Cycling in France

Gallant_JJ

Myself and the mrs are taking a road trip to France next month for 10 days or so. We are touring around the Brittany region and down as far as La Rochelle. We were hoping to do a bit of touring on our bikes, not a huge pile but some. I only got my bike about 10 weeks ago I'm currently doing around 120km a week and I really want to get some miles in when away.

My question is should we bring our own bikes, or should we rent as we go along. We have no itinerary as such, we don't want to tie our selves down. On days where we would not be using them would securing them be more hassle than its worth? Even if we were to pop into restaurants en-route, is securing them to the bike rack sufficient?

Anyone any experience of renting? I'm not looking for much, just a half decent road bike that fits. Would decent bike rental be commonly available? Any idea of costs? Any of your experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

cdaly_

If you're touring in the car it's as likely as not that hiring bikes will involve too much hassle and you won't bother as much as if you brought your own.

feck sake lads

take you own simples.;)

Chris O Donoghue

I'd strongly advise taking your own bikes, outside of the popular cycling areas like the Alps and Pyrenees the choice of rental bikes is fairly poor, usually just entry level MTBs for pottering around. The quality of roads and bike lanes is so good that you'll regret not having a bike available "on demand".

The French for bike rental is "location de velo" so it might be worth doing a search on google.fr for the areas you'll be travelling to, just to see whats available

Gallant_JJ

Thanks lads, I'm off the persuasion to bring them too, but herself thinks otherwise. The hassle of souring rental bikes may not be worth it.

If were staying somewhere, would securing to the bike rack be sufficient? I don't have a rack yet so I don't really know how secure they are.

bcmf

JUst back from France and the cycle track's are absolutley superb. Deffo bring your own. We never had an issue with just securing them to a bike rack just use the same amount of caution that you would here when pulling into service stations/supermarkets etc. When the are on the rack a big lock at all times.

Chris O Donoghue

I reckon the bikes would be fine on the rack, I don't think there's much casual bike theft in France: we've carried 3 good bikes on the back of a camper for the last 6 years and never had a problem. I use a long cable lock and it's fine.

velopeloton

Take your own bike.

JMcL

We've done both, and I'd say take your own is best if practical. While hiring is easy and relatively cheap if doing it for a week or so, the selection is generally limited to pretty chunky hybrid style bikes (what the french call VTC - Velo Tout Chemin). If you've just got the new bike and have a means of taking it, then why not?

If you get the chance, head out to some of the islands (Ile d'Oleron, Ile de Rey - they're connected to the mainland by bridge) near La Rochelle. They have huge dedicated cycling networks and are an absolute pleasure

Solair

There's plenty of casual bike and everything else theft in France. DEFINITELY lock your bike, particularly if you're in any kind of urban area or motorway services stop or campsites etc.

You might get away with it in rural areas, but it's absolutely not advisable to leave bikes or your car unlocked in cities or towns in most of France.

Basically take similar precautions as you would in Ireland.

I wouldn't risk it as you could end up spoiling your holiday over a few locks.

Gallant_JJ

Thanks folks, much appreciated, looks like I will be taking it. One quick query, I'm getting the loan of a friend bike rack. I've never used one before, from what I see they just seem to be held to the car via straps. Is it secure to just lock the bike to the rack or is there something else I should know about? Thanks

JMcL

Gallant_JJ wrote: »

Thanks folks, much appreciated, looks like I will be taking it. One quick query, I'm getting the loan of a friend bike rack. I've never used one before, from what I see they just seem to be held to the car via straps. Is it secure to just lock the bike to the rack or is there something else I should know about? Thanks

First thing to do is make sure the rack is compatible with your car. If you've for example got something with loads of glass on the rear door and not much frame you could be in trouble. The last thing you want is for your bikes + rear door to be left in the middle of the autoroute!

When we took the bikes over, we didn't tend to leave them on the rack other than when we were actually traveling, but when they were, we always kept them locked.

Mycroft H

Make sure your plates and lights are visible, otherwise you will need a axillary lights.