I thought that as I would be eating cakes and pastries all day, I needed to find a way to keep the weight off whilst I was here in Paris. P suggested that we bung his personal trainer a few extra Euros when he comes over to the house and we can train together . . . mmm interesting, I promised I’d think about it, but I may well have found a solution that solves that – my Vélib.
Those of you who know me well, know that I am a big fan of a ‘Boris Bike’ as a way of getting around London and I love feeling the wind in my hair whilst freewheeling around Green Park. I thought this would be ideal for me in Paris, the Métro ride from P’s place to my classes is a bit of a schlep, this way, I could keep fit, save some money and avoid taking the dreaded Métro when it starts to get really hot (I’ve never been a fan of having someone’s sweaty armpit pressed up against my face).
So, today was my own personal ‘Orientation Day’. Being super organised, I had already downloaded the app, ordered my card in the UK and I just needed to activate it at one of the many pick up points around the town. They are indeed a very popular method of transport here in Paris, as I had to go to three points before I found a bike that I could actually take away (I got very excited at the second point only to realise that the pedal was missing, although someone had thoughtfully place it in the basket!).
Why can’t I find a blooming bike?
A special mention goes to Le Mairie de Paris here, (I’m assuming it was them) who decided to paint these bikes a practical shade of camouflage green, making it really exasperating to locate them in the street. At least they were bright blue (now red) in London so you could spot them a mile off – maybe the French would not like something quite so vulgar in their streets. . .
Beautifully camouflaged Vélibs!
Anyway, I tapped my destination into my phone and off I go. Picture this, I’m cycling along trying to hold my phone whilst listening to the directions, reading the map (my phone has an American bloke reading French street names and I had no idea what he was saying) and trying to cycle on the right hand side of the road. I was doing quite well until I got to the Boulevard de Sébastopol; this is a large one-way street in Paris that has a separate lane for buses and cycles. I was just cycling along nicely wondering whether there was a code as to which side I should be on when a taxi driver rather helpfully shouted “Mettez-vous à droite!” (“Get on the right!”) – that’s me told then.
On arriving at my destination I popped my bike back in it’s slot, waited for my green light and 2 beeps and it was just like that scene from Absolutely Fabulous where Edina gets off the bike and her legs just give way – well, I had been cycling for 40 minutes! After a quick sit down and a bottle of water in a lovely park, I headed back. This time, I thought I would use my sense of direction and tried to get back without a map. Success, back home safe and sound just in time for a lovely lunch.
It was only when I got home that I wondered how far I had actually cycled – 8.5Km or 5.3 miles each way, making a grand total of 17km or 10.6 miles. If I keep this up, I’ll have a very firm backside – I just hope I can walk tomorrow ready for day one of my course.
