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How To Bring Your Own Bike on One of Our Cycle Trips

As you read forward, keep in mind that wrapped bikes, even relatively light ones, are heavy.  And moving a bike and your luggage at the same time requires a certain organization, and some physical strength.  There is a degree of athletic effort implied by what follows.  But then, that is one of the reasons you chose to go on a bike trip, right?

The following topics are discussed on this page.  If you wish, you may jump directly to the subject that interests you.

Getting to Your Cycle Trip With Your Bike

Moving Your Bike, and Your Stuff, Around Europe

Finances

Getting to Your Cycle Trip With Your Bike

Flying

Packing the Bike for the Plane, and Perhaps for the Connecting Train
If you are travelling by plane, your will need a container of some sort to pack the thing into.  This container serves at least one purpose:  getting the bike on the plane.  In some cases, that is all you need it for, since bikes can often be shipped within Europe by train without any protective wrapping.

But you may also need the container for one or more of the following:

Whether you can get by with airline cartons (purchased at the airport as you check in to your flight), or will need some more substantial container, is determined by what uses you are going to make of the container.  Read on for details.

Cardboard Cartons Sold at the Airport
Airlines require that cycles be in containers, but most have no very strict definition of what the container should be.  Perhaps a plastic garbage bag would do.  Try to consult with your airline to understand its requirements, and be careful:  if your ticket is on a “code share” flight (a plane operated by a different airline than the one that sold you the ticket), the operating carrier’s rules apply, not the rules of the carrier that sold you the ticket.

The airlines themselves sell cardboard boxes (generally one carrier, or an airport service company, is designated to sell the cartons for each airport), but if they run out you’re stuck, and information on this topic can be quite hard to come by.  Call and check availability before you head for the plane.  Price per box is often in the neighborhood of 20€, or the equivalent in your currency.  Airline cartons require that you remove the pedals and turn the handlebars.  No other dismantling is necessary, so there is no need to get a bike shop involved in this.  Just carry a couple of very basic wrenches and a cycle pump with you.

In the U.S., Amtrak sells better (and cheaper) cartons at major train stations.  Amtrak’s cartons are sturdier, and wide enough to let you leave the pedals on the bike.  They sometimes ask to see a train ticket to sell you one, but you can always purchase a full-fare (and thus fully refundable) ticket, and just turn it back in after buying the carton....

While buying a cardboard carton for each flight would get you through the air trips, cartons will not help you with ground movement in Europe.  Their dimensions are such that they are not allowed into the body of a bus or a railway car, nor can you take the bike out and wheel it while carrying the awkward if now light-weight carton through the station.  The cartons won’t even fit into most taxi trunks.  So you will generally find it necessary to discard the carton when you land, and get a new one for the trip home.

In sum, airline cartons are a viable option if the following four conditions are fulfilled:

  1. Upon arrival at your continental european airport...
    ...you can get your bike to downtown Paris, and want us to ship it from there to your trip...
    or
    ...shipment from the airport to the start of your cycle trip can reliably be handled by the railroad via its normal baggage system...
    or
    ...you can take your bike aboard the necessary train(s) with you, without wrapping or boxing (this allows you to discard the airline carton at your arrival airport, and wheel the thing through the rest of its trip).
    or
    ... you do not have to move your bike beyond the city in which you land, because your trip cycles from there.
  2. When you finish your trip, and return to a European airport for a flight home...
    ...you are having us ship your bike to Paris, where you are reclaiming it, for your flight home or for other ongoing travel...
    or
    ...shipment of unwrapped / unboxed cycles from your cycle trip’s end point to your departure airport city can reliably be handled by the railroad...
    or
    ...no shipment is necessary because your trip cycles into the city from which you fly.
  3. Concerning bike shipment within your cycle trip...
    ...your trip does not involve any intra-trip “Exceptional Shipments” (see below for more about these)...
    or
    ...you are hiring us to handle any intra-trip “Exceptional Shipment(s).”
  4. Concerning travel between your airport city and the airport itself...
    ...you don’t mind taking a taxi between the city center and the airport...
    or
    ...the airport train is equipped to handle unboxed cycles.  Of course, you may prefer to taxi even if the airport shuttle train option is available.  Carrying bikes through turnstiles, even when legal, is not simple.
    Or...
    ...your airport(s) are directly served by mainline trains which allow unboxed / unwrapped bikes.

Hard-Sided Cycle Cases, Sold at Cycle Shops
The alternative to cartons, and the only choice if the above four conditions are not satisfied (and you are thus going to have to get the cycle onto vehicles not designed to carry it), is to have a container of smaller dimensions which can fit your bike, stripped of its wheels, pedals, and sometimes baggage racks or mudguards.  You may wish to consider a hard-sided case for this.

Many bike shops sell hard-sided containers with foam padding, which afford excellent protection to the cycle.  These are expensive, and typically heavy, but they work well.  You can use our “One-Way Baggage Shipping” service to ship your hard container from the start of your trip to the end, where you will meet up with it again to re-pack your bike.  But you must have enough mechanical knowledge to re-assemble the bike when you reach your trip start (if you are landing in Paris, you can pay our shop to put it back together, and / or to pack it for shipment home).  More on this below.

Making the Flight
Regardless of what you have put your bike into, partially deflate the tires before you check in to your flight.  Otherwise they may explode in the depressurized hold.

Liability note:  airlines generally charge a fee to carry a bicycles, often 50 - 100€, or the equivalent in the currency of the country from which the flight is departing.  However, most accept only LIMITED LIABILITY for bicycles.  That means:  if they lose it, they pay, but if they damage it, tough luck.  Check your line's policy, insure the thing if it's good, and pack it well.


Moving the Bike Between Airports and Downtown Rail Stations (when necessary)
When we know how this happens in a given city, we will tell you.  This consulting service, when available, is free to riders on our cycle trips (we otherwise charge for it, as detailed here).

If you intend to make a trip by taxi, be sure to have an elastic (bungie) cord with you to tie down the car’s trunk in case it cannot close over the cycle, and in case your driver is not so equipped.


Eurostar from London
You may send your bicycle on Eurostar from London to Paris, Brussels or Lille as registered luggage.

Eurostar says that they will “do their utmost” to send your bike on the next departing train.  However, they only guarantee that your bike will be available to collect at your Eurostar destination station within 24 hours of registration, potentially a problem if you are connecting immediately beyond Paris or London.  Try calling 0870 5 186 186 (+870 5 186 186 from outside the UK) to see if you can get anything more reassuring from the Baggage Department, should this be an issue.  Our experience is that the cycle always travels quickly, if not on your train, at least within a couple of hours.

 Cost was 25€ last we checked, and it is necessary to show your Eurostar ticket or booking reference when you register the cycle.

Eurostar also accepts bagged bikes without charge (wheels, mudguards, baggage rack, saddle and pedals removed, handlebars turned).


Travel Between Airport Cities and One of Our Trips with your Cycle (in either direction)

Having us Ship Your Bike Between Paris and Your Trip.
If you are arriving in Paris a bit in advance of your trip start, we can ship it for you.  The cost is shown by trip in a table at the end of this document.

This service must be reserved in advance (e.mail our Paris office, paris@bluemarble.org to do so), and is subject to availability.  Please do not rely on it until it has been confirmed to you by our Paris office.  Once ordered, the service is subject to our usual cancellation terms (see “Cancellations and Refunds”).

In order to have us ship your cycle, you must also buy your rail tickets for the same trip through us (we sell every type of European rail ticket or railpass at the lowest available price, so this is not a sacrifice).  Cycle shipment cannot be organized separately from travel, by anybody, including us.

Taking the Bike to or from Your Trip Yourself
Our Access Package sheets offer suggestions on travelling between our trips and regional airports.  If you wish, we offer a consulting service to help you get your bike through the same trip.  Details of this service are here, cost is 20€ per journey.

This is not a profit center for us.  The charge is a reflection of what it costs us to keep current in a complex domain.  We feel obligated to provide this service since it is simply not available elsewhere.  It is difficult to come across reliable information on travel with bicycles unless you happen to have the home phone number of the Station Master for the station at which you intend to board your train.  And even then....

Notwithstanding, here are a couple of (free) hints.  We are perfectly happy — delighted, in fact — if you want to scope this out yourself.  Knowledge is power! 

Bagged or boxed bikes on trains are allowed by railway rules in countries other than Spain and Denmark, where they are forbidden.  We have actually witnessed the arrest of a foreign cyclist by railway police for trying to carry a boxed bike on board a Spanish train (actually, they initially just prevented him from boarding, but they arrested him when he got testy).  

However, even where they are permitted, the container must be of a smaller dimension than the typical airline carton:   think of a cycle frame with seat dropped to the cross bar, wheels removed, handlebars turned, pedals off, and you have it.  Even then, wrapped bikes can be challenged by uninformed railway personnel.  Who, unfortunately, are the captains of their landlocked ships, and have absolute authority over what happens aboard.  Plus, they can always hide behind the modern, all-encompassing excuse for anybody with a uniform to order other people around:  “it's a security concern.”

We suggest that you act at all times with the furtiveness of a hardened criminal.  If you are boarding a train with a boxed or bagged bike, get the bike on board as discretely as you can, and get it out of the way so that it does not arouse railway personnel curiosity.  On most European trains, spaces for oversized luggage are provided at one end of every 2nd railway car / carriage.

Once you have it stowed, lock it to a piece of the train, and sit far enough away from it that you are not easily identified as its owner.  And, for Heaven's sake, take off that ridiculous helmet!  In Denmark and Spain, we recommend prayer, or crystals.  Or the payment of our consulting fee.

A general rule for countries other than Spain and Denmark, and based on considerable experience:  if your bike is completely wrapped, is not blocking any doors or passageways, is not occupying a seat, and is not otherwise inconveniencing other passengers, the train people will leave it (and you) alone, or at worst charge you the baggage shipping charge that would have applied had the train offered a luggage service.  Conversely, if your bike is blocking an aisle, occupying the seat next to you (even if the train is empty), smoking, talking loudly in the “quiet car,” or otherwise behaving inconsiderately, you are likely to be fined, yelled at in several languages, and possibly “escorted” off the train.


Moving Your Bike and Your Stuff Around Europe

Shipping Your Cycle Container Ahead Once you Reach your Trip, or Storing it in Paris
You can’t carry your hard-sided bike case on your bike with you.  So you need to ship it to where you will need it next.

If you are on one of our trips, you will probably need to ship it to the end of your cycle trip with us.  But if an intermediate train trip requires that your bike be illicitly stuffed into your sleeper berth with you, then you will send the container to the starting point of that intermediate train trip, instead.  (We call such shipments “Exceptional Shipments.”  More on them below.)

As a practical matter, we must help you with cycle container shipments, since they require special travel documents, special knowledge, or the intervention of one of our stevedores....  We will ship empty cycle containers via our “One-Way Baggage Shipping” service.  And you can fill your cycle sack or container to a weight of up to 20 kilos / 44 lbs., with the suit you were wearing when you left work, for instance.

Or you may store your hard-sided bike case in our Paris office, and travel within Europe with your bike unboxed.
This service is available whether or not you are on one of our trips.   Storage charges and conditions are discussed in detail on the linked page.


Moving Your Bike Around During the Course of Our Trip:  Do-it-Yourself

Normal Shipments
Our trip prices generally include routine bike shipment within the trip.  That is, shipments where the bike is loaded onto the train with us, without any special packaging, and moves to where we go next.
This is true whether you are using one of our cycles, or bring your own.  It includes our expertise, any special arrangements we make, and money that must be paid to the railroad to put the cycle on the train.

However, on longer trips (of over a week) there may also “Exceptional Shipments.”   These are not good news.

“Exceptional Shipments”
“Exceptional Shipments” are shipments that cannot normally be made at passenger speed.
The express train that whisks you across Europe does not accept bicycles, and we don’t want to hold you up at the start of your next ride while the bikes wander about the European railways on chicken-carrying locals.  So, if you are using one of our cycles... we replace it.  We send a second cycle to the second portion of your trip, in advance, and send your first cycle back to Paris, or on to another trip.

Of course, this won’t do if you are riding your own bike.  Exceptional measures must be taken to move your bike with you, or at least at the same rough speed, to the next portion of your trip.  You may either sort this out for yourself, or pay us to do it (see next section).

To handle “Exceptional Shipments” yourself, you will need a container of some sort to pack the bike into.  Presumably the one that carried it to the trip.

We can ship your container to where you need it to pack the bike for the “Exceptional Shipment,” and then onwards to the end of your trip, via our “One-Way Baggage Shipping” service (See “Shipping Your Cycle Container Ahead Once you Reach your Trip...,” above).  The rest is just brute strength, provided by you.  But remember, you have your baggage to move, too....

As a practical matter, you cannot handle your own shipment on trips (B1) or (B3), Northern Transcontinental.  See the chart below to understand why, or take it on faith.  And we advise against it within Spain or Denmark, where even bagged / boxed bikes are prohibited.  But you may do it at your own risk.  This will often imply that you travel via a different (slower) train than others in your group.   You may miss a riding day, and have to provide for your own lodging for a night.   No refunds are made in this case.  In handling your own cycle, you have made a brave choice, but it is up to you to assume the consequences!


Getting Our Help With Intra-Europe Shipping
If you pay us to handle your “Exceptional Shipments,” we will figure out a way to do so.

You may still be involved in the shipment.  But we will coach you through the process, and insure the reliability of the outcome.  And help you with your bike, your luggage, or both.   If the bike needs to be boxed or bagged, we will provide the container, and help with any dismantling / re-assembly.

We do not guarantee any particular method for our “Exceptional Shipments.”  Simple ones include having our Trip Coordinator put it in one of our cycle sacks.  Or buying the train’s conductor a beer.  Or we may obtain special authorization for your bike to ride a fast train with you.  In extreme cases, we may hire a car and driver to move the thing.  Or have the Trip Coordinator ride a slower, bike-friendly train, with your cycle as company, while you and your fellow travellers take the fast train to destination, and do something fun when you get there.  Don’t feel bad for us— you’re paying for the service, and we are being paid to provide it.  

How we handle the shipment is our affair.  And the method varies with the number of bikes we need to move and the personnel we have available to move them.  We promise only an end result, not the means.

Do not be surprised if we use your “Exceptional Shipment” to move all the other cycles, too.  Once we go to the trouble of putting a special arrangement in place for you, be it a road vehicle or a train authorization, we often use it for our cycles, as well.

See column II of the table, below, for the cost (and, in parentheses, the number) of “Exceptional Shipments,” trip by trip.


Finances

The table below gives the prices of the three services we routinely provide to riders on our trips.

A 4th column lists the discount that riders whose statements are denominated in dollars receive by not using one of our bikes.

Our shipping service to and from Paris is subject to availability.  It is only available if you also purchase your rail tickets through us, and it requires advance reservation.  Contact our Paris Office, paris@bluemarble.org to arrange for the service.  Please do not rely on it (for booking planes and trains, for instance) until its availability has been confirmed.  Once ordered, these services are subject to our usual cancellation terms (see “Cancellations and Refunds”).


Column (I), Shipping Your Bike from Paris to Your Trip
Column I gives our price for shipping your bike from our Paris office to your trip start.

The figure in parentheses is the number of days prior to your trip’s assembly date that the cycle must be in our Paris office for us to handle the shipment.  We must have the cycle in our office by 5p in order to ship it.

Example.   A (1) would mean:  if your trip meets on the 10th of June, we must have the cycle in our Paris office by 5p on the 9th to get it to the trip’s start.

We can often arrange to have your bike travel to with you, on your train to the trip, provided you bring it to the station yourself.  Indeed, sometimes this is the only way to make the shipment work.  Trips for which this is possible / necessary are so identified.


Column (II), Our Price for Handling “Exceptional Shipments.”
These are intra-trip shipments necessary to keep your bike with you, when riders using our bikes would normally switch bikes.
The number in parentheses refers to the number of “Exceptional Shipments” during the course of that trip.  Details regarding the nature and the handling of “Exceptional Shipments” are above.


Column (III), Shipping Your Bike Back to Paris at the End of the Trip
Column (III) shows the price to have us ship your cycle from the end of your trip back to our Paris office (or to the Paris rail station at which you arrive, if we arrange to put the bike on the train with you).

The number in parentheses is the number of days that it will take to reliably get there, beyond the fastest rail travel time available to you.  We promise to have it at our office before noon on the date of its delivery.  If the precise arrival time is important to you (you are booking a flight on that date) let us know, and we will tell you what we can do.

Example.  A (1) would mean:  if your trip disbands on the 10th of June, and the fastest train to Paris gets you there on the evening of the 10th, your cycle will reliably be in our Paris office by noon on the morning of the 11th.  However, if your trip disbands on the 10th of June and the fastest train to Paris would get you there on the morning of the 11th, a (1) indicates that the cycle will arrive by noon on the 12th.

A (0) indicates that we can generally arrange for your bike to travel on a train with you, though some flexibility regarding travel schedule will be necessary on your part.  If the prospect of moving both your bike and your luggage on the train is daunting, ask us about shipping your bike back to Paris for you.  However, the cost is at least 30€ higher, and a delivery time of a day or two may be required.

In order to have us ship your cycle, you must also buy your rail tickets for the same trip through us.  Cycle shipment cannot be organized separately from passenger travel, by anybody, including us.


Credit for Bringing Your Own Bike
The amount in column (IV) of the table below is the discount you receive on dollar trip prices (US or C) if you bring your own bike.
Yes, though the discount is in euros, it is a discount on the dollar prices (€ prices do not include bike rental or shipping, so no reduction applies).   We will convert the discount to your dollars at the exchange rate that applies on the date on which we figure out that you are bringing your own cycle.

Those of you with a talent for math will quickly spot cases where the shipping costs exceed the rental plus the shipping cost for our bikes.  How unfair is that?!   Actually, not so unfair.  Three primary reasons.

  1. Not all of our bikes are shipped from Paris.  Some go from trip to trip, or are kept in satellite garages and don’t need to be shipped at all.   This is factored in to our rental cost.   Your bike always needs to be shipped.
  2. Our bikes don't (normally) make the trips designated “exceptional shipments.”  They travel by cheaper means, or we use a second set of bikes.  So there is an extra cost to making sometimes-elaborate arrangements to keep your bike with you.
  3. Finally, we don't take the same care of our bikes that we take with yours.  We will have only ourselves to blame if one of our bikes gets damaged or lost in shipment, and we’re used to being disappointed in ourselves.  With you, we're trying to put our best foot forward....

Follow this link to the general discussion on the pros and cons of bringing your own bike.

The following table is current for 2012. 
It is generally updated in February of each year.  Prices apply as shown for sign-ups which take place prior to the annual update.

Trip Name / Details (long trips, 3 or more weeks)
ll prices in this table are in €uros.
To convert a given price to another currency, go here.
Paris-to-Trip
Column (I)
“Exceptional Shipments”
Column (II)
Trip-Back-to-Paris
Column (III)
“Own Bike” Discount
Column (IV)
(A) Biking Transcontinental
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 10€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train (one connection).   Add 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
40€ (1)
85€ (2)
75€ (0)
300€
(B1) Northern Transcon
• This trip involves mountain biking in Norway.  We assume that, even if you bring your own road bike for the bulk of the trip, you will not additionally bring a mountain bike for this section.  The mountain bike is thus included even if you bring your own road bike, and the prices quoted above for us to handle “Exceptional Shipments” include shipment of your road bike to the end of your trip in Norway, to Voss or Oslo as appropriate.  As a practical matter, you are our prisoner here, since we can think of no other way for you to carry your road bike through the Norway section of your trip.  If you instead pay us to send your bike back to Paris, the cost of the “Exceptional Shipments” drops to 80€, since we no longer have to ship it to Norway.
N/A
190€ (3)
120€ (0)
 275€
(B2) Northern Transcon
N/A
85€ (2)
95€ (2)
 255€
(B3) Northern Transcon
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 40€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train. You must travel via Lille (not Brussels), and not all trains take cycles, though good choices are spread throughout the day.
• This trip involves mountain biking in Norway.  We assume that, even if you bring your own road bike for the bulk of the trip, you will not additionally bring a mountain bike for this section.  The mountain bike is thus included even if you bring your own road bike, and the prices quoted above for us to handle “Exceptional Shipments” include shipment of your road bike to the end of your trip in Norway, to Voss or Oslo as appropriate.  As a practical matter, you are our prisoner here, since there is no other way for you to carry your road bike through the Norway section of your trip.  If you instead pay us to send your bike back to Paris, the cost of the “Exceptional Shipments” drops to 50 €, since we no longer have to ship it to Norway.
75€ (1)
150€ (2)
120€ (0)
 275€
(C) Roman Roads of France & Italy
• The trip start price assumes that you take your own bike to the station, and board it to the train.  We can ship it for you if we have it the day before, for 75€.
• The “Exceptional Shipment” on this trip is a particularly arduous, multi-connection affair, if you are travelling with a cycle.  However, you may make it if you wish, moving your own bike.  In this case, the cost is 20€, and no packaging is required.
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 
45€ (1)
80€ (1)
135€ (1)
 310€
(D) Southern Cross
• We charge 10€ to instead coach you through the trip from Paris to Blois on your own, if you are willing to take it to the station yourself, and handle it on the train.
45€ (1)
115€ (2)
95€ (0)
 215€
(E) Mozart & the Matterhorn
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 45€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train (one connection).  Add 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
85€ (1)
65€ (1)
75€ (0)
 250€
(F) Tour de France
To calculate shipment costs to and from Paris, refer to the shipment costs of sending a cycle to the one-week trip corresponding to the first week of your ride, and back from the one-week trip corresponding to the third week of your ride.  Once you have selected a specific departure, ask for a quote if you are interested in the cost of having us handle “Exceptional Shipments” within the ride.
Max. =
80€ (1)
Max. =
125€ (2)
Max =
80€ (2)
 250€
(G) Giro d’Italia
Departures starting in Pisa (Tuscany) and ending in Como (Italian Lakes).
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.  Add one day and 40€ to have us handle the shipment.
85€ (2)
95€ (1)
85€ (0)
 310€
(G) Giro d’Italia
Departures starting in Spoleto (Umbria) and ending in Florence (Tuscany).
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 
None scheduled in 2012

(G) Giro d’Italia
Departures starting in Brig (Italian Lakes) and ending in Terontola (Umbria).
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 45€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train (there is one connection).
• The intra-trip shipments are handled by you, with our coaching.  That is:  you take your own bike on the trains with you.  If you wish to have us move the bike, cost is 150€.
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 

85€ (1)
40€ (1)
135€ (1)
310€
(H) Atlantic Coasting
• The cycle must ship from Paris on Friday night, regardless of where you are joining the trip (in Monforte on Sunday night, or in Ourense on Monday).
95€ (2 - 3)
N/A
95€ (1)
 210€
Trip Name / Details (± 2-week trips)
All prices in this table are in €uros.
To convert a given price to another currency, go here.
Paris-to-Trip
Column (I)
“Exceptional Shipments”
Column (II)
Trip-Back-to-Paris
Column (III)
 “Own Bike” Discount
Column (IV)
(J) Portuguese Explorer
• Price to ship the bike from Paris drops to 110€ if you give us 9 days to do it (deliver to our office by Friday of the week prior to trip start).
200€ (2)
N/A
95€ (1)
 190€
(K) The SalzburgerLand & the Danube
 • We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train (one connection).   Add 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
60€ (1)
N/A
75€ (0)
 210€
(L) Green Spain (with France & Portugal)
• We can arrange shipping from downtown Paris to the trip for 35€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.  We can also arrange this on the 1p train to Hendaye direct from Charles de Gaulle Airport, but you must allow ample time for the plane-train connection, as this is the only train of the day on which this arrangement can be made.
70€ (1)
65€ (1)
95€ (0)
 210€
(M) Cyclist’s Paradise (Northern Europe + Denmark)
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 40€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.  You must travel via Lille (not Brussels), and not all trains take cycles, though choices are spread throughout the day.
70€ (1)
45€ (1)
90€ (2)
 200€
(N) Scandinavian Sampler (Denmark & Norway)
This trip involves mountain biking in Norway.  It is assumed that, even if you bring your own road bike for the Danish portion of the trip, you will not additionally bring a mountain bike for the Norway section.  The mountain bike is thus included even if you bring your own road bike.  The price quoted for us to handle the “Exceptional Shipment” is the price of shipping your road bike from Copenhagen to the end of your trip in Norway, in Voss (if you prefer, we can deliver it to you in Oslo, instead).  As a practical matter, you are our prisoner here, since there is no other way for you to carry your road bike through the Norway section of your trip.  Shipping it back to Paris at the end of the Danish portion of your ride is also an option, if you are headed back that way.
85€ (2)
105€ (1)
110€ (0)
 190€

(O) Alpine Lakes (France, Switzerland & Italy)
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 40€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the station and handle it on the trains.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.  Add one day and 45€ to have us handle the shipment.
75€ (1)
N/A
60€ (0)
 200€
(P) Mousse Head (France, Belgium, Germany)
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train (one connection).   Add one day and 35€ to have us handle the shipment.
N/A
55€ (1)
75€ (0)
 190€
(Q) White Wine Roads (France)
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€, from either downtown Paris or direct from Charles de Gaulle Airport, if you are willing to take your own bike to the station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip. You handle your own bike on the train.  Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
65€ (1)
N/A
30€ (0)
190€
(R) C’est Cheese (France & Switzerland)
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 10€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.   Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
40€ (1)
45€ (1)
65€ (0)
 200€
(S) Tapestries & Tapas (France & Spain)
• We charge 10€ to instead coach you through the trip from Paris to Blois on your own, if you are willing to take it to the station yourself, and handle it on the train.
• You handle your own bike on the trains (one or two connections, depending on schedule — all principle services accept cycles except the sleeper train — the Sunday night couchette train does accept them).  Or, we can handle your cycle for you:  110€ if you give us 2 days, or 140€ if you need it in one.
45€ (1)
60€ (1)
65€ (0)
 200€
(T1) Rivers and Canyons
• The Paris - Libourne price assumes that you take your own bike to the station, and board it to the train.  We can ship it for you if we have it the day before, for 80€.
• We can also set it up so that you can carry it back yourself without boxing or bagging, for 50€.  Train choice is restricted, there is one connection, and journey time is 2 - 3 hours longer than via direct trains.
45€ (1)
N/A
85€ (2)
 200€
(T2) Roman Souvenirs
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• We can also provide one-day delivery back to Paris for 90€, or “passenger speed” delivery for 105€.  Or, we can set it up so that you carry your bike back yourself, without boxing or bagging, for 45€.  However, the trains you will be required to take add 3 hours to the otherwise 4-hour trip (7 hours, total).
65€ (1)
N/A
85€ (2)
 150€
(T3) Red Wine Roads
Departures starting in Libourne and ending in Dijon.
• The Paris - Libourne price assumes that you take your own bike to the station, and board it to the train.  We can ship it for you if we have it the day before, for 75€.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.  Add 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
Trip not scheduled in this order in 2012
(T3) Red Wine Roads
Departures starting in Dijon and ending in Souillac.
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• For the intra-trip shipment, you handle your own bike on the train (one or two connections).  For 50€ additional, you can have us move it for you.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip, in a time band of your choosing (we can also put your bike on the daily direct TGV to the airport, if so desired).  You handle your own bike on the train.
55€ (1)
45€ (1)
35€ (0)
170€
(T4) Burgundy Biking
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 10€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.   Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
40€ (1)
N/A
35€ (0)
 150€
Other 2-Week France Trips
To calculate shipment costs to and from Paris, refer to the shipment costs of sending a cycle to the one-week trip corresponding to the first week of your ride, and back from the one-week trip corresponding to the second week of your ride.  Once you have signed up for a specific departure, ask for a quote if you are interested in the cost of having us handle “Exceptional Shipments” within the ride.
Max =
70€ (1)
Max. =
90€ (1)
Max =
70€ (2)
 170€
(U1) Etruscan Trails
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 
85€ (2)
N/A
135€ (1)
 170€
(U2) Essential Italia
Departures starting with Tuscany and ending with the Italian Lakes.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.   Add one day and 40€ to have us handle the shipment.
No departures scheduled in 2012
(U2) Essential Italia
Departures starting with the Italian Lakes (in Brig) and ending with Tuscany (in Florence).
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 45€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train (there is one connection).
• The intra-trip shipments are handled by you, with our coaching.  That is:  you take your own bike on the trains with you.  If you wish to have us move the bike, cost is 150€.
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 
85€ (1)
40€ (1)
135€ (1)
 160€
(U3) Kingdom Off the Sea
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.  Add one day and 45€ to have us handle the shipment.
85€ (2)
 95€ (1)
65€ (0)
 200€
(V1) Lavender & Olive
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.  Only available on 2 trains per day, both add 2 hours to your trip and require a connection.   Verify availability of a suitable schedule before counting on this.
• The “Exceptional Shipment” on this trip is a particularly arduous, multi-connection affair, if you are travelling with a cycle.  However, you may make it if you wish, moving your own bike.  In this case, the cost is 20€, and no packaging is required.
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 
75€ (1)
80€ (1)
135€ (1)
 200€
Other 2-Week France & Italy Trips
To calculate shipment costs to and from Paris, refer to the cost of sending a cycle to the one-week trip corresponding to the first week of your ride, and back from the one-week trip corresponding to the second week of your ride.
Once you have selected a specific departure, ask for a quote on the inevitable “Exceptional Shipment” within the trip. A warning:  the baggage-carrying abilities of trains operating between France and Italy mean that this service is quite expensive (more than for any of our other trips), or involves a significant lengthening of your own trip between the two regions.		 200€
Trip Name / Details (1-week trips outside France)
All prices in this table are in €uros.
To convert a given price to another currency, go here.
Paris-to-Trip
Column (I)
“Exceptional Shipments”
Column (II)
Trip-Back-to-Paris
Column (III)
 “Own Bike” Discount
Column (IV)
(Bq) Basque Biking
• We can arrange shipping from downtown Paris to the trip for 35€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.  We can also arrange this on the 1p train to Hendaye direct from Charles de Gaulle Airport, but you must allow ample time for the plane-train connection, as this is the only train of the day on which this arrangement can be made.
• You handle your own bike on the trains (one or two connections, depending on schedule — all principle services accept cycles except the Saturday overnight sleeper train).  We can handle your cycle for you in 2 days, for 110€, or in one day for 140€.
70€ (1)
N/A
65€ (0)
 180€
(Os) Blue Danube
• We can arrange passenger speed shipping to the trip for 45€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train (there are two connections).
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train (one connection).   Add 35€ to have us handle the shipment.
95€ (1)
N/A
75€ (0)
 160€
(Sp) Celtic Spain
• The cycle must ship from Paris on Friday night.
90€ (2)
N/A
90€ (0)
 115€
(Dk) Danish Biking
• We can arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.  Trip time is longer than via the fastest trains (adds 4 hours), and the cost is the same
85€ (2)
N/A
110€ (2)
 190€
(It) Italian Lakes
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 45€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train (there is one connection).
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.   Add one day and 40€ to have us handle the shipment.
85€ (1)
N/A
85€ (0)
 135€
(At) Lively, Singing Hills
• We can arrange passenger speed shipping to the trip for 35€, via daylight or overnight train, if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train (there is one connection).
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train (2 connections).
60€ (1)
N/A
95€ (0)
 150€
(Bg) Northern Star (Belgium to Germany)
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 40€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train. You must travel via Lille (not Brussels), and not all trains take cycles, though good choices are spread throughout the day.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train (one connection).   Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
75€ (1)
N/A
75€ (0)
 160€
(Nr) Norway Fjords & Glaciers
If helpful, we can arrange shipment of your cycle from Oslo to the trip start, and then back to Oslo, for 60€, total.  The cycle must be delivered to us at the Oslo station on the Monday morning of the trip’s start date, by 9:30a.  It will travel with you on your train back to Oslo.
135€ (2)
N/A
135€ (3)
 110€
(Ts) Pure Tuscany
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 
85€ (2)
N/A
135€ (1)
 160€
(Sw) Swiss Cycling
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 40€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.   Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
75€ (1)
N/A
65€ (0)
 120€
(Um) Umbria Unravelled
• The cost of returning your bike to Paris drops to 80€ if you give us 2 days to do it, if you accompany it on a circuitous routing (20 hours instead of the usual 12), or if you upgrade to a private sleeping car cabin on the overnight train (in which case, we pack your bag for you, and put it aboard the same train). 
85€ (2)
N/A
135€ (1)
 160€
Trip Name / Details (1-week trips within France)
All prices in this table are in €uros.
To convert a given price to another currency, go here.
Paris-to-Trip
Column (I)
“Exceptional Shipments”
Column (II)
Trip-Back-to-Paris
Column (III)
 “Own Bike” Discount
Column (IV)
(Fr1) Chardonnay Burgundy
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 10€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip. You handle your own bike on the train.  Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
40€ (1)
N/A
35€ (0)
 105€
(Fr2) Pinot Noir Burgundy
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip. You handle your own bike on the train. Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
65€ (1)
N/A
35€ (0)
 110€
(Fr3) Bordeaux & the Dordogne
• The Paris - Libourne price assumes that you take your own bike to the station, and board it to the train.  We can ship it for you if we have it the day before, for 75€.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.   Add one day and 30€ to have us handle the shipment.
45€ (1)
N/A
35€ (0)
 145€
(Fr4) Gorges of the Cévennes
• We arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train.
• We can also set it up so that you can carry it back yourself without boxing or bagging, for 50€.  Train choice is restricted, there is one connection, and journey time is 2 - 3 hours longer than via direct trains.
65€ (1)
N/A
85€ (2)
 140€
(Fr5) A Week in Provence
• We arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€ if you are willing to take your own bike to the central Paris station and handle it on the train. Only available on 2 trains per day, both add 2 hours to your trip and require a connection. Verify availability of a suitable schedule before counting on this.
• We also provide one-day delivery back to Paris for 90€, or “passenger speed” delivery for 105€.  Or, we can set it up so that you carry your bike back yourself, without boxing or bagging, for 45€.  However, the trains you will be required to take add 3 hours to the otherwise 4-hour trip (7 hours, total).
75€ (1)
N/A
85€ (2)
 140€
(Fr6) Champagne Pedal
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.  If you prefer to take a local train (2 hours and one connection instead of 1 hour on the TGV), we offer to coach you through that for 10€.
N/A
N/A
25€ (0)
 90€
(Fr7) Castles of the Loire
• We charge 10€ to instead coach you through the trip from Paris to Blois on your own, if you are willing to take it to the station yourself, and handle it on the train.
• At the end of the trip, we charge 10€ to coach you through making this trip on your own, if you are willing to take it to the station yourself, and handle it on the train. However, trip time to Paris is 3 hours instead of 1 via TGV.
40€ (1)
N/A
50€ (0)
 110€
(Fr8) Adventures in Alsace
• We can arrange same-day shipping to the trip for 30€, from either downtown Paris or direct from Charles de Gaulle Airport, if you are willing to take your own bike to the station and handle it on the train.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.
65€ (1)
N/A
35€ (0)
 130€

(Fr9) Brittany
• We can arrange same-day shipping from Paris or Charles de Gaulle Airport to the trip for 30€, if you are willing to handle your own bike on the train.   Only a couple of trains a day do this: check if interested.
• At the end of the trip, we charge 10€ to coach you through the process of bringing your own bike back to Paris on a pair of local trains, but without additional charge for the cycle.  Adds 2 hours to the trip time.
65€ (1)
N/A
65€ (0)
 120€
(FF) Chocolate Box Jura
• We can arrange to have your cycle travel on the train with you, handled by you, for 30€.
• We arrange “passenger speed” shipping back to Paris at the end of the trip.  You handle your own bike on the train.  Add 20€ to have us bring your bike back to Paris:  it will be available to you by appointment, late Saturday evening, or Sunday morning.
50€ (1)
N/A
40€ (0)
 140€
Trip Name / Details (“Day Trips Out From Paris”)
All prices in this table are in €uros.
To convert a given price to another currency, go here.
Paris-to-Trip
Column (I)
“Exceptional Shipments”
Column (II)
Trip-Back-to-Paris
Column (III)
 “Own Bike” Discount
Column (IV)
Loire Valley, Day Trip from Paris
Included
N/A
Included
40 €


Still Have Questions?

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This is a complex topic, as you can see.


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