manouche

An article in yesterday's paper mentioned the probability that all children under 12 would be required to wear helmets in Paris in the near future since the vast majority of accidents involving children also involve serious head injuries. Most of these do not occur in busy downtown traffic but on small city streets within a couple of blocks of home.

kerouac

In any case, the minimum age for using a Vélib is 14. There is "P'tit Vélib" in certain areas during the summer season and they come with helmets. There are four different sizes for children from 2 to 8 years old. I guess that between ages 9 and 13 one should not ride a bike.

FrenchMystiqueTours

So I sat on the terrace of my pub last night from 6:45 to 7:00 and counted 24 people riding their own bikes past the pub. Only two of them were wearing helmets. Not a single vélib rider was wearing a helmet and they outnumber people with their own bikes by more than a 2 to 1 ratio.

flpab

We were sitting today at a busy intersection by the Grand Palais and counted the near misses by cars, motor bikes and bikes and it was a Sunday. I would stick to the bike paths only and be careful obeying the signs at crosswalks. I had the little green man but made no diff to the bike rider. We rode the metro twice today and the bus once. My feet are tired. Have fun, the trees are turning and it was a nice day.

pariswat

FM, it seems that drinks will be on me.
Not a big problem though !

lauren_s_kahn

Please note that you need a credit card with a chip and pin code to check out a bike.

PalenQ

so why don't Europeans largely except those apparently in Belgium wear helmets? and actually IME disdain them - I have seen stats that helmets do not really provide much protection and may give the rider a false sense of security but not sure at all about that.

If biking in Paris I'd head again for the Bois de Boulogne or Bois de Vincennes where there are many miles of un-trafficked lanes.

pariswat

To those who wonder how a Velib makes it easier to visit Paris.

I was in Abesse (rue Abesse) and ate there (abd choice of restaurant, but passons).

Went down rue des martyrs (who said it was a fab street ?) got on my Velib on Clichy, rode towards Moulin Rouge, took rue blanche (very nice), went pas Opera, then rue des Pyramides, went through Le Louvre (I love this roman arc de triomphe, crossed the seine on Pont Royal, then Bd Raspail, foudn myself at Sevres Babylone that for some reason I'd never seen, had a view on tour Montparnasse (ugly even in the night), found myself on Denfer Rochereau (I love the lion there), then along rue Coty (charming, with stairs to go on the roads on the right, got lost in neighbourhood of Montsouris and ended up at my hotel.
Took me about 45 min of cycling, probably less time than it would have taken me by metro.
And I saw a lot of nice places.

That is my way of doing some tourism in Paris ...

Ah, saw 15 people with a helmet.
Out of 100 cyclists.

PalenQ

had a view on tour Montparnasse (ugly even in the night)>

As they say the best view of Paris is from the top of the Tour Montparnasse because from there you cannot see the Tour Montparnasse!

FrenchMystiqueTours

I should add that I notice more people wear helmets when it is raining and a

FrenchMystiqueTours

Darn. Got cut off. As I was saying, I notice more people wear helmets at night and also when it is raining (as roads are wet) but even at these times less than 50% of cylists are wearing helmets.

flpab - I imagine most of what you observed as "close calls" were not in fact close calls but were actually just normal cycling conditions. It is not uncommon, especially during rush hour periods or at heavily trafficked places such as the Champs Elysées or Place de la Concorde, for cyclists and cars/trucks/buses/motorcycles to be riding within inches of each other. Did you see any actual accidents? If not then I believe what you saw was nothing out of the ordinary. Also, the majority of bike paths are not out of traffic but are in fact just painted lanes on the side of the road or shared with bus lanes so for the vast majority of bikes lanes in Paris you would in fact be sharing the road with some form of traffic.

fuzzbucket

Especially on weekends and holidays, I see one or more parents riding in traffic with kids as young as 6 years old trailing along behind them on their own bikes - and the kids always wear helmets, but the parents usually don't. They are usually headed to the quais, but I guess it's easier to ride than push the bikes. If little kids can manage this, most adults should be able to as well.

REM3140

Americans Beware! Velib IS A RIP OFF. Stations will be full making it impossible to return your bikes. Agents will instruct you to lock the bikes and send the keys, but then will claim to be 'unable to find them' and charge you for the bikes that you have already returned per their instructions! Way more hassle and irritation than it is worth.

Whathello

REM
What you talking about ? There are no keys for Velibs.

kerouac

Actually there is a key with a cable lock for stopping somewhere temporarily, but I can't imagine any official employee suggesting to do that since every Vélib station has a screen where you can find the nearest station with available hitching posts.

Cables are cut by thieves every day, so there would be a 1% chance of finding a bike a couple of days later if you actually mail the key somewhere.

PatrickLondon

If you find a velib station that's full, you can sign in to find out where nearby has spaces, and you're given an extra free 15 minutes to get there. Yes it can be a nuisance if you're taken way away from where you want to go, but it's not universal, just localised to particular areas at particular times.