London to Paris - getting the bikes back?

ejls2

Hi all,

Apologies if this doesn't belong in this forum; it seemed to be the best fit!

I am organising a London to Paris ride for some colleagues this summer and the ride has snowballed out of all proportion! What started with 5 ish riders now has 25 and one of my biggest concerns is getting all the bikes back to the UK!

We have a long wheelbase ford transit as our support vehicle and its internal dimensions seem to be 3.4 m (length) x 1.7 m (wide) x 1.7 m (high). Everything that was in the back of this will be going with the riders via eurostar so the back can be filled with bikes with the wheels on or off and we will have huge rolls of bubble wrap to pad things. Does anyone have any idea how many bikes we will be able to get in the back?

If we can't get them all in, does anyone know another method of getting them back other than getting riders to take them bagged up on Eurostar?

Many thanks in advance,

Ed

bompington

Ride them?

ejls2

Thanks for the very helpful reply ;-)

Much though I would love to, this is an event which will include quite a few comparative novices and those who may well not want to spend another three days of their annual leave entitlement riding back. Not an option I'm afraid.

spr1967

Just completed the London to Paris ride last weekend probably under the circumstances you mention.
There were 26 of us on the ride and i am pretty sure our support vehicle was a long wheelbased transit van. All the bikes did fit no problem when they were loaded up in Paris and successfully dispatched and a few locations by the support vehicle driver. The bikes where individually covered with blankets and i hasten to add carefully loaded in by the group mechanic

Not sure about transporting bikes on Eurostar, best to give them a call and ask....but as that guy who replied already said...the easiest is to ride back if you have time and the new/not used to cycling people are up for it

Good luck and enjoy the French roads as they are far superior to English road network (cant speak for Wales, Ireland or Scotland) ....pretty much like the French drivers and the respect cyclists get unlike some of the a-holes overhere

ejls2

Wow; thank you! That must be one of the most helpful replies ever! I have just counted and it looks like we will have 26 bikes too so that is remarkably helpful :-)

I was planning on having several huge rolls of bubble wrap delivered to our Paris office so I can wrap the bikes as they arrive and load them in one at at time. I will also be bringing bungees and straps so the bikes cannot move relative to each-other. A few blankets may not be a bad idea though.

I've taken bikes on Eurostar before. It's very straightforward but there is a £20 fee and sometimes limited space so we'd rather avoid it if possible. As I said above, I'm sure many people would love to ride back but people just aren't going to take another 3 days of leave for that and I doubt a significant percentage of the riders would be capable. Most importantly, I am their support crew and I can't take that time off so I think we'll have to rely on the van!

If you don't mind me asking, what route did you take out of London? I've got a few possibles but I'm slightly concerned that cycling them during rush hour will be tricky! We're setting off at 7am on Friday with a view to arriving in Dover mid afternoon and getting the ferry across that evening so we can have an early start in Calais the next day.

Thanks again for the info.

Ed

spr1967

No problem

The route we took started at Bexley Heath in the SE of London. Travelled along the B260 Longfield then Meopham. Joined the A2 towards Higham and Rochester...Followed the A226 towards Burham. , A229 to Boxley, A249 past Hollingbourne, Harreitsham, Lenham, then Charing Heath. At Charing jumped on the A252 and headed for Westwell, then A251 to Boughton Lees, Wye Hastingleigh the North Elhamstaying on the A260 towards Lydden...from here its the A256 towards Dover docks
Distance is 72 miles or 115kms...we did it it 6hrs 10 mins. Not straight through as we stopped every 15-20 mile for approx 10-15 mins for food and drink.
Our crossing was at 1730 which we had loads of time to spare
We started at 0730 and found the traffic was pretty good although we did have the odd close call with idiots on the road
The route above isnt kind at all in places (very steep hills, even a one mile gradient upwards) although the scenary is great....We road our bikes upto the meatl platform of the ferry and then got off, stuck the bikes under the stairwells of the ferry and enjoyed the 2 hr rest. From the entry into Dover docks we had an escort to guide us through passport control right through to the boat which helped..

Hope the above is of some use...safe trip

ejls2

Thank you very much for that. It looks like a good route. Were there any particularly busy bits? Was the A2 okay?

spr1967

A2 was fine...no problems with traffic build up anywhere along the route really, had a good run through.

One thing if the guys going are not familiar with the docks, be carefull on the final mile run in to the docks in terms of watch out for the local and overseas lorries.

Cheers

ejls2

If you're ever near chancery lane do drop me a Pm, I beleive I owe you a drink.

Thank you again for the info - I think the docks point is particularly worthy of note. I am hoping to go and have a ride down there next weekend so I will scope it all out and maybe get some photos.

All the best and have a great weekend,

Ed

redvee

Blankets are better than bubblewrap as they will be cheaper. Ask around locally and you should be able to get them FOC with the company claiming it as part of their environmental awareness and recycling them.

ejls2

I like they way you're thinking! I will see what our paris office can do. Cheers! Ed