June 17

Ten days ago, something happened that brought a cloud of uncertainty on our trip. While riding our bikes to church, upon coming to a quick stop, the front wheel came off and the tandem collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the bike was badly damaged. The steering rod was bent, the front brake rotor was damaged, but worst of all, the front fork was bent. Then, to put an exclamation point on it all, a few minutes later, while David was playing with the front tire, we heard a loud “Pop!” and a hole was blown in the side of the tire. Nice.

Okay, okay, Jeff thought.  Don’t panic… Work the problem. He was able to bend the steering rod back to almost-straight, and the tire and brake were easy things to order. But where do you get a new front fork?  He emailed the manufacturer in Taiwan, explaining we were leaving in 10 days, and begging for help. They responded immediately: “Are you ok ? Hope all is well. Which color do you want ? Black color, ok ? It will be quickly.” Ah, what a relief. The Lord has got this. Jeff emailed back, paid for a new fork + shipping, and our minds were put at rest.

They were getting quite a bit of rest until 3 days ago, when there was still no sign of the fork. Hmmm, I know shipping takes a while, but we’re cutting it close here… Jeff emailed again, and received this horrifying response:

Jeff,

I have not send it to you yet. Because I painted wrong fork. I will send new one to you next Tuesday.

You painted the wrong fork?? What? Who cares what color it is! It could be purple with pink polka-dots for all I care! Aaaagghhh!

And so began Operation Fix the Fork. Short of running it over with our 15-passenger van, we tried every method at our disposal to bend the thing back into shape. Nothing. Lots of frustration, a few choice words (at the fork and maybe at the manufacturer). And then, prayer.  Ummmm, Lord, I thought you wanted this thing to happen?!? Whatcha doin’? Help, please?

So, today’s big adventure was not finishing packing for the trip or doing the myriad number of things we have remaining to leave our house in a condition for 10 college students to live in it (yes, we rented our house. “Burn the ships,” Cortez said. There’s no turning back…): rather our first priority was to get the tandem up and running by 1) finding a very specific bike part–a bike fork that would fit the small 20″ front wheel of our tandem, and then 2) weld a tab on it that makes it possible to steer the thing. We prayed, and we struck out to find what the Lord would do.

First stop: West Town Bikes in Humboldt Park (westtownbikes.org, 2459 W. Division St., Chicago). This is where Jeff has been taking a 10-week course in how to build a bike from the ground up. We already knew this place was awesome, since the class and the staff have all have such hearts to serve and educate both bike consumers and the community through their workshops and after-school programs. But would they be able to help?  Jeff walked into the shop with the bent fork and talked with the guy at the desk, Michael. Honestly, he looked at it and didn’t look hopeful. Now, we have the impression that they have a vast underground vault filled with bike parts of all the bikes that they have salvaged. Michael disappeared for about 8 minutes, then came back with a fork in his hand. “I think this might work,” he said. WHAT?  Sure enough, it looked to be the perfect size. “I have no idea what this came off of,” he said, “but it must have been something pretty different, like a folding bike or something. But I think we can make it work.” Unbelievable! After cutting off the stem (it was a little too long), adding one more thing to it (a star nut), and picking up some new brakes, we were on our way. Part 1 was accomplished!

Michael (left) the fork-finder, and Carlos (right) who modified the new fork to be as good as the original. (at Ciclo Urbano, Humboldt Park)

Jeff’s rock-star bike instructor, Mikey

Now, the weld. The front wheel does provide one important function: it steers the bike. But on our bike, the actual steering handlebars are about 2 feet behind the front wheel, so there’s a steering rod that connects the wheel to the steering column. And so, there’s a small 2″ tab that was needed to be welded onto the fork.

Ironically enough, that was another class that Jeff had recently taken: arc welding. It was only 2 3-hour classes, and only an introduction, but it was excellent (www.arcacademy.com). Jeff called, but no one was around there. After googling welding shops in the area, he went to the nearest one, Millers Eureka Welding (www.millerseurekawelding.com, 2121 W Hubbard St, Chicago). As Cora and Jeff walked in, two forks in hand, they explained the situation: “We need this piece of metal moved from this part… to this part. And…. we leave tomorrow for a 1200-mile bike trip, so we need it today. Can you help?” Without a moment’s hesitation, they were directed to the owner’s office directly behind them. There, they were greeted by Jim, Sr. He heard our story then said, “We’ll get this to George to do. Have a seat, it will be about 20 minutes. Want some cold water?”

Wow. Seriously? You’ll do it right now, on the spot?  God’s hand was clearly at work, showing not only His sovereignty, but also showing us the beauty of people in the local community who like to do the right thing. 20 minutes later, we walked out beaming with our perfectly not-made-in-Taiwan part. No, baby, this was made in Chicago!

JIm Sr. (left) and the front desk guy (a son or nephew?) of Miller’s Eureka Welding. Great people!

The new tab, removed from the previous fork and welded on & painted in 20 minutes.

Many thanks to Michael, who found a new fork and (we think) manages Ciclo Urbano Bike Shop; Carlos, who modified the new fork; Mikey, Jeff’s bike instructor who we’ve become very fond of and has helped in more ways than we can count; and Jim Sr. and George who welded the steering tab on.  You have bolstered our faith and love in local folks and the communities they serve!

All done, and all smiles! Ready to install on the bike – and Cora saw it all unfold… We thank God for His provision!