Touring bike hire in NE Belgium/NW Germany/S Netherlands

[mcr]

A long shot, I know, but does anyone know of anywhere that one can can hire what we Brits would term a touring bike within reach of Aachen/Maastricht/German-Belgian border? The continental concept seems to involve straight handlebars, which I've never been comfortable with, so the equivalent of a Dawes/Thorn etc is what I'm after. I've found a few places that offer drop-handlebar road bikes, but they're always a bit too racy to take rack and panniers. Basically, I'm trying to find a way of avoiding taking my own bike on Eurostar, because of the logistics of getting it on to the first train of the day to Brussels, either in a bike bag or via the registered service (which now seems to recommend a protective bike bag anyway).

 

[rich p]

A ferry from Harwich - Hoek or Dover to Dunkerque may be a better option. You can cycle from the port or hop on a regional train on the other side.

 

[mcr]

I've looked into those, but I've rather fallen for the stress-free experience of Eurostar (and at £90 return from my local station to the German border - it's actually the Eifel area I'm aiming for - it's comparable on price when one tots up trains and ferry). I may look at the Dover option again, though (after all, I can also get there from St Pancras these days) - it'll just take that much more time out of my planned week away to get to and from my starting-point.

 

[TwoInTow]

What's worrying you about the Eurostar service? Is it the early start? If so, did you know that you can drop your bike off several days beforehand, if you wish?

 

[mcr]

What's worrying you about the Eurostar service? Is it the early start? If so, did you know that you can drop your bike off several days beforehand, if you wish?

It's mainly the early start - I live outside London so I'd have to stay at the mother-in-law's flat (within walking distance of St P) the night before and there's nowhere there I could store the bike (it's that sort of flat!). That's if I were to take it onboard as luggage in my Tardis bag. Unfortunately, the left-luggage store at St P only opens at 6am, which is no use for catching the 6.20!

The registered service now costs £30 each way (up from £20 when it launched only a few years ago) and there's this new requirement to have it bagged - or at least in some 'protective cover' - which seems to defeat the object. (Makes me think they want to discourage bikes altogether...) It had made me wonder about dropping it off the evening before, though - thanks for the heads-up on that.

 

[cyco2]

This what pssmiffy had to do to get on the on the Euro to Paris


http://www.crazyguyo..._id=151774&v=3d

I would like to fly to Brest and get a bike with a rear rack on, to tour around Brittany but find it difficult to find a bike hire place. I guess they're there though.

 

[willem]

Forget about renting a bike like that: you will not find it. My suggestion would be the Harwich Hook of Holland ferry, ultracheap if you buy your ticket in advance. There will be plenty of good train connections, to Maastricht and various places in Germany.
Willem