Bikes and French railways...

I love cycling in France and for the second year running am about to set off on a bike/ rail holiday. The local trains I have no probs with. You can just roll on and even if there isn't a rack space there isn't a problem. What I do find difficult however is the fact that there is limited space on TGV and it has to be booked in advance, space is very limited and for peace of mind I have to go through raileurope and negotiate a space which kind of limits my movements. In addition to which these can't be booked more than three months ahead and I get the impression that I am paying top rates each time as well as card surcharges etc.
Has anyone else had any issues with rail travel in France and solutions which might help me on future occasions?
Has anyone else had any issues with rail travel in France and solutions which might help me on future occasions?
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There's no real way round RailEurope if you want to book a bike space. But perhaps it would be worth checking whether you can get cheaper tickets online (I doubt it but it's possible). I'd definitely check whether it's cheaper to book the Eurostar tickets separately - even if this makes life more complicated. If you're paying surcharges for using a credit card then use a debit card.
Once you've reached your jumping-off point in France, there's nothing to stop you using local trains to your heart's content.
RailEurope charge (according to seat61.com). £8 for a booking over the phone (plus the cost of the call to the 0844 number - galling if all you want is a 10€ bike reservation, but could well be worth the money if you have a complicated itinerary. IME the staff are very helpful and could save you the cost of the fee.
They charge (again according to seat61.com) 2.5% for credit card bookings but this is avoidable if you pay by debit card.
I was surprised last year how easy it was to get bikes on French local services but I only used TER and they seem pretty switched on. I booked all my tickets in advance but I could have just turned up on the day with no probs. my final journey back to blighty is TGV and that has to be booked in advance. On the day I needed, there were five trains and only one available space. And of course you can't book up more than three months in advance so long term plans are quite difficult. Great system but just wondered if folks had better solutions...
You could find more info here:
http://tgv.voyages-sncf.com/velo-a-bord
In this case, the best way is to go with your bike on the bottom of the train to minimize inconvenients for others travellers.