Interesting points - and I agree about the train
(but then I like trains).
The FR website includes this:
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS ACCEPTED WHEN USING ONLINE CHECK-IN ARE:
* A valid passport – ( see below - */and ** below)
* A valid National Identity Card issued by the government of a European Economic Area (EEA) country. (Only the following EEA countries issue National Identity Cards acceptable for carriage on Ryanair flights: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland)
in the list of acceptable documents. (My bolding.)
This does look categorical to me. To be sure, perhaps the OP should hurry the visa extension.
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs....hk&quest=whoco