Hi Janine. yeah, I got that! I was very impressed and heartened by their response. I respected the candour and the learn-from-this-and-better-at-it attitude. And my over-arching feeling is that I appreciate that they are trying to do this. I know I run the risk of adopting the attitude seen by many minorities – simply being grateful for ANYthing positive, of for even being noticed. Nonetheless, I think BCAA has shown much more forward-thinkingness than the vast majority of companies by acknowledging cyclists as a demographic worth catering to. And with men like Ken in positions of authority, I feel confident the service will eventually be all we need it to be.

Meant to say “I like how they responded even tho their showing up was useless.”

Hey Joe – Glad to see a report on this as I’ve wondered, and I like that they responded.

Sounds like you’re going to be doing this already, but I have always carried a spare tube, the tools to change a flat and a print out of how to do it. :-) The first time I got a flat, I pulled over and had pulled out the tools and the printout, and another cyclist stopped, asked if I needed help, and proceeded to show me how to change the tire using my tools.

Since then, I’ve tried to pay it forward and always ask a cyclist stopped if they have everything they need and have given away 3 spare tubes, and helped change one tire (the other two just needed tubes).

We cyclists are a pretty good group!

Do remember that the BCAA is first and foremost an automobile advocacy organization.

To clarify for your tens of readers, The BCAA is a sponsor of B.E.S.T. and their branded program of “The Bike Valet”. Most of the free, supervised bike parking you find at events is staffed and sponsored by volunteer people power, through organizations like the VACC and Velopalooza!

Another good idea … the bus route I was close to only runs every 30 minutes, and at the time, I stupidly thought it would be quicker to get a simple flat tire fixed.

Or even cheaper, walk your bike to the nearest bus route and put it on a rack. It got me back to Burnaby from White Rock once after a sidewall blowout.

Hi Ken, thanks for your response and your condolences. I appreciate it. However, I have to point out that the truck that came out to me could not possibly have transported my bike safely … it was a pickup, with the entire back full of tools. And the driver TOLD me he could not transport my bike as he did not have a rack. That’s the reason I did not call back when I broke down 5 minutes later – I did not relish the prospect of ANOTHER 30 minute wait in the cold, only to once more go through the farcical experience of having a technician who could neither fix nor transport the bike.

I do appreciate BCAA’s IDEA to offer Bike Assist – in fact, I applaud it. It just seems that some help is required with the actual execution – and as you say, you are trailblazers in this respect. A number of people on the list serves to which I subscribe, as well as on this blog, have suggested that you enlist the help of the VACC. I think this is an excellent idea – VACC is very good at precisely this kind of educational thing.

By the way, I am happy to hear back from you, as I did NOT get the promised call back from a supervisor – it is starting to look as if the Complaints Dept at BCAA does not take cyclists very seriously. I am somewhat amazed that I did not receive a call from a supervisor offering to at least refund my $15, or better still refund my wasted membership fees. The woman who spoke to me yesterday sounded appalled and assured me that a supervisor would call, but no one has.