Spin on THIS! - bike power, baby!

No clue if this is for real or not, but it certainly is possible.

Harness your energy and RIDE ON!

.hot

a guest post from .nobi my friend in paris...


"its safe to say it's spring in paris after a couple of days with weather hitting the 20s [celsius]...was on way to buy an evening baguette from my favorite boulangerie (she's so patient with my bad french) after having a coffee with a friend in the république district...seems i wasn't the only one biking..."

Check out his photo website here: .nobi.

Follow .nobi's instagram feed and follow this vagabond photographer on his world travels.

Frenchies sure know how to have a good time...

on le bicycle!

Vélorution - PARIS!

On my hunt for Space Invaders in Paris, I stumbled upon this bike pile not far from Hôtel de Ville.


At close range, some stickers looked familiar...


with a French twist!


At last - I found the Parisian bikey people!


The location is l'Atelier de Réparation Participatif - Vélorution, a cooperative bike repair workshop much like SF's very own Bike Kitchen.

Vélo en panne? Pas de soucis! They got the tools you need.


Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler! (Wait - wrong town! Hope you had a jolly Mardi Gras!)

life whizzing by

sometimes it feels that way

Paris vs. San Francisco

Inspired by the best-selling graphic book & blog Paris vs. New York...



I present Paris...


vs. San Francisco.


As lines are blurred, it's getting harder to tell the difference.



A good sign!

Paris Roule!

Voici ma photo à la Tour Eiffel!


Paris is so hip, even its carousel horses ride bikes.




And if you don't want to pay the 3 euros for a ride on the carousel, you can hop on the stationary penny farthing or unicycle for free...


comme moi.

Q: Où est Kristin?

A: Paris.



I'll be in France for two weeks. I need to attend to some family affairs.

I most likely will not be posting regularly as I'll be traveling deep into Provence and far away from it all.

Sigh.

Hopefully Adrienne and Ramona might kick in with a few posts while I'm off for a fortnight. If not, don't worry. As California's former Governator once said, I'll be back.

Bises et A+!

VV Profile: .nobi

Name: .nobi

Occupation: filmmaker/photographer

Hometown: London

Current city/Neighborhood: NYC

Favorite city to ride a bike in in the world: Paris

Helmet or no helmet: ride it raw!

Type of bike: Dahon Eco

Describe what you like best about your bike: Ease to fold and get on train

Describe your urban cycling experience: The big difference between Paris and NYC is that in Paris pedestrians and cars (somewhat) respect the cyclist...in NYC they sometimes go out of their way to knock you over and pedestrians use the bike path as an extension of the sidewalk and give you the stink eye (and don't move) if you dare ring your bell

Favorite time and/or place to ride: Paris - Alongside the Seine at any time . NYC - 8th ave

Artist most commonly played on iPod at the moment: Mixed Arabic artists compilation gotten on Egypt trip

Tell us a mysterious and intriguing story that happened to you on your bike: Well just like in the movies...was biking down 8th and this woman flings open her car door, if not for my good brakes i almost went over the hood... weirdest part is that she just stared at me like i inconvenienced her by daring to be on the same road without any horsepower under my butt! (which could segway to another story but i digress)

Describe your personal style: Urban Cowboy meets Nerd Jock

Vélo Vogue tip of the day: Your brakes are your friend. Love them.

Vélo Couture is Haute Couture

IT is not often that the Grand Palais, one of the historic monuments of Paris, is host to a giant Ferris wheel, a spinning swing, a shimmering mini Eiffel Tower and a parade of scantily clad models showing lingerie on a catwalk resembling the Champs-Élysées.

Read suite here.

Thanks to Erin for forwarding!

NYT Article by Jessica Michault

Great new SF fashion/bike blog

Join Vélo Vogue in welcoming Chloé Fleury to SF! She's the author behind the new illustrated fashion blog America Me Voilà!

Courage Chloé! Once you find your way around the hills (or if you choose to take them head on), biking in SF is FUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!!!!

Meet The Mittens

And The Mittens are:

Clemence

Photo: Paul Hackmann

Elvire

Photo: Paul Hackmann

Sylvie

Photo: Paul Hackmann

Vick

Photo: Paul Hackmann

Âge : 110 ans
Poids : 212 kg
Taille : 6m 72
Mensuration : 360 240 360
Q.I. : 480
Langues parlées : argot, portugais du ghetto et de la haute, espagnol, anglais, allemand (ein bischen), québécois, français…

La Rencontre :
à la fin d’un ride parisien, nous nous sommes retrouvées autour d’un verre. Frustrées d’avoir peu roulé, la conclusion était évidente : organisons nous!
De là notre première sortie, en peloton réduit : la vallée de Chevreuse… Yiiiihhhhhaaaaa!!!

Ce qui nous rassemble : nous chaussons toutes du 39.
Excepté cet important détail, notre souhait premier, sortir des sentiers battus!
Ne pas nous cantonner à nos trajets quotidiens, partir sillonner les régions alentour et plus si affinités.

Ce qui nous unit : le plaisir de l’effort, une vitesse commune (118km/h de moyenne en cote, le vent de face) et évidemment une indéfectible amitié!



Age : 110 years old
Weight : 212 kg
Height : 6m72
Measurements : 360 240 360
IQ : 480
Languages spoken : slang, ghetto and upper class portuguese, spanish, english, german (ein bischen…), french canadian, french…

How we met : After an urban ride around Paris, we met up for drinks. Frustrated after having ridden so little, only one idea seemed clear : LETS GET ORGANIZED !
From there came our first outing with a slimmed down peloton, in the Chevreuse Vally, yiiihaaaaahhhh !

What brings us together : we’re all a size 6,5 shoe
Apart from this important detail, what we want the most : get out on the open road !
Never be trapped by our daily routes through the city, but to go and discover other regions and more !

What unites us : the pleasure of pushing ourselves, the fact that we all ride at the same speed (118km/h average, uphill, with oncoming wind), and of course an unbeatable friendship!

Brilliant portraiture by Paul Hackmann

Words from The Mittens.

trouble in paradise

Although my friend Sarah sent me this link about the decline of Vélib', the ever-popular, transormative bike-share program of the City of Light, mon amie Audrey still seems to be fabulously enjoying the bikes.


Vive le Vélib'! Vive la République du Chic!

Happy Birthday, Vélib’!

Vélib’, Paris' famous bikeshare program, is two years old today. Here is a movie from Streetfilms on the system made in honor of its first birthday.


Since 15 July 2007 here are some of the main use trends and developments for Vélib in Paris (courtesy of Eric Britton):
- 53 million rides
- 36.5 million with long term (annual) passes
- 16.5 million daily or weekly tickets
- The Vélib street terminals have issued close to 7 million tickets
- Increased use in conjunction with rail/transit stations
- Stations are being extended at key use points
- Continuous monitoring and technical upgrading at level of bikes, stations, distribution, and software
- Increased night maintenance and redistribution
- The following credit cars are now accepted: Visa, MasterCard, Europay, American Express and JCB (with computer chip only, American-style cards do not work)
- Stations now offer full text instructions in English, Spanish, German and Italian, as well as French (which Pariens still occasionally use)
- No bikes or parking slots at your station? Try clicking 4, then 5 on the terminal. It will show you the status of nearby stations for both bikes and parking slots. It also scrolls if you are really desperate.
- iPhone on Vélib

New communes in surrounding area
- 17 already have stations opened between April and June
- 136,556 trips in the new areas
- Program has Vélib extensions to 30 communes in the surrounding area (many of them small cities in their own right)

For more, in French

17th Street Plaza

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Velib parts and what breaks

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Velib parts and storage

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Velib mechanics by boat

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Velib mechanics by truck

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Velib mechanics by bike

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