{"id":8619,"date":"2022-09-24T21:37:54","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T19:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyclingdestination.cc\/?p=8619"},"modified":"2026-10-05T14:01:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T14:01:36","slug":"the-day-my-bike-returned-from-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cyclingdestination.cc\/en\/verhalen\/de-dag-dat-mijn-fiets-van-vakantie-terugkwam","title":{"rendered":"The day my bike returned from vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Admittedly, I never thought I would write this article. In the meantime, I have been using the airplane for over 20 years. In my heyday, I sometimes flew 10 times a year. Short or long distances, with or without luggage, with or without a bike. The longest delay I ever had was three hours. I wish no one three hours of delay, let alone with Cor and Don at a Turkish airport. And that Cor and Don are also on the plane. I would rather wish even your worst enemy a gentle nudge. In all those years, I have never missed a piece of luggage, or someone forgot to bring it along for me. Until June 27, 2022. The day my bike went on a slightly longer vacation than I did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"cycling<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Text: Sander Kolsloot, photos: Kostas Karadimos<\/em>, Sander Kolsloot<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to the beginning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After a beautiful, short trip to Northern Greece<\/a>, At the airport in Thessaloniki, where I was to explore the region for a new event, I get up early in the morning. My driver Lampros gives me a high-five and I bring my bike bag containing my bike \u2013 which is still less than a month old \u2013 to the \u2019odd-size\u2018 baggage area. Funny enough, I then think: \u2019if it just arrives\u2018. But anyway, I laugh it off. Almost six hours later, from Thessaloniki, via Athens, I stand in the baggage carousel waiting. Now bike luggage always takes a little longer, but after 30 minutes I start to squeeze it a little. Around me I see piles of suitcases, strollers, buggies, and I know many more things. It can\u2019t be true, my bike had apparently booked an extra day of vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Airport<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"baggage<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the queue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever stood in a queue? Yes? Do you ever consciously notice the time you\u2019re in the queue? I dare say that often you think you\u2019re standing longer than you actually are. Once I was standing in front of a consultancy assignment clocking the waiting times at the entrance of a large exhibition hall. A man came wild gesticulating towards me and shouted in a hurry: \u2018It\u2019s outrageous, I\u2019ve been in the queue for more than 20 minutes.\u2019 I could calmly tell him that he had actually waited exactly 9 minutes and 10 seconds. Ouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get in line!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Back to June 27th. After an hour of waiting (really an hour), I know enough. That bag isn't coming. On to the office of AVIA PARTNERS<\/a>, The baggage handler. There I see a line of about ten men. The process is slow as molasses. Two people inside behind a desk, about 10 minutes per customer. Oh dear. That's really going to take a long time. A few times I can see a black bike bag still standing on the baggage belt from my peripheral vision, but every time it's a false alarm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"cycling<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Horror stories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Everyone experiences setbacks in a different way. Some become hypochondriacs immediately or start hyperventilating. Others make a big deal out of it and get involved in all sorts of things. Once I\u2019ve joined the queue, I hear horror stories about suitcases that have been lost for months. I quickly make \u2018friends\u2019 and somehow help people fill in the necessary forms. In English, Italian and \u2019tapas Spanish\u2019, I performed my good deed of the day. An American lady walks out of the hall with her suitcase under loud cheers. A reassuring face. Meanwhile, I notice a lot of unrest in the queue. A mid-week Dutch trip starts off poorly for a few GR hikers. A man in a suit runs in and out of the office, gesturing wildly. When I ask someone if we could maybe have a cup of coffee, I get strange looks. This isn\u2019t going well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friendly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once my turn comes around, a friendly, red-haired guy helps me with my claim. He adds: oh that suitcase is probably in Athens; most likely they\u2019ll send it on the first flight tomorrow. Great! Okay, I\u2019ll take a note with a reference number attached. Through an online system I can track everything. Annoying, but that\u2019s just the way it is. The whole process took almost two (2!) hours. With an alarm clock that went off at three o\u2019clock in the morning, that\u2019s no fun at all. Back on the train, I blow off some of the stress. It\u2019ll be okay, I tell myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long wait<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Then the long wait begins. At first I was still quite relaxed. I thought: after two days I\u2019ll get some contact. Two days become a week. A week becomes a month, and all that time there is NO ONE who even mentions it. I call AEGEAN, the airline, several times during that period. I end up in a mess of call center ladies and gentlemen who ask me very politely if I want to send them an email. The answer to that email never comes. The online system shows no change. So is it still going to end in a negative? Through the system you can contact the baggage handling department. No response. You can\u2019t call them, but you can email them. Only after a month (!) do I get a message that the suitcase is \u2018according to the system somewhere at Schiphol\u2019. I\u2019m relieved. I email them or I can\u2019t come and pick it up. No response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wasting time looking at pictures of my bike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Baggage searchers and other assistance dogs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By now I have posted some messages on LinkedIn. People are offering to help. I haven\u2019t heard anything from AVIA PARTNER or AEGEAN, but others want to help find a solution. My parents, back from a trip to Italy, are also among the suitcases at Schiphol. Asking around at the desk doesn\u2019t get them anywhere. Word of mouth is spreading that others are offering to ask friends. I have acquaintances at the ANWB Alarm Center, but they don\u2019t know how to help with this either. It\u2019s almost surreal. Friends who laughingly ask me if they should still ask. About my bike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change in diet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I have an appointment with Oneway Distribution at the end of August, the conversation still comes up on my bike. Just for fun, I quickly check the system to see if I can make a good joke. I get startled: \u2018delivery process initiated\u2019 is displayed. It\u2019s happening! I jump out of bed and both Carola (OWD) and Ruben look at me in complete amazement. I\u2019m in a frenzy. My bike is coming back! It\u2019s August 19, almost two months after my flight from Thessaloniki. But then it goes quiet again. I email AVIA PARTNERS. No response, except a \u2018what is your reference number\u2019, with capital letters in the subject line. Nothing, absolutely nothing. At some point, when I start emailing daily, something seems to be happening, but still no concrete date for delivery. I just keep looking away along the Vuelta Parcours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Let
Let off some steam at La Vuelta Holanda in Utrecht<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thursday 22 September<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Netherlands play against Poland in Warsaw for the Nations League football. I\u2019m watching Better Call Saul with a squint. My thoughts wander off. Suddenly the bell rings. Slowly I get out of my seat. \u2018I didn\u2019t order anything, right?\u2019 I realize. Probably another collection or something. When I open the door, my mouth drops open in amazement. There it is! My bike! Or rather, the suitcase, where my bike should go. I\u2019m speechless. After a few seconds without words, I throw myself into the delivery man\u2019s arms. He doesn\u2019t know what to do. \u2018You had to wait a while for that, right?\u2018 he asks laughing. \u2019Three months\u2018, I answer. He can\u2019t believe it. He poses happily, for a photo that ends up being moving, for a moving period. Bizarre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Bring<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The suitcase is very big, the bike is very big, everything is still in the bag. I just can't believe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even taking a deep breath<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am writing this story two days after I got my suitcase back. I was able to breathe in and out for a moment and put everything into perspective. You can read this story as a story of someone who was sometimes borderline desperate. Someone who woke up at night and suddenly thought \u2019shit, he\u2019s not coming back, how am I going to fix this now?\u2018 You could also read it as a slightly exaggerated story of a suitcase that was in a different place for a while. Then it wouldn\u2019t have flown away; it\u2019s just a bike. No big deal. I don\u2019t care. I wanted to share this story partly to be able to let it out, but also because there are lessons to be learned that go beyond getting a suitcase back or the stress you might feel that something you\u2019ve borrowed isn\u2019t coming back. For me, it was extremely stressful and I\u2019ll explain why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Points of (no) return<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have gained quite a bit of experience in jobs where I have had or have had customer contact. As an entrepreneur, but also previously as a commercial force and consultant, I have noticed that customer contact and communication are important. In this entire process, I have mostly missed that: communication. I couldn\u2019t get up-to-date or reliable information about the status of my luggage anywhere. Whether the bike is worth \u20ac5 or \u20ac6000, that doesn\u2019t matter. It is and remains my bike, which at that moment is in the possession of someone else. Trust is a great asset. You build trust by having contact with people. That was completely absent. The airline did absolutely nothing and the people at AVIA PARTNERS had so much hassle that they simply turned off the phone. The 10-day processing time for emails was never met. Never. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It caused a lot of stress. I just couldn't process it well. If you don't know anything or only get brief information, then you have to trust the process. That's difficult when you don't already have confidence in the organization. The bizarre thing about it all is that the suitcase was already at Schiphol since June 29 (that is, two days later). It had been sitting in a basement somewhere for over a month and a half. That process could have been much faster. It was therefore ultimately unnecessary stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borrowing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the things that contributed to my stress was that I had things on loan. The bike and the wheels were both from different partners with whom I work together. The cost of replacement would exceed the coverage of my insurance. That caused extra financial stress. In addition, all my belongings were already in the bag. My clothes, my pedals, my shoes (!). Everything. It was\/is just stuff, but you can\u2019t just buy everything new if you don\u2019t know if it will come back. That could have made a big difference with communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I also found stressful was the idea that you had to go through the entire insurance process. The longer the process took, the more indifferent I became, but the more I kept thinking that I actually had to file the claim. Frustrations, hassle, you name it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips after this experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All is well in the end. The bike is back and everything is fine. The clothes smell a bit musty, but nothing Ariel can't wash. If you ever go flying, there is always a risk that your luggage will arrive later than you. In the current situation (autumn 2022) with the hassle at Schiphol, it is already difficult. Here are a few handy tips (also from the Open Deur foundation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n