Cycling Monitors on Ile de Re

Me again.

I checked out this web-site for the island:

http://www.iledere.com/index.php?m=1

It seems a really cycle-friendly place. Apparently bikes are the main mode
of transport on the island, which has 100 km of bike paths. The highest
point is only 19m above sea level. There are chambres d'hote starting at a
modest 42 Euros a night for two people.

I can't go on that kind of holiday because I have no-one to go with. But I
get these dreamy langorous summer days at my desk when all I have the energy
to do is cruise web-sites and dream of eloping with Behemoth and a long
novel to some such lovely spot.

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

The Ile de Re is a French tourist spot which is very flat and
attracts numerous holiday makers with bicycles.

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Me again.

I checked out this web-site for the island:

http://www.iledere.com/index.php?m=1

It seems a really cycle-friendly place. Apparently bikes are the main mode
of transport on the island, which has 100 km of bike paths. The highest
point is only 19m above sea level. There are chambres d'hote starting at a
modest 42 Euros a night for two people.

The Ile de Re (ill-duh ray) is next to the attractive port of la
Rochelle which has flights to Stanstead. La Rochelle was also the last
French town invaded by the English in support of Protestants who were
being persecuted by Catholics at the time. There is an impressive bridge
over to the island. The cycle paths are a bit narrow in some places and
some places are a bit fishy smelling. It can also get very, very windy.
Still it is worth visiting. The biggest danger is accidentally meeting
former socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin who lives and cycles on
the island. He is known to have a very short fuse, don't talk about his
presidental hopes for 2007. Do take a swimsuit.

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I checked out this web-site for the island:

http://www.iledere.com/index.php?m=1

You are a star. Thanks so much for the info - it's uncannily good timing
on your part, as the wife and I have recently been discussing the
possibility of a family holiday there.

Quoted message said:

It seems a really cycle-friendly place. Apparently bikes are the main mode
of transport on the island, which has 100 km of bike paths.

I've heard that cars are actually not allowed on the island. Is this not
true?

Quoted message said:

I can't go on that kind of holiday because I have no-one to go with.

Shame. Having a family is the /perfect/ excuse for that kind of holiday.

d.

David Off said:

La Rochelle was also the last
French town invaded by the English in support of Protestants who were
being persecuted by Catholics at the time.

Yes, I read all about it in the Angelique romance series. ;°>

Quoted message said:

The biggest danger is accidentally meeting
former socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin who lives and cycles on
the island. He is known to have a very short fuse, don't talk about his
presidental hopes for 2007.

He has retired altogether from politics after his humiliation in 2002, so is
unlikely to run in 2007. Pity, as I adored Jospin; I would have voted for him if
I'd had a vote in France. Didn't know he lived on the Island, or that he had a
short fuse. We share the same maritime sun-sign, Cancer, which is known to be,
well, crabby. His successor, François Hollande, is a dork IMHO.

Quoted message said:

Do take a swimsuit.

Depends on the season, I suppose, as it's open all year round. Thanks for the
extra gossip. ;°>

EFR
Ile de France

davek said:

I've heard that cars are actually not allowed on the island. Is this not
true?

That would be an extra point in its favor, but I cannot deny or confirm. The
web-site also mentions getting around on horseback, so there is at least one
other mode of transportation.

Quoted message said:

Having a family is the /perfect/ excuse for that kind of holiday.

For me, that kind of holiday would seem a very slim excuse for having a family
(I'm radically Childfree), but it does seem to be ideally suited to a family
clientele. Enjoy your visit, if you go, and do give us some feedback. ;°>

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I saw this feature on the evening news a few nights ago which caught my
interest. The Ile de Re is a French tourist spot which is very flat and
attracts numerous holiday makers with bicycles. They come out there with
all the family having not cycled all year and not really knowing how to
cycle civilly and in keeping with the rules.

So a new job has been created for "cycling monitors". Young people
patrol the island on bikes, helping cyclists in trouble, teaching the
basics of safe riding, and generally being cycle-friendly and
supportive.

Thought that was cool. Must check out the Ile de Re some day.

Just so happens I'm going there on holiday with the family in a couple
of weeks. Unfortunately I can't take bikes with me, but no doubt they
can be hired.

(f'ups trimmed).

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

So a new job has been created for "cycling monitors". Young people
patrol the island on bikes, helping cyclists in trouble, teaching the
basics of safe riding, and generally being cycle-friendly and
supportive.

Once upon the time, the police did that sort of thing--and backed it
up with the threat of coercive force, too!

Now there's a thought. Do the gendarmerie have bicycles? And do
they look like the Gendarmerie motorcycles I see on TV escorting the
TdF--dark blue with GENDARMERIE in block letters? 'cause that would
be cool.

-Luigi

My wife to be and I went there 25 years ago with our bikes, and it was
picturesque, deserted and flat; ideal for romance and cycling! We took our
bikes on the train down to Poitiers then cycled from there over a couple of
days to La Rochelle from where, it being in the pre-bridge era, we took the
ferry. We were in the area last year and thought we'd retrace our steps one
afternoon to see if it had changed. It certainly has, and I have to say not
for the better although tourist businesses might think otherwise; the
biggest difference being the number of cars on the island, which of course
are able to get there over the bridge. It mght have been because it was
raining but the whole place was heaving with traffic, and what were once
sleepy hamlets had been modernised and lost much of their character. Having
said all this there were plenty of cyclists in evidence, and the place might
look completely different from the cycle paths. There are also a lot of
beaches, and once it had stopped raining and we had found somewhere to park
we spent a couple of hours on the beach and in the (warm) sea. I'd add that
we then went back to La Rochelle for the evening and had a superb seafood
meal on the bustling quayside there, which I'd definitely recommend.

Paul

"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

davek said:

I've heard that cars are actually not allowed on the island. Is this not
true?

That would be an extra point in its favor, but I cannot deny or confirm.

The

Quoted message said:

web-site also mentions getting around on horseback, so there is at least

one

Quoted message said:

other mode of transportation.

Quoted message said:

Having a family is the /perfect/ excuse for that kind of holiday.

For me, that kind of holiday would seem a very slim excuse for having a

family

Quoted message said:

(I'm radically Childfree), but it does seem to be ideally suited to a

family

Quoted message said:

clientele. Enjoy your visit, if you go, and do give us some feedback. ;°>

EFR
Ile de France

Speaking of La Belle France, just booked a place down near Bordeaux for two
happy (I hope) weeks of cycling. Taking the European Bike Express to Bordeaux
in August and then spending a couple of days there before going off to the
gite. I am really looking forward to it.

Cheers, helen s

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On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 12:08:02 GMT, Paul Rudin <[email hidden]>
wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I saw this feature on the evening news a few nights ago which caught my
interest. The Ile de Re is a French tourist spot which is very flat and
attracts numerous holiday makers with bicycles. They come out there with
all the family having not cycled all year and not really knowing how to
cycle civilly and in keeping with the rules.

So a new job has been created for "cycling monitors". Young people
patrol the island on bikes, helping cyclists in trouble, teaching the
basics of safe riding, and generally being cycle-friendly and
supportive.

Thought that was cool. Must check out the Ile de Re some day.

Just so happens I'm going there on holiday with the family in a couple
of weeks. Unfortunately I can't take bikes with me, but no doubt they
can be hired.

Please do post details of bike hire experiences there - it sounds an
intriguing place to visit.

Quoted message said:

(f'ups trimmed).

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I can't go on that kind of holiday because I have no-one to go with.

Why does it require a companion? Go, and prepare to meet an excellent person
when you're there!

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky said:

"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I can't go on that kind of holiday because I have no-one to go with.

Why does it require a companion? Go, and prepare to meet an excellent person
when you're there!

The financial reason is that accommodation is always based on double occupancy,
so it's twice as expensive if you go alone. The more personal reason is that I'm
a very extreme introvert (right off the scales INTP on the Meyers Briggs) and
absolutely not a "mixer". If I don't have an established social context for an
event - my job, one of my old schools, a conference on a point of interest, a
summer course, I stay alone the whole time. The Internet is pretty much the only
context in which I speak to strangers. I can't get up the motivation to organize
an expensive holiday on that basis, when it's so much easier and cheaper just to
go back to Cambridge where my friends are.

EFR
Ile de France

Quoted message said:

The Internet is pretty much the only
context in which I speak to strangers.

You do it very well.

Quoted message said:

I can't get up the motivation to organize
an expensive holiday on that basis, when it's so much easier and cheaper just
to
go back to Cambridge where my friends are.

Next time you are in Cambridge, if you fancy extending your horizons to
Norfolk, email me, and we can meet up if you want to.

Cheers, helen s

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dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Next time you are in Cambridge, if you fancy extending your horizons to
Norfolk, email me, and we can meet up if you want to.

Why thank you, Helen. I'd be delighted to meet you and to visit Norfolk. I'm
currently reading JC Powys, A GLASTONBURY ROMANCE which is making me really hungry
to become acquainted with other parts of East Anglia. It sounds so fabulously
cyclable (our poor hero has just walked from Norwich to Stonehenge, across
perfectly level ground and with a sore blistered foot, and been passed by only one
motorcar), I have to pinch myself to remember that this is the 1930's and Powys
Never-Neverland.

I'm due back in Cambridge for another class reunion (King's Alumni matriculated
72-7), in the last week of September. I'll see what availabilities I may have as
my father and step-mother may be coming from California around the same time. I'm
hoping to remain in Cambridge until at least the beginning of term in October.
I'll email when I have my dates.

EFR
Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

The more personal reason is that I'm
a very extreme introvert (right off the scales INTP on the Meyers Briggs) and
absolutely not a "mixer". If I don't have an established social context for an
event - my job, one of my old schools, a conference on a point of interest, a
summer course, I stay alone the whole time.

Yeah, it can be very very difficult for some people to interact with
strangers in real life. (I'm one of those who finds it difficult, so I
know what you mean.) I don't have any wisdom to share, unfortunately.
As I get older, I can see more clearly some of the ways in which my own
introversion shoots me in the foot socially, but that doesn't make it
any easier to overcome it.

Going off on a tangent -- introversion isn't defined so much by social
skills or how much time you like to spend with other people as much as
it is by the manner in which you recharge your emotional batteries. I'm
not questioning that you're an introvert, just going off on a tangent
here. Introverts recharge by spending time alone or with close loved
ones; extroverts recharge by spending time with other people. At a
party, for example, the introvert can be the life of the party but will
leave drained and wanting to spend some time quietly alone or with a
significant other. An extrovert can be the life of the party and will
leave charged up and ready for another party.

In our house, we get some friction sometimes because all of us are
introverts except my youngest son, who's very extroverted. We come back
from some outing or other, and the rest of us will want to be quiet and
chill out, and there he is, charged up, chattering away like a magpie,
and trying to liven things up. *sigh* It's a good thing we love him. :-)

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

Quoted message said:

I'm due back in Cambridge for another class reunion (King's Alumni
matriculated
72-7), in the last week of September.

Quoted message said:

I'm due back in Cambridge for another class reunion (King's Alumni
matriculated
72-7), in the last week of September. I'll see what availabilities I may have
as
my father and step-mother may be coming from California around the same time.
I'm
hoping to remain in Cambridge until at least the beginning of term in
October.
I'll email when I have my dates.

Oh yes, please do. As far as I can tell right now, I should be around. Husband,
son & three cats too. Husband is laid-back, son is remarkably human for a
teenage boy and the cats are well, remarkably feline, so if you get to meet us
all, we won't bite :-) But if you'd prefer a quiet meet up, with just me, that
too is entirely acceptable.

Norfolk is lovely cycling country, nice and gentle with lots of country lanes.
Lots of little villages and often a cafe/tea stop.

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
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"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Me again.

I checked out this web-site for the island:

http://www.iledere.com/index.php?m=1

It seems a really cycle-friendly place. Apparently bikes are the main mode
of transport on the island, which has 100 km of bike paths. The highest
point is only 19m above sea level. There are chambres d'hote starting at a
modest 42 Euros a night for two people.

Quoted message said:

EFR
Ile de France

I don't get it. Why go to a small, crowded, over-priced island to ride
bikes with a bunch of once-a-year peddlers when you've got the whole of the
Hexagon to choose from. There are all kinds of chambres d'hote available
for singles at 28-36 euros.

matabala said:

"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Me again.

I checked out this web-site for the island:

http://www.iledere.com/index.php?m=1

It seems a really cycle-friendly place. Apparently bikes are the main mode
of transport on the island, which has 100 km of bike paths. The highest
point is only 19m above sea level. There are chambres d'hote starting at a
modest 42 Euros a night for two people.

Quoted message said:

EFR
Ile de France

I don't get it. Why go to a small, crowded, over-priced island to ride
bikes with a bunch of once-a-year peddlers when you've got the whole of the
Hexagon to choose from. There are all kinds of chambres d'hote available
for singles at 28-36 euros.

Hmmmm, anything for couples?

-km, ever hopeful

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 23:46:43 +0200, "matabala" <[email hidden]>
wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Me again.

I checked out this web-site for the island:

http://www.iledere.com/index.php?m=1

It seems a really cycle-friendly place. Apparently bikes are the main mode
of transport on the island, which has 100 km of bike paths. The highest
point is only 19m above sea level. There are chambres d'hote starting at a
modest 42 Euros a night for two people.

Quoted message said:

EFR
Ile de France

I don't get it. Why go to a small, crowded, over-priced island to ride
bikes with a bunch of once-a-year peddlers when you've got the whole of the
Hexagon to choose from.

In my case, because I've got two families of once-a-year peddlers to
accommodate.

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk