Reader Q&A: How can I send two bikes from Valence to Zurich?

Published by Lyn on 7 October 2014

Bridget emailed from Australia – she needed to arrange for her parents' bikes to be shipped from Valence to Zurich after her dad became ill while cycling in France. Here's an edited version of our email exchanges.

Bike Friday Photo Esteban

Bridget's parents had two lovely Bike Friday folders they needed to get to the airport for their flight home after Bridget's dad became ill cycling in France.
Photo: Esteban 

Hi Lyn,

Thank you for the great information you provide on your site! 

I would be very grateful if you could share with me please any information you might have about bike transport companies. We are Australian, and my parents are cycling near Lyon. They have had to abandon the bike trip because of a health incident and they now need to transport their two bikes from Valence to Zurich for their flight home. They are OK, fortunately, but they can't do the rest of the trip.

Originally they were going to accompany the bikes on the train but this is no longer possible, so we are effectively looking for a door to door pick up and delivery service. The SNCF is not possible as they don't go beyond France. 

The bikes are wonderful Bike Friday folding bikes and they are much loved, so we want to make sure they go with careful bike handlers rather then standard freight companies who might knock them around. I have had a look at your excellent collection of bike hire delivery links, but so far have not seen anyone that transports one's own bike.

If anything springs to mind and you have any thoughts that might help us, we would appreciate this very much. Thank you for taking the time to read this request as I understand that you run the site in your spare time!

Sincerely,
Bridget.

I wrote back:

Hi Bridget,
 
I'm so sorry to hear about the trip – what a shame for your parents. I'm pleased they are OK, though.
It's Sunday here now but I'll email a cycle tour company I know that works in both France and Switzerland and see if they may be able to help or have any suggestions.
 
A few initial suggestions:

1) It would be worth checking their travel insurance, too, to see if there are any provisions for help with covering the costs. If they are folders and be put in the boot of a car and if the insurance company covers car hire in emergencies, it might be worth also exploring if they could do a one-way car hire with one of these companies then claim back the cost.

2) Try getting touch directly with Cyclomundo, they are a tour company with their base near the Swiss border and they work right across this region. They may have support vehicles in the area that could help. I've tagged a few other bike companies on a Facebook post in case another can help out. 

3) I've I've posted in a few French business groups for you to see if there's a reliable 'man in a van' who works this route.

4) A suggestion via the guys at Le Chateau d'Oz in the Alps: You could price a taxi company in Valence for the return trip. It'll work out expensive at €1 per kilometre on average but may be worth checking out as an option. You could ask their hotel in Lyon to call and help arrange if that's an option.

5) This has come via Chris and Charlotte, cyclists who run a reputable bike restoration service and cycle-friendly B&B on the other side of France. Chris knows the Alps/French/Swiss borer area well.

***
Bonjour Lyn,

I've consulted Chris on this - he's made the following points:

He says to keep in mind that:

- any price of a private car journey needs to including not just fuel but tolls in France and in Switzerland which will be a significant amount, so make sure they ask about these as well if they're taking the taxi or van man route in case there are added costs.

- a local taxi service will charge not just to go there but back as well,

If it were me, I'd use a big courier services like UPS or Fedex – they are experts, you can arrange by phone or online and they will pick up from you and deliver to you at the other end. You can watch the bikes being loaded/unloaded etc AND they're insured for exactly what they're carrying, so it's much the safest option for everyone. If it's reassuring for the couple, I'm using UPS to transport some vintage bikes I've restored and I'm sending them to their new owners in the US and UK, and I'm quite happy that it's the best way.

We hope this helps – and very best of luck with it – and our very best wishes to the couple for the father's speedy recovery! 

All the very best,
Chris and Charlotte.

****

Bridget, I hope that helps – let me know how you get on.

Cheers,

Lyn.

Bridget wrote back:

Dear Lyn,

I'm the Aussie who had the bike removal drama a little while back. Just writing to say thank you so much again for coming to our aid. It was on the advice of one of your posters that we used a shipping company, and with a bit of wrangling, got them to Basel then onto the plane. They are now home in the garage, and all the people are back, which is the main thing! 

We used UPS and found that, as a company, they were possibly not the best choice by me; I would recommend perhaps a different courier company next time, however they did get the job done in a time when nothing else seems like it would work, so I'm glad we went to the courier route. Next time I would maybe choose DHL who were a little bit more expensive. 

Other points for your readers: we used a local bike shop to box the bikes for a fee and then had the courier pick them up from there. That worked reasonably well although the bike packing job was not quite how my parents would have done it! Again, in an emergency, it was just good to have a solution.  

Another thing we found out is that the SNCF door-to-door service within France involves wrapping your bikes in plastic only, which we didn't think was very secure.

We also learned that adding your bike to a Swissair flight was, for bike transport, relatively inexpensive. Australia to Europe at €120 euro per bike, which is much less than some other carriers.

I hope any of these points might be useful to your readers.  

Great job on the site! Thanks again, and power to you!
Bridget.

Lyn: Woohoo! Love a happy ending!

On the blog

Reviews

More books

Cycling in France?

Search for tours & accommodation

© 2011-2024 Freewheeling France | Copyright, Cookies, Privacy and Advertiser T&Cs | Supported by GEL Studios