WE HAVE just returned from a cycling holiday in France with a mixture of sight-seeing and bike-riding.

Cycling in France is a joy – the scenery is spectacular, there are lots of quiet roads to choose from, and the bigger roads often have a cycle path alongside them, drivers are very considerate since cycling is a national pastime, and the weather is lovely.

And of course the food and wine are a major draw.

Getting bikes to France is a bit of a challenge.

We dismantled our bikes and put them in bike bags which gave us more flexibility of trains and routes, particularly the fast TGV trains.

But bagging bikes is not something many people would want to do and there are other ways you can enjoy a cycling holiday in France without having to dismantle bikes.

* EuroStar will take unbagged bikes to Paris, Lille and Brussels, and from then on you can travel on regional trains; they go by the name TER rather than TGV. TER trains have space for complete bicycles, it is free and doesn’t need booking. Booking bikes on Eurostar isn’t straightforward as you have to do it via EuroDespatch, and in the summer their phone lines are busy, so we had to go to their office behind St Pancras in person.

* Enjoy the thrill of riding your bike on to one of the cross channel ferries. It feels as if you own the ship as you are waved through in front of the lorries and cars. And with luck you may manage to be first off at the other end.

* European Bike Express is a splendid bus service transporting you and your bike from the UK to many destinations in France and Spain. The bus has a bike trailer to carry your bike and all you have to do is turn your handle bars through 90 degrees. It makes the transport so easy and gives lots of flexibility for long distance cycling between the stopping points. Travelling overnight is rather uncomfortable despite the reclining seats and your drop off may be in the middle of the night.

* Hire a bike in France. This is less attractive if you have got your touring bike set up just right, since the bike may not be as comfortable as the one you are used to. But this does make for much easier travel, though it means you have to carry your panniers to your destination rather than letting the bike do the work.

* Go on an organised tour. In that way it is all planned for you and many companies carry your bags while you cycle. There are lots of companies offering great tours – see the Cycling UK website for example.

* And don’t forget Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark are all just a ferry ride away.

If you want to know more, please post up a query on the Cyclox Facebook page and there will be people, like us, who can offer advice based on their experiences.