Mastodawn

A trip like this, through 3 countries, involves some complex planning. Without the bike, one would just go to Valence TGV and then take a long-distance train from there. But the few bike places in these TGVs proved impossible to reserve for my timing, so I am taking the route through Switzerland.

Still, even only going the first two legs, to Lyon, involves one train with mandatory bicycle reservation on some days but not today (and no option to reserve for today), and the second (Valence-Lyon) with mandatory reservation. None of this is obvious, it varies between regions and, here in AURA, even between different lines that run the same type of TER train.

2/n

So far, I am the only person with a bicycle in this train, but there is space only for two more in it, and it all depends on the mood and personality of the staff whether additional bikes are allowed on board.

3/n

Rolling along the Drôme in the early hours, always a pleasure.

4/n

For me, this is the ideal bicycle for this kind of trip. Lightweight enough for getting it into the hooks of these trains, very smooth 11-speed Alfine gearbox, hydraulic disk brakes, front-wheel dynamo, not much else. Just very nice to ride for a person at my age.

5/n

In Crest, quite some people boarding this TER (likely a number of regular commuters), and the staff was flexible enough to allow them all in.

6/n

On-time arrival in Valence Ville, quite a lot of travellers this morning, but a very friendly SNCF controller allowed me to take the next TER, despite my reservation for the later one, so I can maintain my "delay buffer".

Die Valence: 71 km

7/n

Lots of space for bicycles in this train from Avignon to Lyon (could not count them all), and lots of bicycles. I can understand that they need to manage this somehow, and the reservation is only 1€. But there seems to be no app for this, you have to open a web page.

8/n

Arrived with just 5 minutes delay in Lyon Part-Dieu. One needs a little patience for the elevator in this newly refurbished, very busy station, but there is more space than usual inside.

Valence Ville - Lyon Part-Dieu: 107km (178 km today)

9/n

When travelling alone with a bike, it's not always easy to grab a coffee. Luckily, here at Lyon Part-Dieu they were really flexible!

10/n

There is much to say about the planning of such a trip, I may write more about that later. But there used to be one golden rule: check for the existing trains on bahn.de first.

Except this morning. There is a fully regular train from Lyon to Geneva, at 9:38 (logically placed between the 8:38 and the 10:38), but bahn.de does not know it at all. It is a perfectly normal TER like all the others, and I am now in it, further maintaining my "delay buffer".

Positive surprise (I may end up having to tell my family that I arrive even earlier than expected)!

11/n

The ride up the Rhône valley to Geneva easy, comfortable and perfectly on time. Maybe so few people because of DB? No, I do not really think so...

By the way, reservations for bicycles neither mandatory nor even possible here, although still the same region, AURA.

Lyon Part-Dieu - Geneva (via Amberieu) : 163km (340 km today)

12/n

So I can take an earlier train to Bern then, no reservation required, but a 15CHF bicycle ticket, valid all day.

I tried to reserve, just to figure this out, without buying another ticket for the bicycle, read all the instructions on the SBB website, but I am convinced that this just doesn't work. So one wonders, what if one needed to travel on a day with lots of people and bicycles?

13/n

Today there are so few people here on this train that I decided to occupy, for the moment, both places for my bicycle, allowing me to even leave the panniers in place.

14/n

Even on a hazy day like today the climb right after Lausanne is spectacular.

Geneva - Bern: 158 km (499 km today)

15/n