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#11
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Provence this September
Thanks for the reply.
The disassembled bike will fit overhead rack? I don't remember how big it was but then again I didn't really pay too much attention. Guess I will know when I get there. I am sure I will find SOME place for the bike. The bag I use is not one of those proper (and expensive) "housse" that one's supposed to use. It is just a really large trash bag (actually a clear, thin plastic liner for 55-gallon hazardous waste container/drum - I use a new, clean one, of course!) Last year I used it on three TGV rides (put at the end of the carriage) with no problem. Some funny looks here and there but the conductors didn't say anything, The bag is just plastic so very light and I just carried w/ me all along. Didn't effect the weight of my pannier luggage at all. Good day. "Mathieu Peyréga" wrote in message ... Hello I will be going next month on TGV (Paris-St. Jean de Luz and then Collioure-Paris) I do have a bike bag 120 x 90 cm but I know the large luggage racks at the end of carriages (which is what I used last two years) are now sealed off according to SNCF. Where can one put the disassembled bike on the TGV carriage? I'm not sure wether the luggage racks are still closed but you may be right... Anyway, SNCF did not changed the rules and bikes are still allowed... I suggest you should try to arrive early at the station (no more than 20 minutes early : trains arrive in the terminal-stations 20 minutes before the time to leave). Getting there early will let you have your dissassembled bike in the luggage compartment above your seat. They are quite big and I know it can be done. The last solution is just to let it in the lobby next to your seat and to move it when it is an issue (child seats and so on...) The other issue is : what do you do with your bag then ? Do you carry it all over your trip ? |
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#12
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Provence this september
Thanks all for your comments and advice.
I called the tourist info center in New York and they told me that we can take our bikes if we but them in bike bags. Thanks to telfordutd for explaining to me that a 55 gallon drum bag which is disposable is good enough. Thanks to Mike in California regarding train & reservation info. The French tourist office told me that the train tickets cost much less if bought in France vs. having them delivered in the USA. Thanks to peyrega for his helpful info and than further follow-up to alieve my concerns. Thanks also to edhay from Canada who at 78 is still pedaling. Also thanks to Jacques Moser who suggested the TER. I will be back to you soon Jacque. Thanks to all others that contributed. Many of us plan to bike in France and would love to learn more. Let us keep this thread alive with Provence postings. I am excited for the trip and would like to hear any further suggestions. Gary H |
#13
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Provence this September
peyrega
Did you get my email message? I received a non delivery notice. Please let me know how to contact you (address) Gary H |
#14
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Provence this September
mathieu.peyrega (_the_sign_that_mean_at_) orange.fr
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#15
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Provence this september
I just returned from biking in SW France. I think I can give you some
information that will save you money, at least. If you go to www.sncf.com, you can purchase or simply reserve seats on TGV & Corail trains. I began my trip in Angouleme, and returned to Paris from Bayonne, near the Spanish border. I purchased my TGV ticket for the return on the website above, getting a special low fare the SNCF calls "Prem's". The fare was only 25 euros, as opposed to the regular fare of about 75 euros on that route. They offer these fare for virtually all TGV destinations to/from Paris. The trick is that they are like many airline tickets, namely: 1) You must purchase at least 2 weeks in advance of your travel. 2) There must be availability. They only allot a small number of seats to be sold at these low prices, so it is best to buy your ticket as quickly as you know your date & time of travel. If 25 euros seats are gone, there may still be 40 euro seats. 3) The tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable. 4) You must either print your ticket yourself on a laser printer (which is what I did) or similar quality printer, or have an address in France where the ticket can be delivered. You CANNOT retrieve Prem's tickets at the station, unlike most other SNCF tickets. (I have purchased cheap train tickets online for Paris-Brussels and was able to retrieve those tickets in the station) 5) You must give your date of birth when purchasing. This will be printed on the ticket, and you will be asked to show a photo ID to confirm both your identity & date of birth. Your name will be printed all over the background of the ticket like a watermark in appearance. It's pretty cool. Note: the rules say the paper used to print out your ticket yourself must be european sized "A4" plain white paper, but I used 8 1/2" x 11" North American paper, and I can assure you my paper size was not measured by the ticket inspector. He did take my ticket away for 20 minutes or so, and I had paranoid fantasies that he was indeed measuring the size of my paper. But of course, that didn't happen. I believe A4 paper is slightly narrower and slightly longer than 8 1/2 x 11. I suspect the actual printout is identical, with slightly different margins. A bar code is printed on the ticket. When I was beginning my trip, I intended to take the TGV the same day I arrived at CDG airport. I couldn't get a Prem's ticket because it happened to be at the beginning of a holiday weekend in France, so there was no availability by the time I knew I was going on my trip. Also, that ticket would have been somewhat risky, since I couldn't be sure of my flight arrival time, as well as how long it would take me to stop first at my friend's house, put my Bike Friday together from its suitcase (which I was leaving at my friend's house), and hop back on the RER to get near Gare Montparnasse. What I did, however, was hedge my bets by reserving seats on 2 different trains a couple of hours apart. The TGV's were completely sold out ultimately, and I reserved one of the last available seats (at full fare) on the earlier train I reserved, which was the one I ultimately took. All I was required to do was actually purchase either of the tickets at least 30 minutes prior to the train's departure or the reservation would disappear. I barely made it, buying it about 40 minutes ahead of time. BTW, SNCF automatic ticket dispensers do not recognize american credit cards. You have to go to a "guichet" (ticket window) to get your ticket. I did my transaction in French on www.sncf.com. I just checked and even if you specify english, the cheap Prem's fares will still come up. However, on the French-language site, there is a link specifically for Prem's fares which I didn't see on the english version. I just left the default "France" as being my country of residence, since if you say USA, Canada, Australia, or Japan, it tells you to buy from raileurope.com, which will rip you off with a fare even higher than the standard SNCF full fare. Since I was printing out my ticket myself, my country of residence was of no importance whatsoever to the transaction. It is indeed true that the large suitcase areas at one end of each TGV car have been blocked off with heavy plastic and duct tape. I did see one car, however, where people had simply punched thru it and put their bags inside anyway. On most cars, however, they were blocked off and not used. My Bike Friday folds. I folded it (and removed the pedals) on the platform before getting on the train and put it inside a large nylon bag I carried in my panniers. The bag is too large to put in the narrow overhead area above the seats. My choices were to either leave it vertically in the aisle (I specified an aisle seat for this possibility), or, what I ultimately did on both TGV trips I took, I simply leaned it against the wall at the end of the car outside of the seat area, near the exit to the car, but not blocking the passageway between cars. A couple of other large suitcases were left there by other passengers. The conductors completely ignored our luggage on both TGV trains I took. I took a few local trains to go short distances, and on those trains, I was able to simply wheel my bike onto the train. There was no charge for the bike. One of those trains was not designated as being able to take bikes, but the ticket conductor said "oui" when I asked, and there was an empty area to put the bike. Otherwise, I would have folded it up like I did for the TGV. BTW, my route was first from Angouleme to Rodez (the Dordogne & Lot valleys mostly), then in the Pyrenees & Basque country first crossing the Col d'Aspin, then the Col du Tourmalet (turned out to be the day they were bringing the statue of the giant cyclist up to the summit, so hundreds of local cyclists were riding up), then thru Lourdes & Pau, and into the Basque country just over the border to San Sebastian, Spain. The 18 km on the main road from the French/Spanish border to San Sebastian is hellish and should be avoided. I rode to S.Seb, but once there, asked and learned that the local commuter trains between S. Seb & Irun at the border all allow you to take your bike. It costs just 1.10 euros and took 15 minutes, and saved me much grief when I returned to France the next day. Finally, in many, many, many years of bike touring in 30+ countries, San Sebastian was the first place where anything was ever stolen out of my panniers when I left it unattended a few minutes to go into a shop. |
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