My Sunday bicycle ride with my two daughters was going well - early summer morning ride, cool, beautiful scenery at Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC- its awesome bicycle path at the seawall. Then, at the totem park area, one of my daughters' front bicycle tire became flat.
Yeah, it was a bit of a downer, but we took it all in stride. This was a good opportunity to slow it down even more, and we took out the grapes, strawberries, and bottled water. We had a small picnic in this gorgeous part of Stanley Park, with the buildings in the background, and the famous greenery of Stanley Park on either side of us.
I took out my trusty Iphone 4, surfed the internet and Googled "mobile Vancouver bicycle repair". One of the top search results was a third-party directory site that listed "Desmond" with his phone number . Remember, this was a Sunday. Desmond answered, explained it would take him between 45 to 60 minutes to get here. Perfect!
What I didn't know was that Desmond's mobile bicycle repair service was really a mobile shop. He arrived with his bicycle and and pack of tools on the back of his pedal-powered bike. He had cycled from Victoria Drive near S.E Marine Drive area, which is about 14 km !!
Upon closer inspection, Desmond discovered that there was hole on the inner tube at the bottom of the valve stem. Ouch! He explained that this was not going to be an easy patch-up repair, which he would normally do. He would have to purchase an inner tube from a nearby bicycle shop. So I said sure. But then he revealed that he forgot to bring cash nor his credit card to buy this. And I also explained that I had just remembered I forget to bring cash, but yes, I did bring my debit bank card . So, my daughter and I walked with him for 20 minutes to bicycle shop, and then we returned to the totem pole area of Stanley Park.
It was a very quick repair by Desmond. I took this opportunity to learn more about Desmond and his mobile bicycle repair service in Vancouver. His history: he was a bicycle courier in London (his native city is Gloucestershire), came to Canada in 1998. He has 2 very young children. In Vancouver he was a glass/ window installer, having worked on highrise buildings in Vancouver, ie. Shangri-La. But really, as he explained, his passion was in everything bicycle, and he had wanted to get away from the corporate game and working for someone else. Desmond also explained that he feels very fulfilled in seeing that complete transformation from broken-to-fixed. As well, he enjoys being a part of the process in that he receives and appreciates the many thanks (and their referrals) from the many different people he meets.
Desmond Niles is a super friendly person, very personable and highly skilled at what he does: bicycle repairs.
Desmond's contact details: Call 604 565 6039
Email : nilesdesmond@gmail.com
Eric C
Business Solutions Specialist
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