Tag Archives: giantbike

On the advice of friends, I got a bike from Kickstand Vancouver, I think on 3 or 4 April. I wasn’t too sure what to expect but I knew I was really sick of waiting for the bus and wanted the freedom to scoot around places like I was used to. Yes, I could use Facebook Marketplace (the Vancouverite’s favourite) or eBay but to be honest I just wanted to go somewhere, try a bike out, be fairly sure it was mechanically all there and just bring it home, especially bearing in mind as an immigrant with one suitcase, I had no tools. I found the opening times for Kickstand Vancouver and turned up. I really like Kickstand and think it’s a precious resource, but there’s no two ways about it, it is a matter of just turning up and seeing what there is. It isn’t a big name bike shop, you aren’t going to get to stroll down lines of bikes your size and luxuriate over what you’d like to ride away on. And to be honest, this wasn’t a big problem. I had in mind getting some kind of steel-framed, fendered commuter bike, and instead rolled away with an alloy Giant OCR in a pleasing cherry red, which has been an absolute blast to ride around on.