Cycling in the high mountains. Alps, Dolomites, Pyrenees etc

Starting this thread so I have all of @andyp 's advice in one thread

Eurostar not carrying full sized bikes so plan for August for me has to be go to a 'base' and hire a bike.

What do you suggest?

Must be on TGV.

Grenoble? Nice? Chambéry? Anything else?

IF Eurostar carried bikes I was thinking Perpignan to Irun on bike.

For context I have been to Alps previously; based in Briancon and Annecy, would be nice to not repeat those climbs (izoard, galibier etc).

Pyrenees.

where should I base and ride for a week? And hire a bike.

I rented in Nice last year and it was very good but I bumped into a couple of guys who rented bikes in Monaco and they got really high end (although slightly older) rim brake road bikes for much less. One of them had Lightweight wheels. This was in early September so I guess it counts as low season and I see you want to go in August.

amazing, where did you rent from?

What are you after? Big name cols? Nice quiet roads? Good restaurants?

Sleeper train to Ax les Thermes.

Oh and hire a DH bike if you are in the mountains, I'm pretty sure Trek do them.

dont care about 'big name' cols, just nice quiet roads and restaurants for lunch but can survive on a boulangerie (and lots of figs or prunes)

a DH bike

u want me to die?!

I got a Cervelo R5 one day and then an Aspero the next from Cafe du Cycliste although there is also Service Course and they have great looking bikes too.
I don't know what bike shop those other guys used in Monaco but I remember googling once I got home and there were a few to choose from.

Green runs exist.

ah nice, i looked at SC, cheapest is €65 a day, I dont mind a sora rim brake bike tbh

also was looking to stay out of the city so the ride there and back would be with a backpack or an expensive taxi ride

You can take bikes on the local trains, btw (maybe certain hours only). I took mine from Nice to Menton.

Check out the Monaco rental places. The guys I met claimed to get their fancy bikes for a week for something like €150. Although they haggled and it was slightly out of season so I guess it will be more in August.

I'd highly recommend Bagneres de Luchon.

Within spitting distance of the big names like Peyresourde, Tourmalet, but quieter and mysterious mountains going the other way and skirting the Spanish border (ie Col des Ares, Col du Portillon). You can also time trial up / down the climb to Superbagneres.

I dont mind a sora rim brake bike tbh

Best avoid the D3 down from Opio in that case

Eurostar not carrying full sized bikes

Train from St Panc then Dover ferry was pretty easy when I did it years ago - rolled on and off, fully packed bike.

@dinosaur @Squaredisk 2 out of 3 times I went to the alps I have taken trains, SNCF/inoui are absolutely fine to let the bike be in a bin bag, wheels taken off, Eurostars were always cunts, had to paid EuroDispatch €30 per journey; still fine but they have fully stopped that service.

@stuartm cheers will check it out!

can you stretch to Bern - to the south (my preference) and East some lovely quiet roads - or cycle the valleys between them - the city has on old quarter - plenty of river paths too and lots of dedicated cycle paths , i found it not too busy in the summer months, i did have my own bikes, but accommodation seemed plentiful and suits all budgets (at least a few years ago).

Avoid the Cote d'Azur in August. It's hellishly busy and the roads are a nightmare. Switzerland is a great shout.

these are the #insights I need! Will look into it @anthonyj

Switzerland is fucking expensive but beautiful.

Isn't Innsbruck meant to be great?

On the TGV Bourg Saint Maurice looks hard to beat

Bourg Saint Maurice

Only to Chambéry, then a bus ride for couple of hrs, kinda rules it out, if I can carry bike I could ride from Chambéry.

is this with family?

Get the ferry with your bike and the train from Calais? Lille gives you plenty of TGV options.