About the bikes

Our bikes are Moultons. We have been using these expensive but delightful small-wheel non-folding bikes for a few years now (about 15 in fact) and like other owners, the more we use them the more we like them. For afficiandos, Jean's is a 1983 AM-7, recently repainted and updated and George's is a ten-year old AM-GT recently fitted with Shimano rapid-fire gears. Benefits of these bikes on a tour include:

Performance: Unlike other small-wheelers, Moultons are designed for touring and other long-distance trips.

Comfort: Moultons have a very effective suspension system -they were the first bikes to do so.

Portability and presentability: Although they're not folding bikes, the frame design, small wheels and low weight add up to a bike that is luggable. For example, they can more easily be carried up or down staircases when the need arises (as it surprisingly often does, particularly in train stations). Also, the bikes are very presentable - even some three-star hotels are happy to have them wheeled through the lobby or stored in a spare room.

Transportability: Italian railways provide good bike accommodation on their trains, as described below. But in the UK and other less bike-friendly places, the somewhat reduced size of the bikes makes train journeys a little easier.

Excellent luggage arrangement: Moultons have a horizontal rear luggage rack and a large (about 40 litres) holdall-like bag that's designed to fit it. We also used small front bags that double as shoulder bags when sightseeing, etc. and that's all the luggage we needed. It's surprising how much more convenient this arrangement is than the usual array of front and rear panniers that seem to be needed by most bike tourists.

The only drawbacks of Moultons we have come across are that very few bike shops stock spare parts such as tyres (there are probably none in Italy) and people sometimes laugh at their appearance - although that didn't happen on this trip - northern Italians seem thoroughly accustomed to seeing people in large numbers on all sorts of bikes, even if only in the towns.

Transporting the bikes

By air

The best way to fly with bicycles is discussed endlessly by cycling enthusiasts. Most airlines will carry them as part of your baggage allowance if warned in advance, but they have diverse rules and procedures.Whatever you do, there is distinct possibility that they will suffer some damage. You just have to grit your teeth and hope that any damage will be minor.

Anyway, we took the bikes to Gatwick on the Thameslink train (suffering the usual guessing game to work out where the so-called bike carriage would be - in marked contrast to the situation in Italy described below). We presented them at the BA check-in desk, having first applied a little bubblewrap to the most vulnerable looking bits, removed the pedals, rotated the handlebars, lower the saddles and strapped everything movable. BA should provide large plastic bags to give more protection, but they only came up with one at Gatwick and didn't make any effort to find another or even provide any tape for closing the bag. This all took about 20 minutes.

On arrival we spent another 20 minutes re-assembling them, and the bikes appeared ok, although we later found that one of Jean's mudguards was almost in two pieces (temporarily repaired with gaffer tape (also known as duct tape - it's an indispensable touring aid) and George's rear derailleur mechanism was slightly out of line.

The return journey was similar - bike to the airport from central Bologna, arriving with plenty of time to the make bikes as compact as possible and present them at check-in. But at Bologna they made more of an effort, calling around locate the plastic bags, tape, etc - thank you BA Bologna check-in staff. On arrival at Gatwick, George's luggage rack was an interesting but non-standard shape. When we showed it to them, BA offered to buy him a new one. George was tempted to take advantage, but straightening the rack with a rubber hammer was straightforward.

On Italian trains

Bike transport is well thought out on Italian railways. We were very impressed with this. Most local trains and a few intercity ones have a special compartment for bikes, with hooks to hold about 8 bikes. These are separate from the passenger compartments, so there is no conflict for space and they are available even at busy times. You have to buy a 24-hour bike pass for about 6 euros.

The bike compartment always seems to be at the southern end of the train and the posted timetables and electronic indicators say which end it is at (coda - tail or testa - head).

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