Staff Bio’s

ilan Handelsman

ilan handelsman

General Manager

Small guy, BIG spirit. ilan has a degree in Environmental Geography and spent seven years working as a financial planner before coming to Bikes on the Drive. Going from sales person to manager in record time, ilan is heavily invested in making the shop work for the staff and the community. He is always interested in helping out cycling, environmental, social causes and can often be seen speaking at schools or cycling advocacy events to people who want his unique perspective. ilan is an expert on bike fitting for all sizes and shapes of people and bikes! He has also toured across Canada on a tandem. ilan rides a Surly Long Haul Trucker with upgraded brakes, a Brooks saddle and a Nice Rack.

Autumn Hagemann

Autumn Hagemann

Sales Floor Manager

Autumn’s job at the shop is doing everything that nobody else knows how to do. Education and proper care and feeding of the staff, dealing with sales reps, general inventory management, and bike repair are just a few of the jobs that fall under her purview. A university educated chemist who lives for the simple things in life, Autumn loves cycle touring, reading, and generally getting up to some or no good in the shop. She is addicted to XKCD, The Burning Hell and her co-workers’ good company. Autumn rides a Brodie Romax ‘cross bike.

Darcy McCord

Darcy McCord

Head Mechanic and Shop Manager

Darcy is the perfect person to wear the head mechanic’s apron at the shop. With a degree in Canadian Studies and a Barnett Bicycle Institute certification under his belt, Darcy sauntered out of Ontario and into our hearts. Fascinated by what makes bikes tick, incredibly methodical and patient to a fault, he demystifies bikes for staff and customers alike.

Barnett's certified mechanic

Since Darcy started, he has been working on making the service department at Bikes on the Drive one of the friendliest and most professional in the city. He loves touring around on his bike, relaxing with friends, and rocking a mean cello with Ontario based band The Burning Hell. Darcy rides a steel Miele road bike from the early 90s.

Monica Weitzer

Monica Weitzer

Ordering, Sales and Front Line Service

Monica has a degree in Dance and Sustainable Community Development, and choreographs swing dance routines when she isn’t busting her butt for us. Next to Autumn, Monica has more knowledge of product, bikes, fitting, and service writing than anyone else in the shop. She puts these skills to use helping customers figure out what wrong with their bike, find a new bike, or get something useful for their bike. She loves sleep, beef, good food, and good friends. Monica rides a spanky new Brodie Elan touring bike.

Tobias Cain

Tobias Cain

Senior Mechanic

Since age fifteen, Tobias has worked in jobs involving outdoor pursuits in some form. He was recently sent by Bikes on the Drive to the Barnett Bicycle Institute where he earned his certification with top marks. He has just earned his Can-Bike 2 certification and is teaching for PEDAL’s After School Bike program. Tobias loves good punk music, art, animation, RC cars, and gardening. His bike love started during early childhood commutes to school, sometimes as far as 20km.

Barnett's certified mechanic

This evolved into tours through Vancouver Island, including original development trails, and southern Alberta. Tobias has always built and maintained his own bikes. He can usually be seen riding one of his two Surlys.

Lian

Lian Beveridge

Sales

Lian holds an MA in English and is working on her PhD in Education, writing on queer picture books. Needless to say, she loves learning. She is one of the more senior sales folk at the shop and spends her time there answering questions and generally helping customers. Originally hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Lian has worked with Bikes on the Drive in some capacity for two years now and has blossomed into a full-blown bike geek, enjoying a trip down to Seattle in 2009, and various self-supported tours round the Gulf Islands. Between biking or reading theory, Lian spends her time knitting, gardening, and drinking fine coffee. She rides a fully tricked out 2007 Devinci Oslo.

Jaimie Kendal-Ward

Jaimie Kendal-Ward

Senior Mechanic

Jaimie is currently working towards Creative Writing and Geography degrees at Langara College. She is a veteran of the stage, mascotting, open-mic, and probably some things we don’t even know about yet. She has gone from sales to service work in her two years at the shop and has an impressive amount of knowledge about all things bike. When not chin-deep in A-student school work, Jaimie enjoys long bike rides, writing songs, relaxing with friends, dancing frantically, and reading web comics. She rides a Fiori road bike.

Nigel Boeur

Nigel Boeur

Sales and Front Line Service

The youngest of the Bikes on the Drive crew, Nigel is beloved by everyone on staff. He has big dreams and the right frame of mind necessary to enjoy life to its fullest. Nigel can answer almost any question you throw at him, due to his interest in all types of riding. He also translates that weird squeaking in the vicinity of your bottom bracket into something the service department can understand and fix. Nigel plays the drums for Ready, Steady, Go and we are all awaiting his band’s next album with thinly veiled impatience. He rides a Brodie Elan touring bike and possesses the amazing ability to run himself over with his own bike, while riding it, and still not wipe out.

Pete Burns

Sales

Pete got hired not for his bike knowledge but for the fact that he is an archaeologist. He is in the midst of learning the astounding amount of stuff necessary to work in a bike shop and is doing his best to help customers out while he’s at it. Pete hails from Britain, where he enjoyed digging up bones, rock climbing, drinking coffee, and reading good books. Pete rides a Brodie Remus Single-speed.

Christina

Sales

Christina scaled the corporate ladder then decided she wanted a job she could feel good about, working with people she liked. That’s how she wound up taking a sizable pay cut to work with us. Christina has learned a lot since starting and is well on her way to being a long term prisoner staffer at Bikes on the Drive, capable of pointing you in the right direction for whatever you might need. Christina rides a customized Brodie Romax, done up for road riding.

Brooke

Brooke

Junior Mechanic

Brooke spent the last four years as a plumber and finds himself at Bikes on the Drive after re-examining his love of bikes. Brooke is a regular at the East Van Polo courts on Saturday and is always tinkering with his polo rig. Brook is just learning the trade and when we discover his secret identity, we’ll let you know. He rides an old school Nishiki road bike.

Tina Gutheridge

Tina Gutheridge

Owner and Master of The Books

Tina has a strong background in entrepreneurial enterprises, knowledge she brings to support the staff at bikes on the drive. Tina takes care of the book keeping and general, niggly, paper stuff of the business. She enjoys listening to the BBC a little too much, but we love her anyway.
 When not taking care of the shop, Tina can be found with her family at home or in a pumpkin patch. She rides a Rocky Mountain Hybrid.

Former Staff

Former employees we still love:

• Jason Addy. ’nuff said, we miss you, Jason.
• Melvin Suy. Come by and build a few bikes anytime, we all need to brush up on our Spanish!
• Erin Conlin. Meticulous to a fault, you’d better still drop by with the uber-conlin in tow.
• Josh Stalker. Sweet Bikes, sweet hair.
• Roxy ‘I love Tommy Douglas’ Rupps. The shop is cooler for having known you.
• Rene Sanguinette. Ask him to show you his party trick…
• Jacob Hopkins. Germany doesn’t deserve you.
• Shani Danzig. She practically still works here, doesn’t she?
• Keith Bassingthwaite. All around sweetheart with a great sense of humour. We still can’t believe he’s gone.
• Brennan Luchsinger. He’s too cool to miss us, but we miss him.