It is with a heavy heart that I must report the theft of The Red Snapper. She was an unbelievable companion on this trip, and I will miss her dearly.
I have been to Amsterdam 4 times now. I am aware of the bike theft. I never leave my bike unlocked, I always lock it to something, and I always lock it under a light. In addition, I go and check on it every half hour just to be safe. I have done this every time I have visited Amsterdam and never had a problem. The night it was stolen was no different, there was only about a 25 minute window when they could have done it, and they found a way. Just bad luck I guess.
I was heartbroken...oh the drama...I knew this trip would provide its fair share of stories, but this one is a gut wrenching loss. It's not the value, the bike was only worth $150. It's the fact I built that bike, when it was stolen a piece of my soul was ripped out...I knew every inch of that bike and we put on some serious kilometres together. We saw France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Spain together and I will never forget those memories...
Unfortunately, I will never see it again. RIP - The Red Snapper - May the wind be forever at your back and the sun on your face!
So after the boys left I spent three days going to all the bike shops in Amsterdam. I went to the police and filed a report in hopes of maybe getting it back. I was showing photos at the bike shops, and asking if anyone had seen it, I went to the markets to try and find it. I even went online every 2 hours to see if anyone was trying to sell it on the Amsterdam Buy and Sell. Eventually I gave up on that idea and starting to look for a new bike.
Then it hit me, I am in Amsterdam, the greatest bike city in the world, and I have a chance to pick up a Dutch bike!
After over 20 bike stores, comparing prices, doing research and finally coming down to my choice I went with the Santos TravelMaster 2.8.
This is a game changer. Some stats: it's an aluminum frame, which means it's much lighter! Hydraulic brakes, instead of needing every ounce of my grip strength to slow down my old bike (I could barely stop it), I can now use one finger to come to a dead stop. I've even left skid marks, it's that good. Instead of 18 gears, I now have 30...that's probably the biggest improvement. I had it custom built to my measurements, they built it at the Santos factory for me on rush and I picked up off the floor brand spanking new. It's a Dutch built bike which is used by world travellers. I read several blogs where people had taken this bike around the world. Now that I've been riding it for a week, you couldn't pay me to go back to the Miyata. I loved that bike, but in 26 years the improvements in design have been phenomenal. Sort of like driving an old ford work truck and then buying a new Ferrari...it's that much of an improvement. Looking back, I actually can't believe how old the Miyata was!
So all is well that ends well. I spent a pretty penny on this thing, I have two locks, and I'm getting over the feeling of having spent too much. But as the store owner said, this will be the last bike you buy and you'll be able to use it for the rest of your life!
I bought my bike from Eric at http://www.vakantiefietser.nl There were a few stores that sold this bike, but the reason I chose his store was because they specialized in touring bikes and he was a world traveler himself. He has some videos here as well http://vimeo.com/vakantiefietser
The first day I went in, I spent an hour and half with his staff. We talked about all the varieties and styles available and discussed what I needed the most. They invited me to stay for coffee and lunch which I thought was very generous of them. I saw many other stores but when I came back and said that I wanted to purchase from them, Eric also offered me to stay at his house for free! Just a great guy and in general very welcoming and helpful. Here is a pic of his guest room:
So from a dark place of mourning and loss came this incredible opportunity to learn from the best, be inspired by his travels, but most of all pick up the BEST DAMN BIKE I'VE EVER HAD! I spent a lot of time thinking about how this loss translated into a gain...and through conversations with Eric, and reading about the TravelMaster...I am rethinking my trip.
My original plan was to bike around Europe, then send my bike home and continue on by foot. After hearing of his travels around the world, and watching his documentaries, I've decided to bike around the world as well. So there you have it, the trials and tribulations of this Wandering Wwoofer have created an opportunity to see the world by bike...et voila!
