“Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness ...” Thus begins a song we sang in Sunday school, and it’s ringing in my ears at this time of year. We’ve put some seeds into the ground recently and can imagine harvesting all those pretty veggies we saw in the seed catalog. One of my seeds of kindness really matured to a bountiful harvest:

June Thaden brought her John to a short ride held by our Booneslick Bicycle Club. She introduced herself saying, “We’ve just come to Columbia, and I’m so glad that Johnny found this group.” Then she flattered me by saying, “Is there a group like this for people our age?” She’s decades younger than I!

I smiled and said, “This is a bike club for all ages. Come along anytime.”

The next day I showed June and Johnny an outer road north of the interstate to help Johnny train for the club’s 100-mile ride, which was scheduled for the next Sunday. Johnny was off like lightning and soon out of sight. I rode at June’s pace. She was out of condition and riding on a three-speed bike that had heavy baskets and fenders. “I might start out with the club,” she said, “and turn back about 10 miles out.”

On “century” rides, youngsters strike out fast, and I take it easy, spacing my energy for the full day of pedaling. Chub stays behind in the “sag wagon” to help if someone has a flat, needs to fill his water bottle or has some major bike problem. And he picks up riders who can’t go the distance. June planned to turn back at Millersburg but she pushed on -- fenders, baskets and all!

Johnny stayed with the front riders -- far ahead of June and me. At Fulton we rested and ate a snack. I talked with her about “ankling” the pedal around, and Chub offered to take off the baskets. But no. She would go on. We rested and snacked at Reedsville Store. “I’ll quit soon,” June said. “One knee is hurting a little.” We slowed the pace and rested often after that.

Johnny was probably at home by the time we stopped at Williamsburg. I urged her to load her bike in the pickup and ride with Chub. She had pedaled more than 50 miles! “The knee is limbering up a bit,” she said. “I’ll quit if I need to.”

She had been bitten by the bicycle bug, and the joy of accomplishment had given her strength. Later she told disbelievers that “Sue talked me through the last 50 miles.” I feared darkness would catch us, but we both competed that grueling, 100 mile ride in about 11 hours.

June was at our son’s bike shop the next morning, buying a lightweight French Peugeot like mine. That was the beginning of her valuable contributions to the sport of bicycling. She was an inspiration to our club, a frequent trip leader and a dedicated president. She was also an accomplished cellist and vocalist -- and a librarian. Several years later, a job change took her to Traverse City, Mich.

Sadly, she wrote, “There’s no club here.” June fixed that! She started and led one of the most active bicycle clubs in the nation. In her years there she was recognized for leadership and accomplishments on local, state and national levels. She even earned Michigan’s coveted “Bicyclist of the Year” award!

June gives me credit for “sowing seeds of kindness” when she was a newcomer to Columbia. Oh, that my garden seeds produced so well!