From a distance, the bike does not look so bad. The metallic blue splashguards bring a certain level of cool to it. However, once you start to get closer to the bicycle, you begin to see why Pan calls it ugly. The edges of the shiny splashguards are rusting away. The gleam on the black handlebars turns out to be all of the places where the paint is wearing away and the metal and rust are starting to shine through. The rest of the bike is a deep blue colour. The most useful aspect of the bike is the storage space. It has two large saddle bags on the back in a clashing olive green. It is a good thing that they are useful as they certainly do not do anything to improve the bike’s overall appearance.
Pan bought the bicycle second-hand at a store that had very little in stock at the time. “I just picked it based on price,” explained Pan. While the bike is not beautiful, it is useful. “I use it everyday to go everywhere. My home is just a three minute walk away,” he stated while pointing to a building off in the distance. “Even though it is so close, I still use my bike. I don’t like biking in the rain and snow, but I do it anyways because it is faster than walking.”
Pan likes biking here in the Netherlands. “I think it is a good place to do biking,” he answered. He could use the bus to get around, especially to go to where he plays basketball, approximately an hour’s walk away. “It is easy to reach out by bus, but they do not come often enough. I can’t wait 30 minutes for the bus to come,” he replied. His bike may not be much to look at, but it is dependable and Pan expects to keep on using it in the future.
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