Mountain community rises up to assist injured biker posted on 01/01/2021
Tim Cornish has biked to work most every day for the past 26
years. But the bicycle enthusiast hit a rough spot at the end of September when
the seat post on his bike broke, causing Cornish to fall and break his arm at
his elbow.
And while Cornish doesn’t have a car, he does have some
supportive friends in the community, including Jolynne Milone, owner of Koya
Kitchen, who helped raise money for Cornish and organized a meal train effort
to bring food to him, and George Wilson, owner of Mt. Hood Bicycle, who gave
Cornish a new bike at a celebration on Friday, Dec. 4.
“It was quite a surprise,” Cornish said. “It was the last
thing I expected.”
Wilson has known Cornish for almost 20 years and noted he is
not an extravagant person and that the bike he had didn’t fit him properly.
Wilson added that the post likely snapped because Cornish is so tall and the
post was past the minimum insertion point.
Cornish’s new bike, a Surly “Big Dummy,” is a cargo bike
with a longer wheelbase that will be a better fit.
“He just needed something that he could depend on,” Wilson
said. “We’re a small community here and we all have to take care of each other.
If more people are prone to helping, we’d be much better off. I’m just doing my
part.”
Milone noted that her efforts were made easy because so many
people in the community know him, adding that while she went around to area
businesses asking for prize donations for a raffle, she also had people drop by
her restaurant just to donate money.
“Tim is so sweet, he’s such a nice person,” she said. “It
was really easy to ask for him.”
Cornish, who is still recovering from his injury,
appreciated all the efforts involved to help him in his time of need.
“I’m very thankful to George and looking very forward to
when I’ll be able to ride the new bike,” he noted. “I’m also very thankful to
Jolynne for organizing the donations of needed food and money during my
recovery. I’m also very grateful to everyone at Koya Kitchen and all those who
donated prizes or bought tickets for the raffle.”
By Garth Guibord/MT | 
