May 18, 2023
To Paris
Note to self: check the schedule of French holidays before you plan on traveling by train in France.
I’ve frequently traveled with Vivien George on the French SNCF system, and while I’ve had my share of cancellations, disruptions and anxiety, the majority of my travels have gone pretty smoothly, all things considered. Not today - I’ve never experienced anything quite so crazy. I fully understand if you’ve tired of French train stories, or have no interest in the subject matter. No worries, but perhaps there are a few commiserating souls who might find the following of interest.
My first task after Christine invited me to join her for four days in Séte was to figure out the logistics of getting from Sète back to Paris. Ideally I could reserve a bike space on a TGV from Toulouse to Paris; getting to Toulouse from Sète on the regional TER trains was simpler as it was free and they required no reservations. Thing went great on booking - an 8:09 departure from Sète to Toulouse with a 15 minute connection in Narbonne and arriving in Toulouse at 10:40, leaving me ample time for my 2:27 TGV to Paris. Christine accompanied me on the 10 minute walk to Gare de Sète, not quite understanding my desire to arrive at the station well before the train was due. During our wait, we were joined on the platform by a couple from Gap who were on their way to Carcassonne to cycle the Canal du Midi on this holiday weekend. I did not fully appreciate the significance of their journey until the train pulled alongside the platform.
The bike car logo indicated there was space for six bikes, but even before boarding I could see that all hooks were occupied. And the “vestibule space” in the bike car was jammed with bikes and cyclists, all trying to inch closer together to accommodate the three of us. The only fortunate thing was that we could roll the bikes onto the train, but there was quite a mad scramble to remove panniers and make room for everyone. The only place for me was in the elevated passenger section - luckily, one of the passengers in that section grabbed the front wheel and helped hoist Vivien George up the stairs. It suddenly dawned on me that it was Ascension Thursday and that the train was basically traveling parallel to the Canal du Midi, which evidently was a popular destination for French cyclists on this long holiday weekend.
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At each subsequent stop, more cyclists were waiting to board – some managed to squeeze into our car, and I’m not sure where the others went. At one point I counted fifteen bikes and a trailer in our car, with some folks standing their bikes on one wheel. It took a lot of time to make space and board everyone and consequently the train began to run late, shrinking the connection time in Narbonne. Adding to my concern was that because of my position in the passenger portion of the car, I would need to wait for most everyone else to alight before I could extract myself and head for the next train. And since most of the cyclists were also catching the Narbonne to Toulouse train, I feared that Vivien George and I might get left behind.
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An announcement was made indicating they were holding the Narbonne to Toulouse train for us – great news. The bad news was that it was on another platform. I was among the last one out of my car – two young men with bikes followed but soon overtook me. In the rush to change platforms, I gamely tried to carry a loaded Vivien George down the stairs – it was difficult to control her forward momentum, almost propelling me to the bottom of the stairs. I knew that I couldn’t carry her up, but time was short as most everyone had passed me by. I threw off the panniers, carried VG up the stairs and at the first open door I handed her off to an unsuspecting cyclist, asking him to hold the bike and keep the door open - effectively asking him to hold the train. I then raced down the stairs, grabbed the panniers, and leapt back up the stairs and into the car just as the whistle clearing the platform was sounded.
We were not in a bike car, and as the train moved forward we leaned the bikes against the car door. Soon a trio of conductors came by and informed us that we had to move to the bike car when the train stopped at Carcassonne. We did as instructed, only to find that bike car was also full – I sat on my pannier with VG leaning against me. Eventually a hanging spot opened up and one of the other cyclists helped me hoist Vivien George on the rack. I found a seat and was able to finally relax on the way Toulouse.
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Each time I’d previously taken a TGV from Toulouse, the train departed from tracks immediately outside the station, where there was no need for stairs. As the time neared for boarding, people started assembling to await the track announcement. I had strategically positioned myself to keep an eye on the announcement screen and give Vivien George a near clear path to one of the expected platforms. You can only imagine my chagrin when they announced the train to Paris was leaving from Track #5.
My position was now a disadvantage as a swarm of people suddenly moved away from me toward the stairs/ escalator that would take us down, across, and up to track five. I asked a gentleman to watch Vivien George while I shuttled the panniers downstairs and then came back for the bike, joining the mob inching through the tunnel to the stairway leading up to Track #5. I knew that I could not swim against the tide execute my normal “shuttle manouever” of carrying bike and pannier up on separate trips, and so sought help from two kind passengers who willingly obliged to carry a pannier up the stairs.
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Once on the platform I found the bike car and, as expected, the bike space was filled with luggage. Only this time there was another cyclist, a seasoned traveler between Toulouse and Paris. He loudly announced to all passengers that the bike space was reserved for paying bicycles, not luggage. Reluctantly, they came forward and cleared the space and Vivien George rode comfortably to Paris – it was her best TGV experience ever.
We arrived at Gare Montparnasse as scheduled and I made the short, easy trip back to my apartment in plenty of time for my French class. Perhaps one day I’ll be confident enough with my French to demand of TGV passengers that they keep the bike space clear of their luggage.
In the meantime, I will always think hard and long before booking train travel with Vivien George on a French holiday weekend.
Today's ride: 2 miles (3 km)
Total: 1,167 miles (1,878 km)
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