Bikes & Holidays

[Simon_m]

Hi, just wondering if any of you have taken your bikes with you on holiday abraod, or even just within this country. How easy/safe is it to put it on a train upto the Lake District for example? I guess you would have to chain it up still, do you need to book it in before you travel?

For abroad also, anyone taken their bike on holiday with them, or has anyone been able to hire a bike. I'm not talking a normal cheap mountain bike from the local hire shop, but a good road bike. Back from Denmark where we hired bikes there, great roads and some hills. Came across some boys out on their bikes too and wished I had mine there too to give them a dust-up.
thanks

 

[Moodyman]

Me , never done it. But there are people who do this all the time.

Go visit the Touring & Expedition section of Cycle Chat.

 

[Simon_m]

thanks

 

[gavintc]

Hi, just wondering if any of you have taken your bikes with you on holiday abraod, or even just within this country. How easy/safe is it to put it on a train upto the Lake District for example? I guess you would have to chain it up still, do you need to book it in before you travel?

For abroad also, anyone taken their bike on holiday with them, or has anyone been able to hire a bike. I'm not talking a normal cheap mountain bike from the local hire shop, but a good road bike. Back from Denmark where we hired bikes there, great roads and some hills. Came across some boys out on their bikes too and wished I had mine there too to give them a dust-up.
thanks

We take our bikes on holiday all the time. We have a car and just shove them in the back for the journeys. When we arrive, we assess the likely risk and the bikes either remain with us in a hotel room, or more likely we cover them with a blanket and they remain in the car. On one holiday, when we were camping, we locked them up to a tree. But, I was not happy about them remaining outside for 2 weeks.

We have rented, but getting decent quality road bikes can be tricky. We have rented successfully in Majorca, Gerona and some friends who were with us rented from Veloventoux - the cycle holiday company near Mt Ventoux.

As both of us cycle, we tend to organise our main holidays around road cycling.

 

[Arch]

I can only speak for taking bikes on trains within the UK.

It varies. It seems like every operator has their own rules about whether you need to reserve a space, how many bikes can be carried, etc. Your best bet would be to look at the website of the train company you'll be travelling with, and search for information on carrying bikes. Sometimes you must reserve a place, some companies don't bother, but it's first come first served. For a long journey, I'd tend to book a place if possible.

Normally, you don't lock it while on the train - train companies don't like the idea of any delay getting on and off, or you losing your key en route. There are two sorts of bike transport: one is that they are carried in a separate compartment (East Coast for example,) that a guard has to come and open for you. The benefit is that it's pretty secure, because no one can access it during the journey, unless someone chanced claiming to be you at a station, and mostly the person who puts the bike on for you is the person who gets it off.

The other sort of trains have your bike stored in a vestibule in one of the carriages, either normally, or hanging from the front wheel. There is the slight chance that someone could get off with it at a station, but I tend to try and sit within sight of mine. The more normal hassle is that someone has filled the bike space with enormous suitcases. And the space may also be designated as wheelchair space... Staff helpfulness can be a lottery - some stations are better than others. Whatever sort it is, it pays to be there early, and to make sure platform staff know you've got a bike, and get them to tell you which end of the train you need to be - an 8 or 9 coach train is very long to run down....

There may also be restrictions about travelling at peak times.

I've probably made it sound like a minefield, but it's quite possible - I've used East Coast (GNER as was, 'guards van' compartments), Virgin (not keen, they have wheel hangers), Northern and TransPennine.

 

[User10119]

Having never taken my bike on the train until May this year, I attempted my first journey which involved 8 trains over one weekend and came out smiling.

All in the UK, I've used Northern, Transpenine and Cross country - all on Sunday, on my was home from Cumbria. Previous expotitions have involved East Coast, NXEA, and another two that I can't remember. Oh, and the Wensleydale Light Railway twice - once with a steam engine. I've survived the experiences so far

Check in advance if you need to book. There's a few very expert people about, so if you tell them where you're trying to get to and from they'll probably be able to tell you what sort of bike space is on the train, whether you need to book, which bit of the platform to stand on (that's a bit of a mystic art, that one) and probably the guard's inside leg measurement,

I like to take a bungee with me, so I can secure the bike to something so it doesn't fall over. Some people lock them, but most train companies explicitly say not to lock your bike to any part of the train. I know a couple of people who will put a lock through the wheel and the frame. I tend to sit nearby (apart from the trains that have a guards van obviously!).

Possibly because of being female and looking mildly incompetent (I have really shocking coordination and am a bit of a klutz - my mother didn't think I'd ever learn to ride a bike!) I tend to find random strangers are often very helpful if you look innocuous and cheerful enough.

 

[Arch]

Oh, and if reservations are required, be prepared for the answer to any platform enquiry to be a brusque "'ave you got a reservation?" before they deign to actually tell you anything useful...

Maybe I look too competent... I find it hard to believe though...

 

[Simon_m]

Cool thanks very much, interesting to know that it is possible and not as much hassel I first imagined. The worry I do have is someone taking it. I have seen one or two people taking bikes and putting them in a compartment behind the engine part of the train, there seems to be a room for I guess mail, maybe the guards room? Great Western. Scared someone would leave their crumby old bike and take mine. Generally its ok then, thanks. (i've taken it on the train back from Brighton etc and its been ok, usually end up with other cyclists getting on and talking shop for the trip back).

Holidays abroad, http://www.veloventoux.com/ yes that looks good, I found a link about hiring the bikes, but no real info. It would be nice to be able to put the bike on a plane or post it?!!?!?! I did hear a bad story on the news about a group hoping to do a stage of le tour, and Easyjet didnt take the bikes as they said they were fully laiden. So the poor cyclists got there with no bikes to do the stage!

 

[andym]

With most trains on most lines, taking a bike is very easy. Yes it's a very good idea to have a reservation on the lines where you are supposed to have one, but in my experience most train guards are very reasonable and pragmatic.

The trains that are potentially most difficult are the Virgin Pendolinos and CrossCountry trains - because they only have two spaces for bikes. Also IIRC correctly bikes aren't allowed on the Gatwick/Stansted/Heathrow Expresses. Oh (I know this is probably going to be obvious) travelling with a bike into any major city at rush hour is likely to be problematic. Beyond that there aren't that many restrictions.

If you are planning to travel at a weekend check that there are no track repairs planned. I've taken my bike on 'bus replacement' services on a couple of occasions but it's tricky - if it's a bus as opposed to a coach then it may be impossible to take your bike.

I usually lock my d-lock to the bike on the theory that someone carrying a locked bike is likely to attract suspicion. (OK 'likely' may be slightly optimistic).

[QUOTE 1168256"]
Having never taken my bike on the train until May this year, I attempted my first journey which involved 8 trains over one weekend and came out smiling.
[/quote]

That makes my recent odyssey round northern Italy seem reasonably straightforward.

 

[snorri]

Came across some boys out on their bikes too and wished I had mine there too to give them a dust-up.

Dust up :?:

Not sure what sort of cycling you are thinking of, most of the people who post in Touring are errrr tourers, and too heavily laden to be interested in any competition with the locals, unless it's first to the showers on the camp site.

 

[Arch]

Cool thanks very much, interesting to know that it is possible and not as much hassel I first imagined. The worry I do have is someone taking it. I have seen one or two people taking bikes and putting them in a compartment behind the engine part of the train, there seems to be a room for I guess mail, maybe the guards room? Great Western. Scared someone would leave their crumby old bike and take mine. Generally its ok then, thanks.

I've always been happiest with that arrangement for some reason. The guard, sorry Train Manager, who helps you on will generally ask where you are getting off, and the bike carries a ticket with the detail on it. It never occured to me that anyone would try to take the bike off sooner. They'd have to have seen you get on for a start, since the compartment isn't visible from the train, as the vestibule areas are.

I don't like the ones you have to hook you bike up on - for a start, a fully panniered touring bike is bloody heavy, and I'm short, and it's real struggle to get it up there.

If you do use a train with a guards compartment, do try and get up from your seat in good time, and make your way down the train to the end nearest the compartment, so as to be right on the spot when you get off, and to accost the staff. This also often gives one the excuse to walk through 1st class and lower the tone.

Only once, I've been afraid my bike was going to be carried off without me, at York, when the staff were all chatting down by the middle of the train and I was waiting by the end. Fortunately wearing a hi-vis coat meant my agitated waves were noticed.

 

[willem]

I do it a lot. I have just come back from a trip with friends to Norway, and we took the Intercity Nightline from Holland to Copenhagen, and then the ferry to Oslo, As a rule, taking your bike on a train in the UK can be a pain, but Holland and particularly Germany are really tops. There is a large number of night trains with excellent bike facilities from Holland through Germany to Switzerland, to Prague, Copenhagen etc. From the UK, the easiest way to connect to all this is to take the Harwich Hook of Holland ferry, and then hop onto the train. You will not be unique.
As for secury, I lock my bike, and when the train stops at a station, I try to keep an eye on it (but not on the night train, of course).
Willem

 

[User10119]

That makes my recent odyssey round northern Italy seem reasonably straightforward.

That was the first of my growing list of Silly_Bike_Adventures. Sounds more impressive than it was

Finish work on Friday, go home and grab the panniers (one of which was entirely full of CAKE) East Coast York to Stevenage, local train Stevenage to Hertford North, overnight with very hospitable friends, following morning train from Hertford East to Liverpool Street then another out to Manningtree, do a very very lovely 50 miles loop on a ride organised by Auntie Helen, then back to L'poo Street, Hertford East, get spoiled rotten by friends who can't believe people can cycle that far and stay overnight, following day train from Hertford North to Stevenage and East Coast home again. Utterly utterly ludicrous thing to do for the sake of my first 50-ish mile ride and first ride in grown-up company, and it was bloody brilliant.

 

[andym]

As a rule, taking your bike on a train in the UK can be a pain, but Holland and particularly Germany are really tops.

As a rule taking your bike on a train in the UK is really easy. I have travelled for thousands of miles in the UK and made probably more than a hundrerd journeys with my bike (I've also travelled with a bike extensively in France, Italy and Spain). On the overwhelming majority of trains in the UK, long-distance and short-distance, you can carry your bike for free, without any problem. That simply isn't the case in France, Italy and Spain for example. The European Cyclist Federation did some research on this and the UK came out really well. I'm sure the facilities in Germany and Holland are excellent, but so are the facilities in the UK.

And when it comes to night trains. Try the Scotrail service from London to Scotland (or the other way round). Quite possibly the best night train service in Europe - and with tickets sarting at £19 quite possibly the best value for money.

 

[Simon_m]

Dust up :?:

Not sure what sort of cycling you are thinking of, most of the people who post in Touring are errrr tourers, and too heavily laden to be interested in any competition with the locals, unless it's first to the showers on the camp site.

Cheers guys, looks like some of you get about a bit.

The original post was moved to this forum for me. I would not be touring with the bike with heavy bags going from town to town, village to village, but just have it with me on holiday and go out for a ride. We hired local mountain type bikes from the local shop wich were ok, but it would have been nice to have my real bike there, put some long hard miles in. hope this makes sense?