Only certain trains allow bikes to board with the passenger. Thanks to a ticket clerk who took on the challege to aid us, an itinery was created. In order to go from the Loire Valley to the Dordogne Valley, we needed to make four transfers, with an overnight stop between one of the connections. The transfers alone provided a jolt of anxiety, and the overnight made us particularly nervous because there was a convention in town, few rooms available, and fewer hotels that could house the bike. A French gentleman, also looking for lodging, translated our plight to a delightful hotel manager, who not only had a room, but, also, provided locked storage for the bike.
Trains are relatively inexpensive.
We did not purchase Eurorail passes before we left, because we did not think we would be traveling enough to make them worth while. We felt we made the right decision. The long bike does provide special problems that regular bikes don't experience. Sometimes we had to take it up or down stairways to reach the proper track to catch our train. Often, the bike would rise effortlessly from my hands, as helpful passengers or baggage handlers lifted my end of the bike.