Crash course in Camden

Customer service is alive and kicking at Evan cycles Camden, from where  Jason purchased his Dawes Galaxy bike from store manager Barry Godin. Dealing with two complete novices must of tested Barry's patience and our constant verbal bickering at each other did not make Barry's job any easier. Barry explained the features and benefits of each bike and presented them in a fashion that made the buying process very simple.
After much verbal banter Jason is now ready to roll with his Dawes Galaxy complete with all the kit needed for three months on the road.
But the customer service did not end there. Barry personally gave myself and Jason a crash course in bicycle repair and maintenance. Passing on his clear knowledge and experience with us long after the stores closing time.

I highly recommend Evans Cycle Store in Camden Town, they have really helped us in our preparation for our long journey ahead.

First Impressions

My new bike.... It's Just Fantastic!. Possibly the best bike I have ever ridden. I am not a bike expert but I have owned a few bikes and ridden a lot of different bikes from mountain bikes through to a full on race bikes, such as the Pinarello Dogma 2. As of today I've been ridding the bike for a couple of days now. Thorn Sherpa MK2 is stable, smooth and very comfortable. I'm really pleased how the bike feels in general, although it is quite a bit heavier than my race bike I'm surprised how fast it is and how well is climbs. In fact it climbs better than my Specialized Secteur Comp 2012 although they are two very different bikes.
The riding position is bang on and I felt that I could of ridden all day. I bought this bike over the phone and I didn't test ride it, so I was little worried about the sizing, but the guy's at Thorn know their stuff and reassured me that the size was right for me. How right they were. The Bike feels like it was custom made for me.. It's perfect.

Where Is My Bike?

Today the bike arrived.

No Turning Back

I had trouble sleeping last night, I wasn't sure if its the cold I've got or the fact that I've got two months before I leave on my journey and the only thing I've purchased is my ferry ticket. When I woke up it was still on mind. What the hell am I waiting for I asked myself. 

I was wrestling with the fact that Thorn, the people who make the bike are in Somerset and I should really go down there and look at all the options and get fitted out before spending all this money.
The problem was finding the time to drive down there and because they are not open on the weekend. This means taking time off work which I didn't really want to do as my work have been really good to me and I did want to take advantage. 

So whilst checking out Thorns website http://www.sjscycles.co.uk
I saw they had a ex display bike that seemed to fit the bill. After a telephone call and going through some options I purchased my new bike.. So now I am the owner of my first touring bike. 

It's a Thorn Sherpa MK2 510XL finished in Satin black. 
Now I need to give her a name, after all I will be riding here every day! lol 
At the same time I purchased the front and rear panniers, handlebar bar and a Brooks B17 saddle. Click here for a list of items purchased to date.