euro cycling

"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote in message
...

"recycled" wrote in message
...

Bring your own bike or arrange 'over there'?

Depends upon how long you're going to be staying there. It's going to run
$400 (more or less) in extra baggage fees to bring a bike to France and
back. So consider that against rental costs, or what you'd lose in
"depreciation" if you buy one there and have to quickly sell it when you
return. You'd think shops would set up a buy-back plan for maybe half the
cost of what they sell it to you for, but I have yet to see such a thing.
On a $1500 bike, that would mean selling it back to them for $750. Well,
as I think about it, that might not work out well for the, since by the
time they get it fixed back up to sell, at a lower price than a new one,
they may very well find it an unprofitable transaction.

This sounds like the kicker. While I would like my own bike I shudder at the
hassle and cost. I like the idea of avoiding all that with some manner of
getting the bike there, rent or buyback but, I wouldnt want to start my trip
bogged down in some purchase/rental arrangements. Assume a ~$900 USD/CND
bike in North America. What would that translate to in purchasing similar in
France?

If you're not looking for a "French" hotel (and why you would is beyond
me; exploring what's outside is a whole lot more interesting than any
hotel I've been in) then consider the Etap hotels (part of the Accor
chain). They're cookie-cutter (each exactly the same room layout as the
next) but functional, clean, and cheap. Figure on $45-$50/night, sometimes
less, sometimes a bit more.

That sounds ideal. Really all I would want is a bed and a shower. With hotel
I should have said accomodation.


I think I would prefer to be on my own for the freedom to strike out in
any direction that strikes my fancy but am willing to consider
alternatives.

How much time can you spend on this trip? Anything over a week on a
packaged tour is going to be pretty expensive!

2 weeks give or take.

Best time of year for weather and to avoid busy times? Ideally I'm hoping
mid-June 2010.

June can be fairly crowded and mid-June is high-season (more expensive).
The weather should be OK and not quite as hot as a month later. Ideal
would be September. Great weather, and outside of Paris, very few
tourists. Lower air fare, less-expensive hotels, less-crowded roads, and
kids are back in school.

September might be doable. I was in the Bonn/Cologne region in mid-May back
in the 90's and the weather was quite reasonable except for one brief
hailstorm.

"Frank Krygowski" wrote in message
...

I've never done a guided tour of any type. We've always just bumbled
along on our own, having studied ahead of time and taken guidebooks
along. It's worked out fine.

That's my mindset.

One technique that's worked well for us was to read ahead, note sights
that we wanted to see, and mark them on a map, then examine the dots
to see which can be connected easily. Some dots, of course, have to
be skipped. If you have some particular interest (museums of French
bagpipes, for example?) you can scour the internet to find them and
include them in your own tour, one a tour company could never
duplicate.

About interacting with locals: I'd recommend a resolution to talk to
everyone. IME, if you're an American passing through a small village,
someone there will be very interested in talking with you.

Canadian, which means they will assume I'm American.

Thanks for the suggestions/ Keep 'em coming.

A couple other thoughts: Anyone have firsthand experience with the terrain
of Normandy? My only knowledge is from Google Earth, history books and war
movies. It seems rather tame unless you are trying to take out a gun
emplacement.

How serious is bike theft? My comparison would be of a smallish Canadian
city with Kryponite cable lock.

On Jun 8, 4:46*am, "recycled" wrote:

Canadian, which means they will assume I'm American. *

Don't bet on it. The first time I was in France everyone asked if I
was German. I must have a really strange accent in French

John Kane Kingston ON Canada

On Sun, 7 Jun 2009 17:17:36 -0700, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:

Best time of year for weather and to avoid busy times? Ideally I'm
hoping mid-June 2010.

June can be fairly crowded and mid-June is high-season (more expensive).
The weather should be OK and not quite as hot as a month later. Ideal
would be September.

Absolutely agree - I've lived most of my life in Paris, but still love
September when it comes around each year. The extreme heat of summer
has gone, but there are still long daylight hours in the evenings.
The crowds of tourists have gone, things have returned to normal, all
the shops are open again, the concert season starts, in short, it's a
good time to see France as it really is all year round outside of the
holiday season

Ok. After considering the logistics of taking my bike to France I am now
thinking that arranging for a bike 'over there' is the better optiobn.

That would seem to mena some sout of tour package so I'm asking for any
shout -outs about what is a good reputable operators.

Ideally I would prefer the most independant type of package; as
self-directed and self-contained as possible. I'm also wondering if there
are operators who offer bike upgrades for those looking for a more serious
amount of riding?

I've looked ad one site so far which seems reputable:

http://www.discoverfrance.com/index.html

Any opinions on this or other reccomendations?

I've ridden my bike in Europe about 5 times, but not since the
airlines started charging so much to transport a bike. I don't think I
would do it again if they're going to charge me an extra $400 round
trip for the bike.

I tried to rent a bike over there a couple of times, but I never could
find a decent bike to rent. They would only offer single-speed bikes
for rent. Good luck renting a high-quality road bike.

"Bill" wrote in message
...
I've ridden my bike in Europe about 5 times, but not since the
airlines started charging so much to transport a bike. I don't think I
would do it again if they're going to charge me an extra $400 round
trip for the bike.

A cursory check of the Canadian airlines indicaes that their fee is $50 -
each way I think. But as much as the cost the logistics of it makes me shy
from taking my own.

I tried to rent a bike over there a couple of times, but I never could
find a decent bike to rent. They would only offer single-speed bikes
for rent. Good luck renting a high-quality road bike.

That's likely the kicker. I don't need a Tour de France level bike by any
means. But I would like to find something above the average utility hybrid
rental. If anyone knows of that sort of service let me know.

"recycled" wrote:

"Bill" wrote in message
...
I've ridden my bike in Europe about 5 times, but not since the
airlines started charging so much to transport a bike. I don't think I
would do it again if they're going to charge me an extra $400 round
trip for the bike.

A cursory check of the Canadian airlines indicaes that their fee is $50
- each way I think. But as much as the cost the logistics of it makes me
shy from taking my own.

I tried to rent a bike over there a couple of times, but I never could
find a decent bike to rent. They would only offer single-speed bikes
for rent. Good luck renting a high-quality road bike.

That's likely the kicker. I don't need a Tour de France level bike by
any means. But I would like to find something above the average utility
hybrid rental. If anyone knows of that sort of service let me know.

First hit on Google: http://www.veloloco.com/bike-rental/rates.php.

Thorn Raven Adventure Tour (14 evenly spaced gears), Touring Bike
(27speed), MTB, Road & ALP Bike, Tandem Bicycle, Recumbent, Row Bike,
Child Trailer and Luggage Trailer for rent.

France, Spain and Andorra.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

"Tom Sherman °_°" wrote in message
...
"recycled" wrote:

"Bill" wrote in message
...
I've ridden my bike in Europe about 5 times, but not since the
airlines started charging so much to transport a bike. I don't think I
would do it again if they're going to charge me an extra $400 round
trip for the bike.

A cursory check of the Canadian airlines indicaes that their fee is $50 -
each way I think. But as much as the cost the logistics of it makes me
shy from taking my own.

I tried to rent a bike over there a couple of times, but I never could
find a decent bike to rent. They would only offer single-speed bikes
for rent. Good luck renting a high-quality road bike.

That's likely the kicker. I don't need a Tour de France level bike by any
means. But I would like to find something above the average utility
hybrid rental. If anyone knows of that sort of service let me know.

First hit on Google: http://www.veloloco.com/bike-rental/rates.php.

Thorn Raven Adventure Tour (14 evenly spaced gears), Touring Bike
(27speed), MTB, Road & ALP Bike, Tandem Bicycle, Recumbent, Row Bike,
Child Trailer and Luggage Trailer for rent.

France, Spain and Andorra.

600 Euros for 3 weeks? Yikes!