HELP! Having a nightmare

[pinkkaz]

ok it's all gone a bit wrong... Had a lovely 6 days cycling around the Loire Valley but now my husband is in a French hospital attached to a chest drain and I need some advice.

I have our 2 bikes and a lot of luggage, and the insurance company have said that they won't cover shipping of bikes back to England. So, does anyone know the cheapest way of getting the bikes back? original plan was to do same as way out - train to Paris then cycle over to Gare de Nord an just put bikes on Eurostar, but I cant do thqt on my own and husband will be in no fit state to ride. Right, off to google shipping companies.

Also need to try and bet some bike boxes from a bike shop - do you think that will be as easy as in England?

 

[Riding in Circles]

French bike shops are usually superb and very helpful, hope hubby recovers quickly.

 

[old donald]

What about contacting the bike bus to see if there is a local pickup in France and getting someone else to collect them at a drop off in the UK

 

[Willow]

sorry about your traumas I have no idea where to start but make sure you don't end up paying out more than bikes are worth. Do you have family who could sort it out from this end for you, may take some of the pressure off. Or maybe there are some nice forum members who live in france who can come to your rescue. Good luck and the important thing is hubby so difficult though it is try and keep the bike situation in perspective.

 

[Brains]

I don't know where you are, but we spent a week at the campsite below, run by a very nice English couple. They have several barns where you could dump bike and bit and then sort it out later, either a recouperation holiday or get them to send it back - language issues resolved !

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/moulinfort/moulinfort/

 

[peanut]

what a nightmare Pinkkaz . Do hope your husband is ok.
I don't know why your insurance company won't help you. I'd sue them through the online Small Claims Court when you return .

how much are the bikes worth ?
I would say there a a couple of ways to resolve this.
You could strip both bikes put all the expensive small bits in a cheap suitcase and carry the two bare frames by hand .( wrap the tubes in a suitable tape or pipe insulation to prevent scratches. Dump the wheels or sell them to a local bike shop or cycle club.
Or you could pay for storage and either see if this forum can't contact someone returning from the Tour de France who would bring them back for you in their campervan, or go back later in a car to collect them.

Or you could ask a friend to come out by train and meet you and help you and your husband back with the bikes and luggage.

To be frank I can't see how you are going to manage to get you and your invalid husband and all your luggage back without help through all the stations.

On reflection I'd probably stay an extra day or two and get a family member here in the UK to apply pressure on the Insurance Company for a day or two whilst you search for an English cycle-tour company based in the Loire Valley and leave your bikes with them until you can arrange to get them back later .

 

[CopperBrompton]

Do you have a friend or family member who could fly over? A cheap flight and extra Eurostar ticket might be the cheapest way to do it.

Ben

 

[jay clock]

Another option is rent a car and leave at Calais, then stagger on board as foot passenger....

Sorry not to be of more help. I am bilingual in French if there is anything I can do to help with translating.

 

[yenrod]

Pink' is it not possible to stay in France for a while longer..have you been told by the French Docs. the duration...

 

[asterix]

ok it's all gone a bit wrong... Had a lovely 6 days cycling around the Loire Valley but now my husband is in a French hospital attached to a chest drain and I need some advice.

I have our 2 bikes and a lot of luggage, and the insurance company have said that they won't cover shipping of bikes back to England. So, does anyone know the cheapest way of getting the bikes back?

Sorry to hear the bad news; unfortunately I can't offer much help as I'm not bringing my van back to the UK (York) till October (might have space then).

You could try an ex-pats forum e.g.Total France as there are some clued up folk on there who could offer advice or even transport.

 

[pinkkaz]

Thanks for your replies everyone. It's all looking a bit more hopeful now. He's getting out of hospital tomorrow but the doctor wants him to stay in Tours until Thursday. His Dad has already offered to come to France to help with the bikes so that's a option. Otherwise I'm pretty sure I'll be able to strap most of the luggage to me and my bike even though I'll look like a packhorse!

He should be able to push the other bike (something to lean on) and his sister knows someone in Paris to get a van to take us from one station to the other. Just want to get home although I'm not as stressed as I was. The worst thing is we both feel like we haven't actually had a holiday now.

Thanks for the suggestion about the "recouperation holiday"! We had already thought about that - our bikes are currently in the hotel garage so it could be an option to leave them there for a few weeks and then go pick them up - certainly cheaper than shipping them back (which I've looked into) and a lot less stressful.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Glad you seem to have got it sorted.

As a general observation/question: aren't British Consulates supposed to help people having difficulties like this?

 

[CopperBrompton]

No, consulates only help with matters requiring legal or diplomatic assistance.

I'd say the recuperation holiday sounds like an excellent plan - you'll both need another holiday, and then you don't have the hassles of getting things back. If you can persuade the hotel to do some laundry for you, you could even leave some clothes there so you have less luggage to bring home.

Ben

 

[Brains]

Pinkaz - The campsite I suggested, run by the English couple is only 40km south east of Tours - and it has a train line directly into the city, so if you are thinking of a recouperation holiday you really could ask if you can dump all your stuff in their barns, nip there by train fully loaded with two bikes, and be back to help hubby home.

 

[Arch]

Glad to hear there seem to be some helpful options - I can't help much but wish you and hubby well...

Who are the insurers, BTW, so that we can all decide not to use them, ever?