and little things you do that makes the world a nicer place.
Everything is a bit doom and gloom right now ( in my head anyway). so how about letting us / me know the little things you do that make the world a nicer place or a random act of kindness you were on the receiving end of?
I'm thinking things like the poster who litter picks ( sorry dude - forgot your name)
So if you are the doer please blow your trumpet a bit and if you are a recipient then lets hear how someone made your day.
Dunno about random but as part of Cubs inspection every week we give them a point for saying how they helped someone that day (linked to the Promise and Law). Some of them are very sweet like 'Mum wasn't feeling great so I made dinner' while others are more 'I didn't hit my sister when she annoyed me'. Lots of being helpful at school.
Lots of little kindnesses on Ride to the Sun last night too including the chap who rode to catch me up after I dropped my sunglasses bag. Cheers bloke. Regular ones for me include picking up unsightly rubbish, cutting the communal grass, and not hitting my sister when she annoys me.
Got up real early today, filled my bialetti, grabbed a stove, stopped at the bakery and picked up a croissant. Rode to one of my favourite spots on the river that flows through Munich only to find it strewn with bottles, plastic and other crap that some degenerates had left behind.
Rather than get wound up I spent ten minutes clearing it all and now the spot is spotless.
I'll take the plastic and other crap with me and leave the bottles in the hope that someone else has space to take them. Bottles in Germany have a deposit and ate worth up to 25c. There are some folks who (sadly) have to left bottles to top up their pension. I've left the bottles next to the path to make it easier for them to collect.
I’m thinking things like the poster who litter picks ( sorry dude – forgot your name)
👋
I litter pick because I'm out with my dog so why not? I started posting about it on here to hopefully influence other people to do the same as unfortunately there is a lot of litter out there. I don't do it for any recognition or praise.
MrsRNP started a community kitchen during lockdown - it now feeds between 50-80people a week. Again she isn't looking for recognition - she just does it.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/spring-clean/
https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/shining-a-light-on-rossendale-group-helping-those-in-need/
So many. The time I was climbing a long hot dry hill in California. A car stopped. The elderly driver gave me a bottle of water and topped up the bike bottle I was drinking from. After a chat I got back on the bike and waved for him to head of in front of me. Then he told me he was heading back the way he came. He lived in a house back downhill. He had seen my going very slowly past and had jumped in his car just to come and give me water.
A few times in diners I've gone to pay my bill and been told a local I had been talking to had already paid it as they left.
One of the best things about touring is realising the world is full of good people.
On my bike tour last year passing thru a nice wee touristy town a young couple called over to me and asked if I was bike touring ( yes duh!) - they then insisted on buying me lunch stating they had had folk buy them lunch when bike touring.
Gave me a lovely fuzzy feeling and one day I too will pay that forward
I don’t do it for any recognition or praise.
Of course you don't - but little things like that make a difference to everyone's lives and its a nice feel good story. sorry I forgot who it was 🙂
Popped into lidl the other day and there was a young lad on a Trek DJ type bike who had black hands and looked like he was struggling a bit, thought he'll sort it, came out 10 mins later, hands now black as coal and going no where fast.
I said give me a look and I'll sort it, he'd done that thing with the chain where it loops over itself (twice!) In a way you'd think a chain never could without actually taking the thing apart and putting together the wrong way, soon as I saw it I though oh F, I'm in over my head here but a minute later he was on his way and I was wiping my hands in the grass to clean them.
Ohh there was a time last December, I live on a steep hill and the path had totally frozen, I woke up at 1am to hear groaning outside, I thought they were just pissed, it carried on and I looked out the window, an old chap in his 80s had slipped and got himself wedged under the car out front, I went down to get him out but couldnt shift him, called the ambulance but while on the phone he'd freed himself and I'd got him up onto two legs, cancelled ambulance, phoned police to find next of kin, the old feller couldn't remember his name, or where he lived but the police tracked him down somehow and called his daughter, she came out after we'd stood in the road for 30mins with his dog after him saying he lived around the corner (he didn't), barely a thank you at pick up but glad he got back safe, he'd never have lasted the night, it was -4/5c so at least.
A few times in diners I’ve gone to pay my bill and been told a local I had been talking to had already paid it as they left.
there’s a old guy in kilmarnock who anonymously pays for someone’s dinner every night in a fish and chip restaurant there. Gets dinner for himself and pays for someone else’s as he’s leaving.
I’ve given cycle tourists bits of my bike to get them back on the road ( not while I’m riding but if I’ve had my bike with me when driving)
came across a couple in Harris on hired bikes from somewhere else in the Hebrides absolutely covered in black cruddy oil that had been hiding a terribly worn and now broken chain and a chaiset that was practically toothless. I was heading to the ferry home anyway and had my fun so just gave them the parts off my bike and left them with tools to get them back on their way.
Not me, but my friend told me this:
His daughter is in the local football team, and parents watch from the sidelines. After a while an old lady started attending, bringing her folding chair. It turned out she wasn't a grandmother, but a neighbour of one of the girls, whose parents suggested she might like to come and watch, which she did quite consistently.
Fast forward 18 months or so, and the football team were fundraising for a trip to a tournament in Sweden. A donation of £3000 lands in the fund. When asked, the old lady just said "Well, I enjoy watching the girls so thought I'd help out"
Bike touring on North Uist last week, long way to the shops and not very nice weather, chap offers to get us any shopping we needed. Didn't need a lot, but he bought us two of what we asked for and then wouldn't take any money for it.
So thanks to Brookes Graham if by chance you are reading this! Definitely cheered us up and again we'll pay it forward when the chance occurs.
Plenty of people have done random nice things for me. As I mentioned on the thread about this place from long ago, a bloke I'd hardly met offered to lend me a bike for a while. Other people have gone out of their way to give me lifts places, or even lent me their car for a day.
I do the usual sorts of small things, try to take opportunities to do a good turn here and there. Generally not in the same league as some on here. I guess I did once give a car to a young lad at work. We were going to get rid of it, was only worth a few hundred quid. Frankly didn't want to sell it to this guy in case something went wrong with it, and it would have seemed a bit crappy to ask him for money anyway given our relative positions so I just thought "why the hell not just give it to him?".
I still remember bonking on a ride when I was just starting out and some Surrey Uni mtbers bailed me out with some energy gel donations. I always carry spares on a ride now, and have often paid that one back.
I'll sometimes ask if buying a coffee if I can buy a second for someone that needs it - in Italy a 'sospeso'. <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I wouldn't buy for someone already in the queue, it feels a bit embarrassing, I have very occasionally for a public service worker like police or ambulance in appreciation though.</span>
When we got our Gov heating allowances - I thought that was very poor, giving it to folks that didn't need it instead of means testing or increasing the amount to those on benefits. It still rankles that there were folk on here boasting about the free money. So I spent it by proxy on putting stuff into the supermarket food bank donation instead.
I litter pick because I’m out with my dog so why not?
I've recently bought myself a litter picking stick and am (sadly?) really looking forward to using it.... When we park up in the van I usually spend 15-30 minutes clearing the spot and filling a black bag or two.
Annoyingly for the GF in the van I usually slow down and make sure bike tourers have got enough water and bananas. Have done a fair bit of touring, guiding and following tours in a support vehicle.
Lost count of the number of times I've helped riders out over the last six months. Last one was a Spanish couple..... They parked next to us and set off. Ten minutes later they come back and the lady is scooting along without a chain. Split the chain, gave them a quick link and they went off. Guy insisted on giving me a bottle of red when he got back.
It's not too hard to be nice.
*feels warm and fuzzy*
Like many of us I guess I have helped out a fair few cyclists over the years. Last summer i was also the recipient having punctured for the 3rd time in 2 days and thus having run out of tubes. Nice chap gave me a tube
last year on crete. rainy days so we visited a lovely little village, then an archaelogical site, then the heavens opened again. in the middle of nowhere we went past a family of 4 adults with 2 young kids on their shoulders in the p1ssing rain. initially drove past thinking ah well, they must know where theyre going, but decided id better check.
drove back up the hill to them, turns out they were a belgium family that had been walking a gorge, got lost, were soaking, had no idea where they were, didnt know where their car was nor could they explain where they left it. they also had no water left.
we came up with a plan where id drop the missus off under shelter with half the party, then drive a few of them around for a while until they recognised where the car was. worked a treat, so dropped them off, went back for the other half of the family plus my wife and took them to be re-united with the car.
i think they realised how close to something serious had just happened, it had just been an adventure with the kids that theyd under-estimated.
tried to pay me for our help but i explained there was no way i was going to make a bad day even worse by taking their holiday money off them too 😀 told them to just buy the poor drenched kids a nice treat with it.
I've unofficially adopted the strip of soil next to a local alleyway. All that used to happen was that one of the neighbours would complain that it was overgrown then the council would put weedkiller down. I've done my best to plant some insect friendly native flowers and stick to things that work in the local climate rather than having to use yet more water. I've tried not to spend too much on it, relocating things that weren't right in my garden or perhaps getting the bigger bag of bulbs than I otherwise would and splitting them between garden and alleyway
Need to find something that will fill in now the poppies are fading for next year.
Everyone. Thank you, and a big thank you to TJ for starting the thread. It has done to me what you were looking for. So I'll take that as an act of random kindness to me. Needed to hear some hope. Been a right rough 3 years or so and I'm just exhausted of it all, reading about other beings being good to other beings has helped today. I'll be sure to pass it on.
About 18 years ago touring in Slovenia I came across and old lady with a flat tyre on her car, which was stuck in a big traffic jam, swapped it over for the spare for her. She was rabbiting away in Sloviienian but I didn't speak a word so just nodded and smiled and jumped back on my bike. Half an hour later a Police car pulled me over and the copper handed me 50 euros and kept saying tyre tyre, he wouldn't take it back. That was at least three days worth of holiday money for me..
I donated about 100 used tennis balls to the local dog walkers yesterday. Didn't cost me anything as I even walked there and cleared some of my garage clutter. A guy there said they will be gone by the end of the weekend, hopefully not all to the same person !!
A few years ago an elderly neighbor died and her bungalow was left empty for a while.
We got a knock on the door one morning, CID asking if we’d heard anything as the bungalow had been burgled. We hadn’t heard anything and when I went to look, the window had been broken and the door frame was broken when they’d forced the door.
I offered to secure the property and change the lock and told the Police to inform the family that they could get the new key when they needed to.
Later that day, the daughter turned up and I gave her the keys, she was very grateful that I done what I did and offered to pay me, I flatly refused saying it was a neighbourly gesture.
Two weeks later I received a letter from the family thanking me for everything and a £200 Rapha voucher which was very thoughtful!
Reap what you sow, what goes around comes around, or Karma. Call it what you like but I firmly believe in it.
So nice things I've done...
* Donated a bike to gnusmas for his daughter
* Gave away my old Specialized hard rock frame to someone who was probably on here. Got a couple of bottles of wine for that
* Generally give all the old stuff the kids have grown out of to charity, including toys.
* Helped some old guy get in his house on the way back from a ride whilst I was cold and piss wet through. Poor sod was sat on his doorstep and his legs were buggered. Although that may have been more to do with the booze 😄
People have done loads of nice things for me as well.
As someone said above, it's not hard to be nice.
Gave a poor lass my waterproof at Llandegla a few years back. Crashed on the blue, first hill and put her bars into her abdomen. Neither she or partner had any appropriate clothing (t shirts). It was freezing waiting round for an hour directing bikes.
Didn't expect to get it back, but got a call from the centre just as I was leaving.
I now carry spare space blankets with me always (including road bike), and if its out in the wilds, a rescue sleeping bag thing. You never know when someone may need it.
I’ve just bought the local football club 2 sets of water bottles, after they asked for sponsorship for their equipment needs on FB. Never had any interaction with them, as they have only set up this spring, but, if they can get the local kids off the streets, its got to be worth my £50. Come on Eaglesfield Thistle FC!
This thread has reminded me to set up a standing order to our local food bank. I went off Trussell Trust when I realised how much they spent on lobbying without making it clear that that was where a chunk of their funds go, and wanted to support a food bank that actually feeds people…
Tj I heard of someone who donated their tandem to the local charity that takes blind people out for rides. I was very impressed by that!
My daughter pilots for this group and that makes me proud.
My wife does quite a lot of volunteering. She’s currently baking, which she does each week, for a local group which she helps out at. They have a group of people suffering with dementia come along for some fun and singing etc.
They’re not unique, there are loads of people who do selfless things for others. They appear far happier and more content than most.
I often wonder how Boris Johnson and the like would respond to “what was your last random act of kindness?”.
My daughter pilots for this group and that makes me proud.
good for her. I will too one day when I pluck up the courage
My daughter pilots for this group and that makes me proud.
good for her. I will too one day when I pluck up the courage
you should- she loves it. The group seems to be going from strength to strength.
A couple of weeks ago I was walking into town and saw a dog about to walk off the Stray (in Harrogate) onto the busy road. A girl just in front of me grabbed the dog (which had no collar or ID) but wasn’t a dog person so I helped out, called my wife who came down with a collar and lead then called around to try to find out what to do with it. Turns out that 7pm on a Friday night is not a good time to find a dog - the warden didn’t re-open until Monday am. So anyway, after about an hour on social media we managed to find the (pissed up) owner who had somehow forgotten she had been walking her dog!
That takes our tally of found dogs to four now 😹
I was in B&Q the other day buying bits for a job in the plumbing section.....old fella comes up asking advice about was valve to buy (turns out he needed a ball valve for his water storage in the loft)...so I told which part he might need.....he seemed like a nice bloke so I said are you local...
Turns out he lived in the next road down....so I said give me your address and I'll fitted part for free as I knew my next job would not take more than a hour...he was ever so grateful....must admit, I did feel warm.....im forever doing random stuff for peeps...mainly neighbours...so take the pee....but they can only do it once with me...co z ill know
Pay it forward people...make the world a better place
….must admit, I did feel warm….
.so you should - its perfectly normal to do so
I do not believe in altruism. I believe its enlightened self interest. We do nice things because it makes us feel good
Mugseys m8 - the whole point of this. I was feeling a bit blue and everything looking a bit black
Today stopped in car to let an old bloke cross the road. He seemed to be struggling for a decent gap in the traffic so I made sure to slow down, which allowed him to take advantage of a gap in the other direction.
Yesterday at a local fete my daughter was doing a dance show thing with the dance class she goes too.
I went to get my Dad a Coke from the bar & the woman serving drinks had some very cool see-through nail decorations with flowers on them. As I walked off I told her that I thought her nails were very cool and she absolutely beamed 😁.
A few months ago there was a bloke near where I meet my lift-share colleague struggling with the rear tyre on his Holdsworth gravel bike.
Once I'd dropped my colleague off. I asked if he was OK.
He basically had a tubeless puncture that wouldn't seal, no tube and only CO2 which he'd used up.
I offered to give him a lift to a bike shop so he could get sorted out.
Ended up taking a 20min detour to a nearby shop with his bike in the boot so he could get sorted. Funnily, he was a bit ungrateful about the whole thing - almost like he expected it, but hey ho, I'd do it again.
Ive got my big 8mm allen key out on a bike ride when I saw someone stranded as the shock thier cheap FS had departed from the frame... fixed him enough to gently pedal home but the bike was a wreck.
Equally first aid kits, came across a guy with a bad pedal strike on his leg, but he was bleeding quite well as he was on blood thinners. Cleaned him up with some saline solution, strapped him up with some dental pads, the kind you get when you have a tooth extraction and electrical tape. And he was good to get back, to better sort his injury out.
Annoyingly my mate lambasted me for my ghetto first aid kit, until I asked him what first aid he was carrying.. the answer was none.
Been out on the bike yesterday for an hour and a half. Got back and MrsF was cursing one of her overlockers. Wasn't sewing properly with the four threads, even tried different coloured thread to find the culprit.
I said have you changed the needles (bit like brake and gear cables TBH). Nope. I then rummaged in my bike tool box for a 1.5mm hex key for her. Changed needles, guess what, worked perfectly.
Some cracking and uplifting ones on here.
My most recent one is a bit dull, but the cafe at work had it's card machine go down just as the lady in front of me was trying to pay. It had happened a few times and the staff said it would be an hour or two till they got it fixed via the card company so cash only.
Lady in front of me had no cash and was getting flustered with not being able to pay for her coffee and some weird guilt that she was holding up the queue - I just paid for hers and mine, and when she offered to pay me back the next day I just told her to pay it forward to someone else - which was what I was doing, having been helped out before when stuck with no cash
Today I stopped all traffic to let 4 ducks crossing the road back to their pond.
Just recently on a flight, upon boarding, a guy was sat in my seat... after a short conversation I agreed to swap seats with him, as they were both aisle seats and I'm quite tall, and he wanted to sit with his wife/girlfriend. A bit presumptuous I thought...
After checking with the flight attendant, they said its fine if i'm happy. I was travelling alone so it's no skin off my nose as long as it was still an aisle seat.
Luck was in my favour as my new seat, the middle one was unoccupied (there were very few empty seats on this flight), so me and some other person who had the window seat, had lots of extra space.
It was also the extra leg room emergency exit seat, so double bonus!
Winner winner chicken dinner! Sometimes it's nice to be nice.
Today I stopped all traffic to let 4 ducks crossing the road back to their pond.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Little things, pick up litter in the park, give stuff away I no longer need, tents, tools, plus donate chain links and tubes to people in need.
Big things, pulled woman out of sinking car who had driven off a cliff in an attempt to kill herself. Talked to her about her life until helicopter and rnli arrived. Couple of years later pulled a different woman out a boat cabin which had overturned in surf. Big outboard on the back had pulled the stern down and she was trapped on the forward cabin.
But the thing I try to do constantly is smile at people, talk to them and say thank you. Like to think my momma raised me right.
Driving home the other afternoon we saw a couple with big rucksacks looking a bit desperate/ hitchhiking on a hot day in the back of beyond. Turns out they were paraglider pilots who had flown cross country from the hill near our house. So we had a nice chat on the drive back and they bought us an ice-cream from a farm we passed. Everyone a winner! 🙂
In the last mile we scooped up another paraglider - he had done rather a long walk by that point and we didn't tell him about missing out on ice cream....
not hitting my sister when she annoys me.
We’ve got that covered - she’s been in Spain for nearly 40 years, much more suited to her temperament.
Years ago, whilst riding to work I stopped to help an old guy with a flat. Gave him my spare tube, sorted it for him and went on my way.
A few weeks later, had a flat and predictably had not replaced the tube. No patches, and was a few miles in either direction from work or home.
Within minutes, a pick up pulled over, youngish guy asked me if I needed any help. We flung my bike into the truck and he took me to work - where I could pick up a tube from the Sainsbury's.
As we were driving I asked him why he stopped. He said that a few weeks ago his dad had a puncture and a cyclist stopped to help, he said that next time he saw a cyclist in trouble he would stop an help.
I felt like I was in a ****ing romcom 🤣
Riding home a couple of days ago and just caught a glimpse of something glinting in the undergrowth by the side of the road. Just a bit of rubbish I thought but stopped and had a look anyway. A nice crisp £20 note was smiling back at me. Got back on the bike and immediately spotted another and then another. All deep in the undergrowth. Thought then I'd better have a proper rummage around and a few yards down found a wallet, drivers license, credit cards and all sorts. The elderly owner lived nearby so managed to returned it all. That felt quite good. Don't leave your wallet on the car roof folks! 😁
