A day to celebrate!

On March 4th, I was riding my bike home, and after cycling 16 kilometres, I realized that I had lost my pannier. I was frustrated, but I knew exactly how it happened. My Ortlieb pannier has a cam locking system, which can be unlocked by pulling up the handle. The issue is that if you pull the handle to check if the pannier is securely locked, you unintentionally unlock it. Additionally, the locking system doesn't provide a clear indication that it’s locked properly. So, I must have failed to lock it properly, and it came off during the ride.

I still had to pick up the kids from after-school care, so I drove back along the same route to see if I could find it, but no luck. Then, I had to wait for my wife to return so I could ride along the bike path to retrace my steps. Again, no pannier.
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I posted about it on Facebook, hoping someone might have found it, but I didn’t hear anything. Over time, I gave up on the idea of getting it back and reluctantly accepted that I’d need to buy a new one eventually.

Today, I received a call from the guard box at Fairbairn, telling me someone had found my pannier and handed it in. I couldn’t believe it! But, I was puzzled as to how it ended up about 3 kilometres in the opposite direction from where I’d ridden home.

When I went to pick it up, the guard told me it had been found hanging on the airport fence, and someone had brought it in. Strangely, I only pass near the airport fence for about 100 metres, roughly a kilometre from my starting point. Very odd!
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Still, I’m just thankful to have my pannier back with all its contents. Today’s a good day!