Cycling in France 2

Finishing previous post and I hope getting to the point.

So I rode my bicycle to the bicycle shop.

The city - and this is the 3rd largest city in France I hear - is very bicycle friendly.  Bicycle lanes on the  roads here and there and in some places on sidewalks.  It was even comfortable to meander from road to sidewalk, in and out of traffic.

On my way to the shop, I saw a man who was riding a flat-bar bike on a major road.  He was coming my way.  I slowed to allow him to catch me.  Then, I asked if he could tell me where a certain street was.  He proceeded to lead me there.

He rode with almost no regard for automobile traffic flow lanes.  He ran red lights.  He rode at one time against traffic.  I don't do any of that in America.  Except for running stop signs, slowly, I follow all  traffic rules.  He probably was not the best example of cycling in France, but I could tell, he rode his bicycle a lot.

All to get to the point, real cycling in France is about its pleasure and its usefulness for transportation.  Clothing  is what you wear that day anyway.

Let's see if I can get a photo of me riding to  the  Etape Village on Sunday, and a photo or two of a woman who picked up her bicycle from the shop after a repair.  She did not  pick it up though but rode it away.  In a dress.  As I rode to Etape village, there were cyclists around me wearing bright ad-laden, tight fitting clothing.  It looked so out of place in the pastoral surroundings.  I began to think - hey, when in France, cycle as the French do.  And, these  thoughts continued and were fulfilled somewhat a couple of days later in Lyon.


In the cycling shop, I saw a bicycle with "Country" on it.  As in, a country bicycle.  Grant P. of Rivendell recently wrote about calling his bicycles country bikes.  They are very comfortable and user-friendly and useful.  Practical.  Did he get this idea and other of his bicycle and bicycling preferences from France, I wondered.  No, most likely not. 

So, can I enjoy cycling in France without popping Gu, Hammer Gel, electrolyte tablets, without wearing tights?  Sure.  In fact, cycling in France is not about that and speed.





Link here to more photos
Cycling in the Gap