Green? My arse.

Last year Politaholic took his bicycle to Norway by ferry. The year before it was France/Germany along the Mosel; I travelled by coach with the European Bike Express (a trailer carries the bikes). The photo shows Politaholic de luxe accommodation plus bicycle somewhere in Norway. This year I thought I would travel by rail to Basel, then cycle in the Black Forest and along the Danube (unfortunately the Bike Express goes nowhere near Basel).
What a fool I am. So far as I can gather it is impossible to get on the Eurostar with an intact bicycle, or on the French TGV. To do it, it is necessary to buy a bike bag (costing anything between £50 and £250), then disassemble the bike (removing the wheels, the mudguards, and the pedals, and sometimes also the handlebars). Then the bike has to be stuffed into the bag (essentially a suitcase) and re-assembled at the other end. And then there is another problem: what to do with the bloody bike bag? It is needed for the return trip but I don't want to cycle round Germany with it.
Of course, it is easy to take your bike to the Continent; all you have to do is attach it to the roof rack on your car and drive there.
Yes, yes...we are all "green" now. All the politicians are as green as shamrock. They shout it from the rooftops. But anything so simple and so obvious as travelling by rail with your bike (in one piece)? Forget it. Jeremy Clarkson rules. Eat shit cyclist.