Just short rides today connecting up my 4 trains, to travel from the edge of the Cévennes back to Bristol.
1) Alès to Nîmes
A fast downhill 10km from the campsite at Cendras got me to the station at Alès quicker than expected where I joined a small group of early birds waiting for the doors to be unlocked at 06:40. The most chatty by far was a woman in headphones on a day trip to Nîmes. Somewhat further along the "spectrum" than me, she'd been at the station for an hour already, if I understood correctly. She was sporting some bright red trainers, but already, so early in the day, was suffering with her feet.
I wasn't expecting that the local 06:58 stopping service from Alès to Nîmes would involve any bike aggro, especially as I've used this service several times in the past without problem. But this morning the conductor was insistent that on Saturdays (and for the whole of July) a bike reservation is required. Needless to say, when the train pulled into Nîmes half an hour later I was the only cyclist amongst the handful of passengers.
2) Nîmes to Paris (Gare de Lyon)
On both the TGV and Eurostar you must remove both wheels from your bike to fit it into a bag not longer than 130cm.
I'd bought one of these; however on a touring bike you'd also need to remove mudguards and luggage rack to properly conform to that size and fit into one of their very small luggage shelves. It's extraordinary that bikes are clearly a complete after-thought on both TGV and Eurostar. I did talk to a chap at Nîmes who'd managed to get a booking for an actual bike rack on a different TGV, allowing him to travel without disassembly. What a luxury! I don't believe that proper bike racks are ever offered on the inOui varient of TGV which I was using. The upshot was that I had a lot of bother and ended up standing with my bike next to lav for the 3 hour journey to ensure that nobody came a cropper and ended up falling down the stairs to the lower deck. A very poor show I felt, but it stayed friendly and I did persuade the guard to give me a fan - very useful on this day of "canicule" and an inOui souvenir to treasure.
3) Paris (Gare du Nord) to London St Pancras
A pleasant 15-20 min ride from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare du Nord. Total transfer time was 40 mins including disembarkation, reassembly & travel. At the Eurostar baggage handling office (once located), the bike goes back in the bag and you trust that it will magically appear at St Pancras. Which it did. But I failed to think through that for this leg the bike is freight, and so you really need to protect vulnerable parts like fork ends, chain rings etc with cardboard. My bike came back with minor damage. The departure area at the Gare du Nord is very cramped and there's no tap for drinking water. It's a pretty stressy experience, with multiple passport controls and security checks.
4) London Paddington to Bristol
Plain sailing. I'm so familiar with this journey, and I think that the GWR network is one of the best in the UK for cyclists.
Less fuss than any of the 3 French trains. Next time I'm touring in France I will avoid TGV and Eurostar. I'll take local trains to a Channel port and use a ferry.
