Isaac Taylor persevered.
During six months when work was an eight-mile bike ride away, the 44-year-old pedaled through the heat and rain to get there and back.
He walked his kids to school, no matter how his rubbery legs might seem after a 10-hour shift as a security guard.
And now, he is riding in style.
Late last month, the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides program gave the single father of six children a 2019 Hyundai Elantra last week, according to USA Today.
“I cried like a baby,” Taylor said, according to CBS. “Tears of joy. Tears of feeling the pain of riding the bike back and forth. It all set in — what I went through to get to where I’m at now.”
“It’s amazing, I’m living the dream right now. This is my best life right now,” he said.
The gift came through the efforts of Caliber Collision Roseville, Travelers Insurance and Family Promise of Sacramento in collaboration with the national program.
Marsha Spell, who directs Family Promise, said Taylor earned the gift. The agency began working with Taylor when he was homeless with four kids, she told USA Today.
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“He did everything he was supposed to do. He worked his budget. He saved 70 percent of his income after his expenses and was really a role model candidate for our program,” she said.
Taylor, who now has six children, moved up to an apartment in Sacramento. Then came a setback when his SUV was totaled. Family Promise gave him a bicycle to get to work.
It’s always uplifting when dedication is rewarded! After his car was totaled, single dad Isaac Taylor has been riding his bike to work for months to provide for his 6 kids. He’s now been gifted a newly restored vehicle – one less thing for him and his kids to worry about! 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/Co8XCNLCdg
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 26, 2023
“He was working the night shift, which is so dangerous to be out on the road on a bicycle at night,” Spell said. “I just didn’t want to see him get hurt out there and leave those children without a dad.”
Taylor said the past months were not easy, but said he knows others have it worse.
“Struggle is just a part of getting to the next big thing,” he said, according to KTTV-TV.
“How could I feel like I deserve it? Knowing that there’s people that go through worse situations than I? I mean, how did I become so fortunate?” he said.
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Taylor said that with a vehicle to help him out, “I have peace. I have a peace of mind.”
“It’s a great world we live in. Even though there are a lot of bad things that go on. There are some wonderful people,” he said, adding that his new transportation has a wonderful bonus.
“And I got music! I got tunes!” he said.
