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.”