It is 1,800 miles from Houston to Montreal (one way) so it would be a lot of miles on the bike before I even get started riding in France and the rest of Europe.

From everyone's responses, Air Canada and flying out of Montreal makes the most sense.

Any trip preparation I need to look into?

Well, more like 1600 miles, depending. 1500 to Toronto.

You'll decide whether the extra hassle and expense shipping from Houston is worth saving yourself the trip. It's not exactly "extremely hard" shipping out of the States, but it's undeniably a pain in the butt. If you're looking for alternatives, Stefan Knopf does periodic bulk shipments to and from Germany, and although his schedule is limited he's fair and reliable, which is a lot more than can be said about most American shippers.

And: driving a truck and then figuring out what to do with it while you're in Europe might not be effortless in itself, and it definitely costs money. Personally, when I shipped my bike to Europe I first rode across from West Coast to East Coast--3000 miles of mostly-scenic, mostly-fun riding. If you don't enjoy riding a bike, what's the point?

I don't know what you mean by "trip preparation." There are countless threads here and elsewhere about prepping your bike, what to bring with or leave behind, routes to take, and more. If you've got a bike unavailable in Europe, think about taking the usual spare parts with you; if you're headed someplace exotic after Paris, think about what that might mean. Otherwise, it's Europe--not the Belgian Congo.

Hope that's helpful. You do sound like you haven't done much of your own research, and your questions are kind've vague--not the best strategy for gathering clear answers.

Mark