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I fell off my bike today and got pretty scraped up, but nothing serious. I was going around a corner on a busy two-lane road in Napa, and skidded on some gravel. My electric bike is so heavy, it is hard to lose control. I ended up on my side with the bike holding me down, with my head (luckily in my helmet) on the pavement in traffic. I could not move because the heavy bike had me pinned down. I was about two feet on the busy road, but luckily the light nearby was red. It was scary because this is a busy road with a narrow shoulder. Normally, I never take that road, but the county has the other fairgrounds entrance locked up. (I am going to ask them tomorrow if they could at least leave a small pedestrian exit open.)

Anyway, this happened in front of a small auto repair place. I was struggling to move out of traffic, but I could not budge because of the heavy bike, but two of the shop mechanics came over. One lifted the bike off of me and the other man pulled me up onto my feet and got my bike out the roadway. The first guy went and grabbed a chair for me to sit on. My knee and elbow were scraped up and swollen, and the top of my left foot was scraped the worst. I asked them to hand me my handlebar bag, and I took out some wipes and wiped my knees, foot, and ankle off. I was only a few hundred feet from my campground so walked my bike home. Bike was fine and I pulled out the first-aid kit and bandaged myself up.

OK, I really want to do something nice for those two men. I thought about baking a batch of cookies, but I am really not in the mood for baking. I was thinking of going out tomorrow and getting a couple of $25 Target gift cards and dropping them off there. Or maybe a gift card from Home Depot?? These are the two stores I could drive to with my motorhome and park at fairly easily.

Or is that too monetary a thank you for my rescuers?? The other option would be to buy some store-bought cookies, but that doesn't seem right.

Hi!

So glad you didn't break any bones and were able to deal with your scrapes and bruises. Under the circumstances, I think a box of store bought Christmas cookies for each man would be a very good idea. They could bring the box home and share with their families. Do you know their names or will be able to recognize the two men?

Again, glad you are okay.

Pooker

Glad you are none the worse for wear. Nice gesture of the men and yes a thank you of some sort would most likely be welcomed. Maybe a gift card to one of the local sandwich shops nearby or somewhere they could get some lunch.

Judy, I'm so glad you weren't hurt. That's scary that you were pinned under your bike on the highway. I agree with both Evie & Karen. I'm sure the guys will be surprised that you did something for them in thanks.

Judy, your Good Samaritans saved your life from some distracted driver. In these hard times and Christmas I would go with Target gift card. They can buy food, a gift etc.

Judy, So glad nothing more serious than scrapes and probably much soreness happened to you. Your rescuers did a very nice thing for you. Yes, thank you gift cards would be appreciated I think. Lyn

JudyJB wrote:OK, I really want to do something nice for those two men. I thought about baking a batch of cookies, but I am really not in the mood for baking. I was thinking of going out tomorrow and getting a couple of $25 Target gift cards and dropping them off there. Or maybe a gift card from Home Depot?? These are the two stores I could drive to with my motorhome and park at fairly easily.

Or is that too monetary a thank you for my rescuers?? The other option would be to buy some store-bought cookies, but that doesn't seem right.

Judy, sorry to hear you fell with your bike, but glad you were not too badly injured.

IMHO, especially in these troubled times, cash is always king. Personally, I never think cash is out of line - cookies are nice, but some people have dietary restrictions. I (personally) don't like gift cards, because one is often charged a percentage of the card's value as a "fee". I like "no-fee" cash.

I once had a circumstance where I was stuck at a U-Haul place, with my car about a mile away. Were it not summer, I could have easily walked it - but it was well over 100 degrees, and I don't do heat.

So I just asked the guy at the counter if there was anyone there who could take me to my car - a young guy just getting ready to go on his lunch break was walking by, stopped, and said he would take me.

When we got to my car, I handed him $20. He was astonished, and tried to refuse (it only took a couple of minutes to get me to my car), but I thanked him and told him he really saved my bacon. Which he had. He got a really big smile on his face - I could see by the state of his car that he could use the money.

Win-win. His smile was icing on the cake.

Anne

Judy, I'm so glad your injuries were not worse. Lots of good suggestions here. I'd probsably do a small box of cookies with a hand written thank you note with maybe $10 or $20, for each of them. Then I'd look seriously at getting a lighter bike. What if that happened out on a trail with no one around and you were trapped? How much does that bike weigh?
Hope you aren't too sore today.
By the way, laws in CA do not allow cards to charge non disclosed fees and most you pay up front when you buy the card or it's bulit into the card via the store paying a discount for the card and selling to you at face value. I buy cards by Visa for my son for when I'm gone and face value $100 card is worth $100. No other fees. I thnk a Visa is better than say Target, because Visa can be used anywhere, anytime.
Velda

MandysMom wrote:By the way, laws in CA do not allow cards to charge non disclosed fees and most you pay up front when you buy the card or it's bulit into the card via the store paying a discount for the card and selling to you at face value. I buy cards by Visa for my son for when I'm gone and face value $100 card is worth $100. No other fees. I thnk a Visa is better than say Target, because Visa can be used anywhere, anytime.
Velda

Velda, I recently shopped online for a gift card for a Forum friend, and this is what I found:

Amazon - Gift card for $25.00 charges a $3.95 "Purchase Fee", so the actual cost of the card is $28.95. (Thus a 15% charge).

Walmart (online) Gift card for $25.00 charges a "Purchase Fee" of $3.44. (Thus a 13.76% charge)

A Visa gift card, (online) at Walmart for $25.00 also charges a "Purchase Fee" of $3.44 (Again, a 13.76% charge), so the actual card costs $28.44.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/25-You-re-Awesome-Vanilla-eGift-Visa-Virtual-Account-email-delivery/779889548

Most of these "Purchase Fees" also will increase as the dollar amount of the card increases.

It may be different if one shops for cards in a physical store.

Anne

I'm glad you're ok. That's first. I know many won't take cash unless you hide it lol. So I love the idea of it inside a small gift, whether cookies or anything else. I'm glad you know who these good samaritans are and are thinking about them.

Judy, glad you aren’t hurt any worst and a huge thank you to those 2 young men. I would be for a thank you card for each and tuck some cash in each one. Take care.

so glad that you were seriously hurt... tape that thank you card and money/card to a box of cookies or candy and it's a win win they won't have any idea of the money in it till later
sheila

Anne, I have no dea where you are looking because I purchased a Visa last week as a donation for a fire victim, BelAir charged me nothng over what I put on the card. A few minutes ago I signed into my Amazon Prime account and added a $50 card to my cart and took it all the way to tne last step before hitting complete transaction and invoice showed NO extra fee. I did same or Walmart and no extra fee.
Velda

So glad you were not seriously injured, you were lucky help was close by. I had no idea the bikes were so heavy. A card and token of your appreciation in any form, I am sure would be welcome.

With the battery inserted, the bike weighs about 55 pounds. Without the battery, it weights about 46 pounds. Most of the weight is in the back where the motor is located on the rear hub. The battery adds weight to the back also because it is in the luggage rack. I can barely lift the bike onto the bike rack by myself--really just about at my limit, but I do manage it. But when the bike is on its side on top of you, it is hard to move it because you cannot get a grip, as you can if you are standing on top of it.