I've been riding the velib bikes to work and home the last few days (check in / check out bikes all over Paris). Its hit or miss in the am whether or where I find one, but when I do, my most frequented route is very straight forward (literally - its straight for 5-7 min down one road, park, then walk 2 min). The bikes have a large basket on the front and are generally a bit clankety and top-heavy in design.

Since I visit different rented offices around the city for the sake of variety (today's office had a fab courtyard), I have multiple routes to learn. The route there normally isn't the route home since I have to navigate around the many one way streets. Though mornings are hectic, its really the peak end of day return that gets the adrenaline pumping. On my newer (farther away routes), its nine lives in action, with no less than:
- 1 pedestrian avoidance maneuver (not watching bike lane)
- 1 close encounter with car/bus (its a shared lane)
- 2 questionable passes by a motorbike or bicycle
- 3 missed turns, navigation snafus, or around the block redo on any of my new routes
And that's just within a 15-30 min time span!

So its exhilaration...of the best and worst kind. The busiest streets are of course the most nerve racking; small stop lights off to the side for easy misses don't help. The cars are very accommodating, obligingly making room for me to ride next to them.
I found myself today, in two instances, shimmying between one or more buses with one foot on the ground and the other on a pedal flopping along, hoping the light didn't yet turn green until I found a notch of space in which to exist there among them all. The light changed and my heart rate started racing even before I moved. I notice the more experienced riders navigate across many lanes with ease, easy will, and far more grace than I manage just yet. They never frazzle and rarely seem to stop.
The city promotes a 'what you can do with your velib' theme, and I have to laugh at the image they use; its so fitting (a woman riding with a dress and probably heels). I am still a novice but I have an annual pass, so I'm all in.
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