If you travel with your bikes

[lavendersun]

Do you plan ahead re securing them?? We are doing the French side of the Tour De Manche, staying in small hotels.

Would you ask them about cycle storage on booking - our bikes are relatively expensive, we are always fairly careful when we leave them here in the UK.

This is our first cycling only jaunt as in something other than day rides when we would bring them inside or lock them together on the rack on the car.

Just wondering how other people do it - don't want to come across as some sort of mad woman but equally don't really want to take any risks with them I don't need to.

I'd arrange every possible security & storage detail in advance if humanly possible.*
Am precious about my bikes & would like them indoors if at all possible out of rain.

*just thinking I wouldn't take any such care over my food and other stuff, lol. You can almost always find bread & cheese somewhere, after all.

I wondered if I was being a bit overzealous but apparently not .... of course having just bought the bike I think will last me forever is playing a part here.

Forever in that I don't think I will ever 'need' another bike.

I'd absolutely be asking about storage, and would want them inside. DH would want his in our room tbh

I would like mine in our room too CMOT, DH wouldn't go for it.

I have just lovingly sourced every component for a custom made frame, it is currently very precious to me (although I expect that that will wear off a bit).
I can see me being very happy with it in 20 years.

DH thinks I need to relax a bit as I would get another one made if it was stolen . He tells me I can't worry about it or I should have bought a lesser bike.

I will go with asking about storage - we have got the mother of all locks(s), but I haven't done this before so didn't know if I was being OTT.

I'd be ok about not in the room, but somewhere secure & dry & not hard for me to access, definitely.

The CTC'ers have advised me that I won't have a problem at all - go for bigger hotels in cities and avoid anything that looks like it is a tiny B&B on the 2nd floor.

Apparently they always get stored inside which is good news.

We ordered eight new ortleib panniers last night and a handlebar bag for me (not quite sure why DH had to have a new set tbh as his are fine but it is nearly Christmas). My panniers are good for local jaunts but not sure they would be as massively waterproof as ortleib on a long ride where you are completely reliant on them.

I've done quite a bit of cycle touring in Europe, mainly staying in Air Bnbs or hostels.

We always mention our bikes when booking and check there's somewhere to store them first. There generally is, or in rural places it's fine locking them up outside.