Photo by Brendan Henry
Don Zimola standing next to his new Schwinn Meridian bike after raking leaves at his apartment.

By Brendan Henry
The Surveyor

Don Zimola, an 83-year-old Berthoud resident, loves to ride his Schwinn Meridian adult tricycle around town. One day in November, an unfortunate incident occurred just east of Hays Market where the right rear wheel fell off, resulting in Zimola hitting his knee on the ground. Zimola would make his way to Berthoud Bicycle, where he always went for his trike repairs.

Ray Beard, another Berthoud local, saw Zimola struggling to get his tricycle to the shop. Beard had seen Zimola walking to the bike shop and decided to check in with Ben Zink, owner of Berthoud Bicycle. He offered to pay for repairs, but Zink informed Beard that the trike was unfortunately non-repairable.

“Me and Ben both tried to work on it, and the bike had been repaired so many times that he didn’t have any bearings left on his wheels, it was metal on metal,” Beard said.
Although the trike met its unfortunate end after Zimola had been riding it since 2012, Beard took to Facebook to pursue a replacement. He messaged several people in the local area in search of a similar trike before stumbling upon one in Estes Park that was the same model, color, size and even the same speed despite many three-wheeled trikes being three-speed. In a moment that Beard describes as “magical,” he messaged the sellers by telling Zimola’s story.

The two sellers from Estes Park—Phil and Kate—had a very similar story with their tricycle. Their brother, an 88-year-old man now in assisted living rode his trike around town in the same fashion as Zimola. Phil and Kate, who run a ministry and Blue Sky Pies and Treats in Estes and live in a trailer, not only gave the trike to Beard for free but also gave him $100 for Zimola.

“Right then I started breaking down. It was a pretty emotional thing because I didn’t expect it, I was just trying to get Don a bike, and this (story) becomes bigger and bigger,” Beard said.

After bringing the trike back to Berthoud, Beard made sure to install all the old accessories that Zimola had on the old one. He pulled up to Zimola’s apartment with everything prepared.

“I was in the kitchen, I heard a knock on the door, so I go to the door and he (Beard) says ‘I got something for you.’ He had a pick-up backed up over there, had a bike in the back of the truck,” Zimola said. “I wasn’t sure if I could pedal (because of the knee), but boy, I could pedal.”

Zimola tested his new trike out in his apartment’s parking lot, telling Beard that it rides much smoother. Beard gave Zimola the $100 from the trike’s former owners, and Zimola was still riding around in circles as Beard left.

“It was a lot for him to process, but it made my day,” Beard said. “I just was trying to help out with a guy that always puts a smile on my face when I see him.”
Beard and Zink are not the only people Zimola has made a positive impact on. While Zink was out of town, Zimola brought his new bike seat to Zink’s home for repair. When Zink returned the fixed seat to Zimola, he found that Zimola made a positive emotional impact on his neighbors.

One neighbor told Zink during his seat delivery that after Zimola received his new trike, she saw another neighbor crying outside. Concerned, she checked on the neighbor, who said she was crying because of Zimola’s visible happiness. The woman Zink was speaking to broke into tears as well when telling the story.

“It’s just a good thing,” Zink said.

Zimola has been a positive presence at the Berthoud Bicycle Shop, even being a sponsored rider. Although his trike gets repaired at no monetary expense, Zink says that the positivity and happiness that Zimola has brought since the opening of the shop is more than enough payment.

To Zimola though, he is simply doing what he likes. He enjoys riding his trike mostly to stores, including Hays Market, Ace Hardware and Berthoud Bicycle, saying that the basket in the back makes it easier to carry things. When he is unable to ride around, he likes to rake leaves and watch television.

Zimola is thankful for Beard and Zink, and the same can be said for Beard and Zink with Zimola. Due to community members coming together, Zimola will surely continue to spread smiles while riding his Schwinn trike.