“A Bicycle Ride Around the World Begins with a Single Pedal Stroke” – Scott Stoll

The above quote sounds so simple, I will hop on my bike and cycle around the world. Unfortunately it isn’t always that easy, the planning, the saving, the equipment and the courage to actually do it.

We are now in the next phase of planning our next trip. A shorter time away, although I keep wanting to go for a year again. I recently made a list of what we need for our next trip, not too many things really.

Our panniers held up really well, although the cam-lock system (attachment for the bike) on Ralf’s rear panniers needed repair, his front pannier mesh pockets were worn through and one of the seams on the front pocket of my rear pannier was coming apart, on my other rear pannier I had caught it on a nail in Scotland and had taped it with duct tape for the rest of the trip.

I emailed Arkel and asked them if they could repair my panniers and told them about the other problems. Arkel responded within a couple of hours: They would send a new cam-lock system for Ralf, new mesh to replace the pockets. As far as my repairs were concerned they couldn’t repair the panniers as they are waterproof but offered me a replacement pair for $100.00, instead of $269.95. All I needed to do is swap the back and cam-lock system to the new pair. I opted for a new set of panniers, what a difference in the colour.

Ralf also needed a new front rack, the one he had used for the Grand Adventure was a little lower, which is why the front mesh wore through.

The order was made on March 2, 2016 and we received the parcel on March 7, 2016. Excellent service once again from Arkel.