Good Cities to ride in.
slowbike
Posts: 8,498
I managed to ride in 3 cities yesterday - 2 capitals and one small one.
I'd cycle in all 3 again, but I was pleasantly surprised by one.
Over the bank holiday weekend we rode Dieppe to Paris - my wife, sister, brother, his wife and myself - superb ride down the green route - in all 120+ miles we got carved up twice - one close pass and another cut across. Once we got to Paris the riding was superb - probably helped by being on the quieter roads, but certainly not helped by not really knowing where we were going and making last minute turns - all completed at low speed.
Yesterday we through Paris from the Eiffel Tower to Gard de Nord to get the Eurostar back - it was wet, we stuck to cyclepaths as much as we could (plenty of pretty good ones although occasionally they disappear.) but once we turned north near the Notre Dame we were on the roads proper. At the top of that road we had to turn left and the cars let us cut over with not a single toot or over revved engine.
Contrast that to London - ok, it wasn't too bad and in fact, far better than I expected, but we got carved up by a car or two and a bus decided to let 3 of us pass (whilst he was in the stop) then pull out on the last 2 (we were well lit) - didn't get the silly chump anywhere as the 3 of us that got past just slowed down to allow the other two to keep up.
Then my own local city - it's only a small city and we were back late yesterday evening - a taxi decides he's going to overtake us on a roundabout - couldn't wait 30 seconds for us to clear ... twit ....
So overall, I'm happy with cycling in Paris - would love to go back and ride around more ...
oh - any idea why the Mall was closed to traffic last night? We had a nice ride up there - 5 abreast ...
I'd cycle in all 3 again, but I was pleasantly surprised by one.
Over the bank holiday weekend we rode Dieppe to Paris - my wife, sister, brother, his wife and myself - superb ride down the green route - in all 120+ miles we got carved up twice - one close pass and another cut across. Once we got to Paris the riding was superb - probably helped by being on the quieter roads, but certainly not helped by not really knowing where we were going and making last minute turns - all completed at low speed.
Yesterday we through Paris from the Eiffel Tower to Gard de Nord to get the Eurostar back - it was wet, we stuck to cyclepaths as much as we could (plenty of pretty good ones although occasionally they disappear.) but once we turned north near the Notre Dame we were on the roads proper. At the top of that road we had to turn left and the cars let us cut over with not a single toot or over revved engine.
Contrast that to London - ok, it wasn't too bad and in fact, far better than I expected, but we got carved up by a car or two and a bus decided to let 3 of us pass (whilst he was in the stop) then pull out on the last 2 (we were well lit) - didn't get the silly chump anywhere as the 3 of us that got past just slowed down to allow the other two to keep up.
Then my own local city - it's only a small city and we were back late yesterday evening - a taxi decides he's going to overtake us on a roundabout - couldn't wait 30 seconds for us to clear ... twit ....
So overall, I'm happy with cycling in Paris - would love to go back and ride around more ...
oh - any idea why the Mall was closed to traffic last night? We had a nice ride up there - 5 abreast ...
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Comments
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You have to remember european cities shut in August... go back rush hour on monday morning in September and it might be a different storyleft the forum March 20230
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ugo.santalucia wrote:You have to remember european cities shut in August... go back rush hour on monday morning in September and it might be a different story
I'll just have to ensure we visit in August then!
Didn't seem shut though - the weekend was manically busy - albeit with tourists ... that and the street sellers ... but fortunately most of them weren't driving.
Interestingly, during our wanderings we saw a few RLJs - british motorists!!0 -
I'm just back from 4 days in Amsterdam with my wife and children (15 and 13). We hired bikes for two of the days and it was a highlight of the trip. None of us are regular city riders (we live in a little village in the Pennines - it's 11 miles to the nearest traffic lights!) and my wife is nervous at the best of times (the only person I know who gets off and walks down steep hills), but it lived up the reputation of Dutch cities. Great infrastructure for cycling (at very busy intersections, there are bike lanes and dedicated traffic light sequences) and such massive numbers of people cycling that drivers seem used to having parity (at best) with cyclists on the roads. Even for urban novices it was by and large stress free. Scooters allowed in the bike lanes was the only blackspot when riding, finding somewhere to park the bikes was the major hassle, especially in the middle of a thunderstorm. Pancake flat, helps, too, of course, certainly in comparison to home.
I've cycled in Paris (on a hired velib) and that was OK, too, although I didn't try anything too ambitious, like going round L'Etoile, but it was a good bit more nervewracking than Amsterdam. I got off and walked round a couple of major intersections rather than risk it.0 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:You have to remember european cities shut in August... go back rush hour on monday morning in September and it might be a different story
Yup, Ugo has this right, Paris may still have seemed busy, but in September when they come back it gets proper proper busy! They call it La rentree !! Plus they are quite angry and stressed about going back to work after a long time off, and my French friends joke, (in some seriousness it has to be said) that's why the strikes mostly happen in September.
It's funny, I felt safer cycling in Paris than I do in London, despite the driving standards in Paris being so much poorer!0
