Actually they're not that bad. But nothing I've ever done (Including my brief foray into MTBing) can compare to the terror of riding out into 8+ unmarked cobbled lanes of traffic on a roundabout with no idea where you should be and cars passing on all sides. I was frequently forced to adopt pedestrian mode.
Perhaps you should try to avoid Place de l'Etoile for a while :-)
Personnally I was in Paris for a few years doing 8km per day and I didn't find it that bad. There are plenty of nice ways, and cycling is rising. And, as everywhere else, being confident and integrated in the general traffic is the most secure option.
Oh, and to present myself (first post here): I'm French, I'm currently living in Florence, Italy, I'm going to live in London from March and I hope to commute by cycle there.
Quoted message said:
When you arrive and start commuting, could you post and let us know how commuting in London compares to Paris and Florence? I cycle commuted in London for about 5 years, and it (nearly) always seemed like a very good place to cycle commute. Heavy but slow motor traffic.
I haven't cycled in Florence, but I've walked around it a lot, watching the traffic with a cyclist's eye. The drivers there have an interesting attitude to regulations. A one way street sign, for example, is taken to mean that all cars must *face* the same way in that street. That means that cars going in the opposite direction are driving backwards, fast!
-- Chris Malcolm [email hidden] +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205 IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK [http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]
Can't directly help with a job, but if you want to live in rural France for a few months I can ask some friends. This is very, very rural, so jobs may be scarce, but could you do as a tutor in english at a school perhaps?
Only in an informal capacity since TEFL is now well regulated. My immediate plans involve being a waiter or similar for a while, at least until my French is up to speed.
Quoted message said:
Rural France is a delightful place to ride a bike, if excessively steep in parts (for a Fen dweller anyway).
Having cycled a fair amount of Brittany I concur. To be honest, the fear here is mostly in my head,. Under similar circumstances in Britain I probably wouldn't have survived, and most of the traffic is relatively slow moving. It's just that there's so much to take in. I wasn't able to concentrate on taking a sensible line, being aware of all the other vehicles / lights / pedestrians, and at the same time worry about navigation. I had ended up on the Bd Saint Germain before I even realised that I had crossed the Seine. I'll probably venture out again today if the weather holds!
Good grief! Paris has changed then. When the Unfit Family were cycling round Parisian rush hour 2003, the drivers were exemplary in their courtesy
And err, perhaps you can remind us exactly what your extensive experience of cycling around Paris is? Just the once? or is it more?
While I am probably not Helen's #1 fan, this regular stalking strikes me as a bit weird.
James
? Many of H's contributions are very helpful and show a passion for cycling - just some can be a little repetitive. I was in a bad mood (not cycling related) when posting the above - if it upsets H then apologies.
Seriously , we have crossed Paris on a number of occasions; including on the tandem trike, and, compared to experiences in the rest of France, it can be quite unnerving.
Seriously , we have crossed Paris on a number of occasions; including on the tandem trike, and, compared to experiences in the rest of France, it can be quite unnerving.
I took my road bike to a 2 week meeting in Turin a while back (world cup in france at the time). Riding around the city was most interesting as I had to relearn what I thought traffic lights meant. Not sure that the home of Fiat was ready for London-style vehicular cycling either.
I've not cycled in Paris, not actually been there since visiting Mr Sabine of this parish about a dozen years ago.
Well. I made it to Paris and I've ridden the length of the city. I take back everything I ever said about drivers in Britain...
Actually they're not that bad. But nothing I've ever done (Including my brief foray into MTBing) can compare to the terror of riding out into 8+ unmarked cobbled lanes of traffic on a roundabout with no idea where you should be and cars passing on all sides. I was frequently forced to adopt pedestrian mode.
Ah well. Now I just need a job and somewhere to live.
Jon
Most of the cycling that I did around Paris was enjoyable, but the big roundabouts were just as scary as Jon describes. Fun to watch from a distance, but after one or two attempts to negotiate them on a bicycle I reverted to pedestrian mode to get through them. -- mark
Actually they're not that bad. But nothing I've ever done (Including my brief foray into MTBing) can compare to the terror of riding out into 8+ unmarked cobbled lanes of traffic on a roundabout with no idea where you should be and cars passing on all sides. I was frequently forced to adopt pedestrian mode.
Perhaps you should try to avoid Place de l'Etoile for a while :-)
Personnally I was in Paris for a few years doing 8km per day and I didn't find it that bad. There are plenty of nice ways, and cycling is rising. And, as everywhere else, being confident and integrated in the general traffic is the most secure option.
Oh, and to present myself (first post here): I'm French, I'm currently living in Florence, Italy, I'm going to live in London from March and I hope to commute by cycle there.
Just remember they're very backwards over there and ride on the wrong side of the road! John Kane, Kingston ON Canada
On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:42:04 +0000 (UTC), "wafflycat"
w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com said:
Good grief! Paris has changed then. When the Unfit Family were cycling round Parisian rush hour 2003, the drivers were exemplary in their courtesy towards us. Mind you, we did have a map, so we knew where we were heading :-)
My experience was pretty similar - but that was early on a Sunday morning on fully laden touring bikes heading from Gare Du Nord to Gare d'Austerlitz. -- Let us have a moment of silence for all Americans who are now stuck in traffic on their way to a health club to ride a stationary bicycle. - Congressman Earl Blumenauer (Oregon)
Well. I made it to Paris and I've ridden the length of the city. I take back everything I ever said about drivers in Britain...
Actually they're not that bad. But nothing I've ever done (Including my brief foray into MTBing) can compare to the terror of riding out into 8+ unmarked cobbled lanes of traffic on a roundabout with no idea where you should be and cars passing on all sides. I was frequently forced to adopt pedestrian mode.
You'll get the hang of it. There's a lot more give and take in Paris traffic than in a typical British city.
We're having a few friends round for dinner/drinks this evening - you'd be welcome to join us. I'll mail you my coordinates separately.
In article <[email hidden]>, John B ([email hidden])
Quoted message said:
wafflycat said:
Good grief! Paris has changed then. When the Unfit Family were cycling round Parisian rush hour 2003, the drivers were exemplary in their courtesy
And err, perhaps you can remind us exactly what your extensive experience of cycling around Paris is? Just the once? or is it more?
Our experience of riding across the French capital is that it is pretty much a free-for-all.
1985, crossing town from the Gare du Nord to (IIRC) the Gare d'Austerlitz. As I had not originally intended to go via Paris, or indeed by train, I had no map, but the little ones on the bus-stops helped. The Place de la Concorde was this: terrifying. I am not sure whether displaying a large "GB" sticker on my Karrimat made the Natives feel sorry more or think "Perfidious Albion"...
Good grief! Paris has changed then. When the Unfit Family were cycling round Parisian rush hour 2003, the drivers were exemplary in their courtesy
And err, perhaps you can remind us exactly what your extensive experience of cycling around Paris is? Just the once? or is it more?
Our experience of riding across the French capital is that it is pretty much a free-for-all.
1985, crossing town from the Gare du Nord to (IIRC) the Gare d'Austerlitz. As I had not originally intended to go via Paris, or indeed by train, I had no map, but the little ones on the bus-stops helped. The Place de la Concorde was this: terrifying.
I was rushing through the Concorde on my way to work stopping off at my hotel before meeting tourists off the train at Saint Lazare. As I sprinted away from the lights at the Tuileries my front tub rolled off and I came down with a wallop in the middle of the rapidly overtaking traffic (normal volume too as this was not July/August). As the posting of this tale proves they all managed to avoid me, which says a lot for the reactions & skills of Parisien drivers. The blood from the scalp wound and the burns on my arm made my clients wonder what was going on when I met them! Concorde & Étoile were always good practice for bunch riding too! All the best Dan Gregory
