Les,
Thanks for the info regarding bicycles on trains in France. An added difficulty for us is that our bike is a tandem, so I'm worried it may not fit in the spaces provided. However, on the good side, we plan on riding just about everywhere we go once we get to Provence so we won't be getting on and off very many trains. So the main difficulty will be getting from Paris, or wherever we land to Provence (and back). I'm wondering if we might be better off buying an airline ticket with a destination of Avignon for example, rather than having to transport our bikes from Paris though it would cost several hundred dollars more that way. I wonder if there is a way to ship our bike directly to our first lodgings in Provence, and fly in to Paris ourselves, then take the TGV to Provence, which would give us the opportunity of visiting Paris without the hassle of the bike. Any further thoughts you have would be much appreciated.
Merci
Mark Taylor
Seattle Washington
In general you can't take bikes, other than in boxes or bags, on the fastest trains, including all the TGVs that I know about. You can, however, take a bike on many other trains although they are by definition slower. A benefit of that is that they stop at more stations, so it's more likely you can get on or off closer to where you want.
The main SNCF web site doesn't list trains that will take bikes. But there is a site for regional trains that does. Go to
http://www.ter-sncf.com/, select the region you want and then the line, and up will come a timetable. On that timetable will be little bicycle symbols where appropriate.
Accommodation is generally, and on the newest trains is always, alongside one or two of the passenger doors, according to the length of the trains. Look for a bicycle symbol on the side of the carriage. At small rural stations there will be so few passengers that station staff or the conductor are likely at least to identify the carriage.
There will be about four bike spaces per train. They can't be booked and it's first come first served. On the other hand, I have never been anything but the only cyclist (other than my wife) on any train that we have taken, with the exception of a train from the Semaine Fédérale at Aurillac last summer. But given that there are 13 000 cyclists at the Sem Fed, that's not surprising.
Even then, we were allowed just to prop oour bikes in the door space and take a seat. If you're nice to the conductor, remember to say Merci and S'il vous plaît and to call him Monsieur (which sounds a lot more formal than it is), your chances are much increased.
I hope that helps. If I can tell you any more, just say. Oh - bikes go free, by the way.
les woodland
st-maurin, france [/B][/QUOTE]
