Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Bonjour from Lyon!

Well, I've been in France for a few days now. I have not ridden my bike in 6 days, which is the longest dry spell i've had since crashing on my shoulder last fall (and that only led to 7 days off the bike, although my orthopedic dr. has no idea). I'm in France, and I have no bike! There are these cute little rental cruiser bikes...but you need a 'smart' credit card to rent them. Everywhere I go there are these cute little bikes in stations. If you have the magic credit card, you can put it in a machine, and then it allows you to unlock a bike and take it. Then you drop it off at your destination. It is really quite impressive. I am very bummed that the US has not gone 'smart card' yet, so I am stuck looking at all these bikes mocking me, as I continue the long slog from my hotel to the conference.

What makes it even worse, is that I am on a 'team bike challenge' team this month! We get points for utilitarian bike trips...and these 8 days in france are really going to bring down my team's average!

Anyway..aside from the fact that I'm in France in June instead of July, it is really quite lovely. I had 3 days in Paris, and am now in Lyon. It is beautiful, green, lush, and there are lots of wonderful dogs everywhere. I'm quite taken with the place, not to mention the food.

On another note...my coach and her team are racing RAAM starting today! Here is the website for updates. Wish them well...what an endeavor!!! Go Pink!!!!

Au revoir!

3 comments:

Chris said...

Sounds like a good trip so far. Go hit the stationary bike in your hotel gym if you feel the urge to ride. It works for me but I hate it.

Itinerant Rick said...

It has been a few years so I was looking for one, but last time I went to France without a bike I found rentals places near the train stations in some towns. A good day on the bike can be fun, especially in new places.

We are taking two weeks off the bikes for the most part; may rent some MTB's in a few days, but that is not certain. Most days I have been off a bike since my accident in 2002 ... so I can relate.

dr-nitro said...

Just threaten a Frenchie to give up his/her bike. I hear they surrender easily.