of private responsibility is not necessarily money or power. Self-respect and the respect of others is quite enough. I shall certainly never do as much with my life as I want to, and I shall sometimes fail miserably to live up to my conscience, whose word I do not distrust even when I cannot obey it. But I am terribly glad to be alive; and when I have wit enough to think about it, terribly proud to be a man and an American with all the rights and privileges that those words connote; and most of all I am humble before the responsibilities that are also mine. For no right comes without a responsibility, and being born luckier than most of the world’s millions, I am also born more obligated.”

So now you know the magic. It’s powerful and it’s the stuff of life. It’s humbling and it’s motivating and energizing. Now that we know, please join me in making our own magic for others. That’s the lesson. Thank you, John Sotherland, for showing us the way.

I wish you and Liz the best on your impending retirement. We will all miss Bicyclewise!  And may we heed John’s words – “BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER!”