I've just got back from three days cycling around Paris. I've been visiting and on occasions working there for many years but this time I fancied a visit on my own simply to explore. I took my Brompton rather than my Kalkhoff but cycling is cycling. I thought some forum members might find a few observations useful.
First, what a luxury it is to cycle without having to look out for potholes the whole time. The French have a policy of maintaining roads on a regular basis rather than reacting to reports of potholes and problems. Their road authorities maintain that this is much cheaper in the long run as well as contributing to a more efficient infrastructure.
The picture here shows my Brommie in one of the cycle lanes. The French have taken a different attitude to here and all over Paris are cycle lanes physically separated from the motor traffic. It is very effective in keeping cars from parking and blocking the lane. Cycles can also use the bus lanes, of course and these also are physically separated from the general carriageway.
Obviously there are streets where such physical separation is not possible but if you know Paris well, it should be possible to plan most journeys with the majority of the mileage safe from car drivers.
My main concern was how to negotiate 'les grandes places', those massive roundabouts at Etoile, Bastille, La Republique and so on. In practise, they are fine. I just waited and followed French cyclists through to see how they did it. Actually, they just ride round with quick glances to make sure there are no lunatic drivers around. French law holds that in principle, in any accident between a car and a cycle, the car driver is to blame. Thus, if they do hit anyone, they can expect little understanding from the police or their insurance company. On the other hand, French cyclists jump lights and weave between pedestrians much less than their London counterparts, so there is a quid pro quo. In fact, as I noticed when I lived in France, the roads are much less aggressive, blowing of horns and those angry contorted faces of car drivers being less in evidence than in London. That is not to say I doesn't happen, of course but such behaviour, like public drunkenness, is still frowned on rather than given tacit approval as it is here.
I'm comparing Paris with London mainly, simply because I know London best. It may be that the situation is different in other cities in the UK but I wouldn't know. I am also unusual, I think, in that I prefer riding in cities to riding in the county.
I'd like to have taken my Kalkoff to Paris and covered more ground than he average 25 miles a day I did but the Brompton can just be bunged in the boot of the car or in the luggage areas on the Eurostar. In fact, I've just made a good argument for an electric Brompton.....
I only saw one electric bike in Paris, ridden by an extremely elegantly dressed middle aged woman obviously going about her business judging by her dress and the expensive leather briefcase in her handlebar basket.
The Velolibs are very popular and seen all the time everywhere right out to the high number arrondissements.
I saw one other electric bike in Senlis, a beautiful old medieval town 40km or so NW of Paris. It was La Poste issue and laden with post as you can see from the pic. I had an interesting chat with the post woman, who old me that La Poste were rolling out electric bikes all over France, finding them highly efficient and reliable. She said that they got 40km range between charges but that if you did run out of battery power it was awful to ride. I suggested she might buy a spare battery for the round but she was of the opinion that the bike was so heavily laden with post at the start of the round that the weight of the extra battery would flatten the tyres!
All in all, a highly enjoyable trip. I might plan on taking the Kalkhoff to Paris but riding it from Calais rather than in the car. Or possibly from Dieppe...or Le Havre and following the Seine all the way. Can't wait!
First, what a luxury it is to cycle without having to look out for potholes the whole time. The French have a policy of maintaining roads on a regular basis rather than reacting to reports of potholes and problems. Their road authorities maintain that this is much cheaper in the long run as well as contributing to a more efficient infrastructure.
The picture here shows my Brommie in one of the cycle lanes. The French have taken a different attitude to here and all over Paris are cycle lanes physically separated from the motor traffic. It is very effective in keeping cars from parking and blocking the lane. Cycles can also use the bus lanes, of course and these also are physically separated from the general carriageway.
Obviously there are streets where such physical separation is not possible but if you know Paris well, it should be possible to plan most journeys with the majority of the mileage safe from car drivers.
My main concern was how to negotiate 'les grandes places', those massive roundabouts at Etoile, Bastille, La Republique and so on. In practise, they are fine. I just waited and followed French cyclists through to see how they did it. Actually, they just ride round with quick glances to make sure there are no lunatic drivers around. French law holds that in principle, in any accident between a car and a cycle, the car driver is to blame. Thus, if they do hit anyone, they can expect little understanding from the police or their insurance company. On the other hand, French cyclists jump lights and weave between pedestrians much less than their London counterparts, so there is a quid pro quo. In fact, as I noticed when I lived in France, the roads are much less aggressive, blowing of horns and those angry contorted faces of car drivers being less in evidence than in London. That is not to say I doesn't happen, of course but such behaviour, like public drunkenness, is still frowned on rather than given tacit approval as it is here.
I'm comparing Paris with London mainly, simply because I know London best. It may be that the situation is different in other cities in the UK but I wouldn't know. I am also unusual, I think, in that I prefer riding in cities to riding in the county.
I'd like to have taken my Kalkoff to Paris and covered more ground than he average 25 miles a day I did but the Brompton can just be bunged in the boot of the car or in the luggage areas on the Eurostar. In fact, I've just made a good argument for an electric Brompton.....
I only saw one electric bike in Paris, ridden by an extremely elegantly dressed middle aged woman obviously going about her business judging by her dress and the expensive leather briefcase in her handlebar basket.
The Velolibs are very popular and seen all the time everywhere right out to the high number arrondissements.
I saw one other electric bike in Senlis, a beautiful old medieval town 40km or so NW of Paris. It was La Poste issue and laden with post as you can see from the pic. I had an interesting chat with the post woman, who old me that La Poste were rolling out electric bikes all over France, finding them highly efficient and reliable. She said that they got 40km range between charges but that if you did run out of battery power it was awful to ride. I suggested she might buy a spare battery for the round but she was of the opinion that the bike was so heavily laden with post at the start of the round that the weight of the extra battery would flatten the tyres!
All in all, a highly enjoyable trip. I might plan on taking the Kalkhoff to Paris but riding it from Calais rather than in the car. Or possibly from Dieppe...or Le Havre and following the Seine all the way. Can't wait!
