London Fixed-gear and Single-speed

Been thinking about this for the last month or so. Whose up for a forum raid on paris, take the bikes on the Eurostar, into Paris, hook up with the Parisian Forum boys, go out, ride, drink, sleep in cheap hotel, repeat the next day and get the Eurostar back to old blighty before the week begins.
I'm thinking sometime in august would be good, those who are in paris (Pistanator, Smiling Buddha, any others?) and those who have been in Paris (Delphina) let me know if this is viable, good spots to hang out, drink etc.
And the rest of you forum monkeys put up your responses in the poll to whether this is a good bad thing to do.

sounds rad, how much is the eurostar to paris return? and perhaps a hostel is a better idea than a hotel naaah?

i want to go to paris.

I used to live in Paris

zoot alors! mont blanc! sacre blue! savoire faire!

sounds mental, let's do it.

I am 100% up for this. Posted this idea up earlier in the year.
Going on holiday with the missus to France in the summer. My idea was to cycle to Paris and meet her there. Was resigning to the fact I may have to go alone, but now this. Come on lets go for it!

eurostar? shouldn't you be riding to paris?

some people already are riding to paris. 200k per day.

Eurostar is great for bikes.
This would be cool.

I've herd you need to book and use bike bags. Is this true or is it like a normal train?

It might have changed since but two years ago I fitted a SS MTB into a length-truncated bike-box (150x75x25) got on to the coach before everybody else, flipped down the metal rails and stood it in there on end.

I would be up for going out on the Friday morning and returning Monday. When is that August Bank Holiday?

so what about train to dover, ferry to calais
calais to paris in three days - 67 miles per day
route

the question is to gear or not to gear, i actually have no geared bikes, but fixed would/might be too hard

They've changed the rules recently. You can definitely take a bike on the train if it's bagged still (I did it last month) but I think now you can book your bike to travel on the same train as you, although I've not tried this.

More here.

i would love to 'do' paris.

and august is good - post effin ironman b*ll*x.

i am sick o this trainin. i just wanna have some fun.

bring on the fun !

I will say right now that I am in. IN.

I'm a bit hungover but I'll give it more thought when I'm able. IN though

I'm also IN

it's a nice idea corny, and some other time i might be in, but august is already looking pretty booked up so can't get in on this action. might be able to squeeze in riding the leg to coast if you go that way

No way man, you'll be fine. That route you posted up is totaly flat too!

I like this idea. I've done lots of cycling in the UK, but very little in France.

And we could always have two groups. One that doesn't have the time to ride to Paris, and one that does. Everyone meets up at Gare du Nord!

yep totally down with that! And will probably be in Paris in august anyway. There're a lot of cool spots for drinking/riding/hanging out in Paris, :)
We could also do the euroline bus alternative..? 8hours in a bus, but it's very cheap, also more fun when you are a group of people who know each other. :)

how much is the bus and would a group of ten + be allowed to stick their bikes on the underside of the bus?

It's around £40 return. There shouldn't be a problem, with the bikes, if we all book in advance, plus there is usually 2 buses that leave at the same time for Paris. :)

would be good fun, two packed busses with a riding crew, its mega cheap aswel.

whats paris like for bike theifs?

I'm up for it (which means Mike is too) but in late August- Early September and just for the weekend. Would be up for leaving Friday night returning Sunday evening.
Not really interested in riding there though as it kinda kills the weekend.

I love this idea.
Take tents. epic.

I rather do the bus-train and spend the weekend in Paris than the ride to Paris.

I'm more for the bus/train to paris, then riding round paris, than riding to paris.
We could organise two groups, but I'm only going to have enough time off for a long weekend, friday to monday sort of thing.

lets keep the votes coming in as well as the journey ideas.

andyp posted a link, but here's what eurostar say about taking bikes on trains:

If you can fold or dismantle your bike and place it in a bike bag with the saddle, handlebars and wheels removed, you can carry it on board yourself as part of your luggage allowance as long as the overall size is no bigger than a normal suitcase.

Alternatively, you have 2 other options.

From 7 April you will be able to reserve a place for your bike on the same train that you are travelling on. (This is subject to space being available). This service operates on our London, Paris and Brussels routes only and will give you added assurance of knowing that your bike is travelling with you.

You can make a reservation or find out more about this service by calling us on 08705 850 850 or visit the EuroDespatch Centre in person at St Pancras International. Charges are £20 one way and it’s necessary to quote your Eurostar reference or show your ticket.

Or you may simply wish to use our registered baggage service which also operates between London, Paris and Brussels Eurostar terminals as well as Lille Europe but does not guarantee your bike travels on the same train as you. We will do our utmost to send your bike on the next available service, space permitting. However, our guarantee is that your bike will be available to collect at your Eurostar destination station within 24 hours after registration.

But this service also allows you to send your bike in advance of your journey and then it’ll be ready to collect when you arrive. If not, you can still turn up on the day. So if you are able to be that little bit more flexible, this can also be a useful option.

Charges are £20 and it’s necessary to show your Eurostar ticket or booking reference when you register.

For more details about our registered baggage service take a look at the baggage information or feel free to call us on 08705 850 850.

i'm going to switzerland in early July for a week, £122 return using eurostar and tgv :)

just chucking my bike in a bag with my clothes

That good. Cheaper than the fast train to Manchester at peak time.

i was well surprised! kills a few birds in one stone. a) wanted to go to paris (got a couple hour stopover on one of the journeys); b) want to go on eurostar. Plus less hassle with transfers to airports etc :)

Fixed wheel bikes are illegal in Switzerland ;-)

Been thinking about this for a while.
Reckon I'm gonna get the train to the coast. Ferry over. Ride up the East side of France. Tent on the beaches of Dunkirk and campsites for 3 days.
Though having loads of us hit Paris would be something.

or you could get train to newhaven, ferry to dieppe, and ride to paris from there. Takes about 70 miles off the journey.

sounds like a good idea. myself and a few others are cycling from Brighton to Paris in a day sometime in august. it's best to get the ferry from newhaven to dieppe, then it's 105 miles to paris. calais is a longer route.

i'm not 100% on this, but when you use eurostar, your bikes get shipped on a different train so you may have to wait a while to pick them up...