biloute

I'm looking into a possible 2-month internship in France this summer (building a castle at Guédelon), but I would need my own transportation. The internship site is about 14km from any town, and though I thought of riding a bicycle I don't actually think I'd want to spend an hour or however long it takes to bike that distance after a day of manual labor. I could lease a car through a buy back program but that costs at least $1300. As I'm a student, I want to keep my costs down as much as possible. Are there any buy back programs like this for motorcycles that you know, or would it be possible to buy an inexpensive used motorcycle, then sell it again when I leave?

hetismij2

Do you have a motorcycle licence?
You won't be able to insure a bike if you buy one, and it must be insured, third party is a legal requirement.

Have you considered an electric bicycle to make the cycling easier?

sparkchaser

All good points, hetismij2. Except maybe the electric bike one. Those things are hella expensive and a lease on a car would be cheaper.

Consider a scooter or moped instead. Shouldn't require a special license and can be had for cheap (used of course).

PalenQ

Mopeds can be ridden by anyone without any license I believe - you see youngish kids riding them - up to a certain c2meters or so then a new classification comes in - you can get used mopeds really cheaply I think and sell them back too.

Motos and Mrcycles, both with higher powered engines, have whole different rules as hetismij2 says.

Mopeds are not electric bikes but low-powered gas ones - you may have to pedal a bit to get up long hills or so I've seen folks doing. There are some electric bikes too that ares slower I believe and less noisy than mopeds.

Mopeds were once the rage with French kids but not I believe are falling out of favor - there may a glut on the market. (My French son had one from when he was about 13 and at that time needed nothing to ride them - just like a bicycle though that may have changed. He says now when he goes back to France he sees much less mopeds kids drive around.

Christina

There appear to be several places closer than 14 km to that site. Here's a Maison d'Hotes just 4 km away with prices like a hostel, for example.
http://www.chambres-en-puisaye.info/

YOu could probably walk or ride a bike 4 km at the end of day.

Here's a gite that is only a few km, also. Now you may not want to pay that much yourself (about 300 euro a week), but that is less than 40 euro a day. The Maison d'Hotes above was cheaper. It only has one bed so you couldn't share with someone.

http://www.gites.fr/gites_gite-du-la...geau_32350.htm

Just wondered where you planned to stay, anyway, and how much will you spend? I agree an electric bike sounds possible, but you'd probably want a car sometimes to go shopping or whatever. Does the site give you any tips on all these issues? They must as they have so many working there. http://www.guedelon.fr/fr/


Anyway, I don't know the legalities of what you want to do, but I suspect you have to be licensed and thus have a permanent residency in France to buy/sell a vehicle like that. There are even licensing requirements for a moped.

here's some info, can't swear how accurate it is but seems pretty detailed https://www.justlanded.com/english/F...cles-in-France

sparkchaser

Something like this might get experienced answers from Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree or 4chan /trv/

Robert2533

I'd stick with the bicycle. The land around Guédelon is fairly flat and you should be able to cover 14km in around 30 minutes, if you are an average rider.

sparkchaser

And if he is not, in two weeks he will be and in four he will be doing it in 20.

pariswat

Biloute ?

If you chose the name because of the movie 'bienvenue chez les chtis' then a bike is a must

Une fricandelle ?

Alec

There is no buy/lease deal for motorbikes as far as I know.
Unless you have long-term residence permit (not Schengen's 90-in-180 days stay), you won't be able to register your bike in your name, which is essential for insuring and taxing it.
You may be able to rent a bike or scooter at a local dealer for a decent rate, where they take of insurance and other paperwork.

biloute

Christina, I would plan to stay at the recommended gîte at Ferme du Château. It's only €20 per night, though I would need to cook for myself. It would be harder to do everyday errands like shopping or going to the laundromat with just a bike, which is another reason a motorcycle (with saddlebags) or a car would probably work better. Especially since the nearest laundromat is apparently 34km away.

I don't have a motorcycle license yet, but there are classes pretty much every weekend at the local technical college and I figured I would go in within a couple of months from now because I'm thinking of getting a bike here.

I found one place in Tours that has a buyback program (ride-in-tours.com) but when I input the dates it says there's nothing available. I don't know if it's just not working, or if summer is too far ahead to book with them for now. Either way, I guess I'll just have to contact them by email.

And yes, I did choose the name from the movie. It's awesome!

Can you get saddlebags for a scooter, so I could at least run errands?

biloute

Ferme du Château: http://ferme-du-chateau.com/fr/le-gi...sseurs_36.html

Michael

Since the Gite and its nearby campground is limited to those working at the Guédelon site, ride sharing might be possible for shopping and laundry. The OP might want to ask the Gite if they know of such informal arrangements in the past.

Fra_Diavolo

I posted this on another thread:

"I looked into this a few years back, and considered renting. When I added it all up, though, I found it was cheaper to ship my bike (by air) there and back (USA)! In addition you will have your own bike equipped as you like, and know its condition. Don't know if this will hold true for you, but consider it. Sad to say, my trip never came off."

This would also give you time to get used to riding before you get there.

GEICO will insure you overseas, I believe.

You can certainly put saddlebags, etc on a scooter such as a Vespa -- people use them for touring.

sparkchaser

<i>I don't have a motorcycle license yet, but there are classes pretty much every weekend at the local technical college and I figured I would go in within a couple of months from now because I'm thinking of getting a bike here.</i>

Definitely do this if only for the fact that you will have a motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license and won't have to worry about it in the future.

And definitely get as much road time in the US that you can because you want to lay down your bike for the first time in the US and not in France.

You know, here's a crazy thought: you are a 5 hour drive from Ramstein AFB in Germany. You might be able to buy something from a serviceman stationed there for cheap. Registering a bike bought on a AFB should be easier than registering a bike bought in France. Something to think about anyway.

hetismij2

Mopeds also need a licence and insurance.

You can hire electric bikes. No doubt a bike hire place would rent you one for a longish period.

Unless you have quite a bit of experience on a motorbike I wouldn't be tempted to ride one in France. Rules of the road are different, and I have seen too many motorbike accidents in France, often one sided, with life changing, or worse life ending results.

You are clearly young, and will soon be fit, even if you aren't now. Get a bicycle. 14kms is not a huge distance to ride. You will probably be able to do ride sharing with fellow volunteers too.

biloute

Thanks for the advice. It would be nice not to have to pay over $1000 to rent/lease a vehicle. I'll look into bike rentals, too.

If I did decide I wanted to look into getting a motorcycle or even a car at Ramstein, how would I find someone at the AFB to contact about it? Is there some sort of personnel assistance division that would help the soldiers and employees arrange that type of thing?

sparkchaser

<i>If I did decide I wanted to look into getting a motorcycle or even a car at Ramstein, how would I find someone at the AFB to contact about it? Is there some sort of personnel assistance division that would help the soldiers and employees arrange that type of thing?</i>

They have online sales lists, similar to Craigslist. This one, for example: https://ramstein.bookoo.com/ Someone is selling a Peugot scooter for $800 ( https://ramstein.bookoo.com/i/55192351 ), so it might be worth checking regularly.