Oldenzaal

Or at least, bloody idiot who put it together. Towards the end of the day yesterday my breaks had gotten quite soft, and is forgotten to get spare brake pads. No biggie, I swing into a couple of bike shops en route and get it fixed - one of them was completely through the pad, so it was lucky I didn't have to replace the rotor. All good, onwards toward Germany!

I'd just ridden through a very pleasant section of forest near Apeldoorf, when I had to swerve off the tarmac to avoid a reversing truck - with a bang and a grind, I rolled to a halt - the other bolt for my rack had sheared!

I knew this was more serious as it is on the cassette side - there is no room for a nut on the inside, so it's a lot more complex. Again, it was a trip to a bike shop, who effected a rather shoddy repair job and another enforced night in a hostel!

I decided to detour somewhat, and head south east to a bike shop in Bocholt, Germany where I knew they had front racks and panniers. My plan is to reduce the load in the rear in the hope that it'll hold for the rest of the trip, and possibly look for a skewer based rear rack later in the trip. So new front rack bought, gear shifted, and I'm back on my way towards Hamburg. Last night in Holland tonight!Læs mere