BE ADVISED: If you are planning on taking the train from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid (two daily) with a bicycle you CANNOT take the bicycle on the train that leaves in the morning for Madrid (diurno). You can take the bike on the nocturno, but according to "Francisco the Amazing Renfe Idiot" at Santiago, you will need to purchase an entire compartment (six plazas).

This policy was installed a few years ago, but apparently has gone unnoticed by inept travel agencies like Galinor (one of the larger as far as I know), who assured me that checking a bike would be no problem. Trying to play the pilgrim card did nothing, but telling them they "did me a putada" made me feel better...

I'm posting this since I think it is a good idea for those who are travelling with odd pieces of luggage (like a bike) to double-check directly with your transportation sources at all legs in order to avoid headaches.

All I can say is thank goodness that Avis has a sucursal in the Santiago train station, and that the A-6 goes all the way to Madrid...160 kph was terrific! (BTW: we passed four Guardia Civil Tráfico patrols and didn't even get a sniff at those speeds...)

Swiss [no longer Swissair] in MAD tried to tell me that they were going to charge me for taking my bike on the plane [little did I know it couldn't fit in the overhead compartment], until I showed them their policy allowing me to check it as luggage from my internet searches...¡Toma!