I'm a little obsessed with Rizzo. I did everything on bike today. It's just as fast, if not faster, than the bus/metro. And I'm not even killing myself doing it. There are some pretty bad hills out there (hello avenue Marceau!), but what a great way to get in some exercise!
Plus, I'm really stressed out right now, and I know the physical activity is helping... it always does.
So I'm dorky enough to have marked out on a fuzzy map of Paris what I did today. From Montparnasse to Jussieu (blue line), from Jussieu to the Champs-Elysees (gray line), and from the Champs to the house again (green line). All in all, about an hour and a half of riding. A little less, in fact.
The most pleasant part was without a doubt riding along the bike lanes near the Seine. The least pleasant part was getting hit on by the man bicycling behind me. I dreaded every stoplight. Another unpleasant aspect of the day was when I went over a particularly tough bump and everything fell out of my basket. But I thoroughly enjoyed snarling at the tourists who almost ran me over... that felt very snobby and very Parisian, and therefore somehow very right.
Do they have bike co-ops in Paris? That would be rad. But then again, they don't really romanticize bikes over there like they do in California. But in case someone was in Paris and wanted to find a "bike coalition" - do they exist there?