FlyBikeFly | Spoke with these folk at the bike show - they are launching in 2014 to provide a service to get your bike to Nice or Malaga airport, you then get your cheap flight and collect bike - have a bike holiday, then after a week or 2 drop bike back and fly home. They are using the 2013 bikeshow at the NEC to get feedback to refine the service / offering / understand customer wants. Its not the cheapest service, but it saves TIME which for many is valuable. When you deduct cost of ferries, tolls, fuel, hotel food etc. to get to South of France / Spain I don't think its as expensive as it first looks. As an example Manchester to Nice return in June is being quoted on website at £495 They currently provide transport service for track day operators so have a fair bit of experience in the field so to speak. They are also looking to provide a service to link with MotoGP's for those who want to attend a GP and see some of the area.
Jason went through this company with No Limits when he went to Jerez. Had a chat with them myself while at the show and seems like a good deal if perhaps you only had a week's holiday. IE; you fly out in the morning with Easyjet and you get the full 7 days there. All luggage and leathers are forwarded with the bike so you just board the plane with what you're wearing!
That is the appeal of it Steve, rock to up your local airport Saturday morning, by the evening you and your bike are fine dining in Monaco! I really hope they get the bookings they need to make it a success
Think I'd use it for a bit more long haul where you couldn't ride somewhere in a week. But for south of France I'd just use the train or ride there. I'd always ride one way though... Part of the adventure. Good idea though. Thanks for heads up al
Yep agree with ya there Jimbo Id prob use it to ger me bike n kit down there and as u say ride back up, Route Napoleon os def on me list to do next yr n i got around 10 days to do it in, so plenty time to fly over, pik me girl up, have a blast down to Monaco n the like n then a nice blast back home via Route Napoleon n central France n upto Normandy before catching ferry home. Stopping wherever i fancy
Being that bit further from Dover it makes South of France a 2 / 3 day trip - if time is limited it feels like you just settle and its time to turn north again. When I looked on-line at single trip it was same price as return - I guess in the early days they don't want to be doing truck loads of trips one way with an empty wagon. I'm sure they will gain loads of feedback / ideas at the NEC and the website will be enhanced in next few months. From 'Up North' there is no way you can get your bike to South of France for £250 each way if you factor in everything (fuel, ferry, tolls, food, hotels, beer, tyre wear etc.)
Think it's a cracking idea but I love the whole riding night on ferry then riding to a destination taking different routes clicking up some miles
I had a chat with these guys at the ExCeL bike show on the weekend. It's certainly a good alternative to motorail and their ever-diminshing services. It's cheaper than the AutoSlaap, you open up S. France, S. Spain, Germany, Czech Rep and you don't need to schlep over to the Netherlands or Germany before you even start! You're right about lack of one-way options though, Al, but the bloke did say you can go to Malaga/return from Nice or vice versa so that would also be an option. As you say if it gains momentum they may open up one-way options next year, maybe? The MotoGPs also add a bit of variety. For instance from Brno you can do Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia etc and either return to Brno for the transport back or ride on to Nice for one of the scheduled returns. Definitely opens up a whole load of new route ideas.
Ha, that's funny..... Just seen this thread the same day the fly bike fly truck passed me in the new forest. I was thinking that soundslike a great idea. I'll have to take a closer look now.
As a bonus for me, the London depot is just round the corner from where I live! Also it's only £395 to Nice and £495 to Malaga. Would definitely spend more than that on hotels, petrol, wear & tear, tolls and time off (I'm self-employed so every day costs me!)
Exactly - its the 'Delorean' solution for trips away for the self employed! Collect Malaga on a Sat morning , then drop off Nice following Sunday would be interesting trip, hand luggage on flights and just 5 days off work.
Looks like they're now doing one-way pricing, which is cheaper than a return by about £50 or so. You can also return to a different depot in the UK too.
