Polo Tour De France Road Ride - Avignon-Bourg d'Oisans 2013/07/13-20

Anyone needs Campag triple crankset, FD and RD: https://www.lfgss.com/thread106356.html#post3586420

Should we all meet up soon and have a chat about future plans? And any other pre France rides? Mersea island is always good.

FWIW, we're doing this again next year. Week beginning 11th July.

Possibly!

Could be keen for this it I’m free

keen also!

Keen!

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

^ strong line-up! Better get into shape then! ;)

It’s not going to be a race. Anyone who comes along and tries to turn it into a race will be seriously unpopular. It will be an easy-paced social ride with full camping gear. I have done some proper head-banging rides in France in the past and have zero interest in replicating that.

If you want a race style experience in the Alps, I recommend doing the Marmotte sportive.

Someone's gotta carry the watermelon right? And the sweets... ;)

i thought the first rule is everyone has to half-wheel Bill

As long as he doesn't bring that bloody trailer thing again.

Trick your rivals into being under-prepared. Gotcha.

Can't get it on the train. And we will have to bag the bikes, it seems. Our jump off point is Lyon, and Lyon is served only by double-deck TGVs, which don't space for un-bagged or un-boxed bikes.

I've read somewhere that some of the newer ones do have space now. I haven't checked.

I have checked. There will be some changes from winter to summer schedules, but all the info have been able to find, SNCF, CUK (french equiv) is pretty clear: bags or boxed or not at all. You can take bikes on most TER trains but they are seriously slow 5 1/2 hours as compared to 2 hours for TGV from Paris > Lyon.

Lyon not updated yet? Did Rouen - Paris on double decker TGV earlier this year and can confirm there's ample bike space.

Another data point is that once I took a double-decker to Aix and I boxed the bike.... barely (meaning the box was way over the size limit, barely holding itself together, in front of the toilets' door, and to top it all I had a wheel in hand) and I just got an puzzled look from the train manager. Obviously not the same story if there are many bikes.

The chefs de bord can be a mixed bunch - I have never been refused in more than 25 trips on both Eurostar & SNCF, but then I always made sure that my bagged bike could fit in the big luggage racks. Obvs if you are travelling south on a Saturday in July, then the racks get pretty full pretty quickly. Plus we’ll have camping gear as well.

Bagged or fully assembled?

Fully assembled, 10 of us in 2 carriages. I'll check with the Lyon players and report back.

You're right, front wheel off and the bike in a bag.

World Champ Quentin Buchard might be joining us too! ;)

Are you sure TGVs run on that line? Can’t see any running - only Intercité and TER on which there are proper bike racks - some of them are double-deckers.

You got a touring bike, Ben?