i bet our european neighbours would laugh at the thought of being told to fold a bike up on a train. when i travelled on my old raliegh carrera fs thru holland, germany, belgium and france it was so easy in the trains and the ferry. i didn't even box it to go in the cargo hold of the plane to germany. they just took it as it was. the pain in the ass started when i got off the ferry at this end. had to cycle to the train station from the ferry (why not just extend the line to the ferry in the first place?) then i was shoved in a box carriage (no seats or anchor points and no doors at one side) to london then from london i had to cross over london to the euxbridge, i think, to catch virgin train to preston. they took it but with a bit of a fuss to the back of the train. from preston i had to stand with bike all way to local train station as no allocated areas for prams or bikes. every train i went on in the afore mentioned countries had dedicated cycle carriages and a stand for each bike which corresponded with the train ticket with a luggage rack above, awesome. we really are behind aren't we?
