More coolness from Nantes

One of the reasons the system works so well in Nantes is that it has good bicycle and transit infrastructure to help people get around. The city is also a manageable size.

Riding on the sidewalk isn't forbidden like it is here. On a side note, the transit system also includes ferryboats on their canal system.


Here, a woman rides past a bus rapid transit (BRT) stop. One of the advantages of BRT is that, in a highly multimodal city, bicycle wheels don't get caught in the tracks required for light rail while transit service quality is comparable.


Not everyone rides bicloo -- some people even have their own bikes. Maybe it's because they need to carry more than can be carried on a bicloo bike.... This view makes me wonder if a pro-cycling, family-friendly city needs to provide baby seats on some of the bikeshare bikes...?

same old same old

I've mentioned before that despite my independence, certain things are a man's job. My last 5 boyfriends were:
1) a computer science engineer
2) a network architect (of computer systems)
3) a software engineer
4) a software engineer
6) a website developer (technical, not design)
I complained to the last 3, and the 3 noticed, that my computer runs very slowly. All 3 shrugged.

Just now, I did a search of the programs occupying the largest quantity of my computer's attention. The first two were viruses. I am now trying to figure out how to remove them, but the computer is already working better. I just don't think I should have had to do this.

Brian says I've been dating the same guy over and over. It's true that they are all tall. I'm tall. That make sense. They usually also have (near) perfect eyesight, work on computers, and turn out to be psychopaths. OK, that's not wholy true. But it's close. I'm willing to try something completely different, but right now I have no desire to get seriously involved with anyone. It's a shame since I am so frigging attractive, and it's spring. What a waste.

I said:
San Franciscans are stupid.
New Yorkers are smart.
Los Angeleans are good looking.
Midwesterners are nice.

My mother said:
But we're not going to generalize.

That said, boyfriends 1 and 3 both had Macs. I know #3 thought I should be punished forever for having bought a PC. (Do you wonder why we aren't together?) But they must have both worked on PCs and could really have done the search or 2 that I just did to figure this one out.

Along these same lines, I would love to socialize tonight. The problem:
1) I don't want to leave my apartment.
2) I don't want anyone else in my apartment.
Likewise, I want to be in a loving partnership, but I don't want to forgive or compromise anything. I also want to have a lot of money, but I don't want to work. OK, that last one, at least, has played itself out. I have a job and make money.

This soup I'm eating needs a bit more love. It won't get it tonight. I will eventually try something completely different. This phase bores me. But tonight I am going to drink red wine and watch TV on the computer (sans commercials) which is most certainly the same old same old.

Be Cool avec bicloo ! (Nantes' bikeshare program)

When I was in France last summer, I did a bike tour of Brittany with my mom. I highly recommend biking in Brittany but bringing your mother is certainly optional.

Nantes isn't technically in Brittany, but it functions as the area's capital. It's a gorgeous, mellow city with an excellent transportation system including light rail, bus rapid transit and a bike share program called "bicloo".



Tourists aren't permitted to use the bicloo bikes, but they provide other bikes from a downtown parking garage that visitors can use. Sadly, I didn't get an inside tour of the system, but I did take plenty of pictures of the system and its use.

Like in Paris, the kiosks are high tech and can provide directions as well as check out your bike.


Stations include electronic signage.

Many accompany transit stops.

I noticed that the design of the bikes was very similar to that in Paris.

Profile: Doug Johnson

Meet Doug. I did in grad school, but we didn't get to be friends until a year later when we worked together. When he applied for that job, he addressed his cover letter "Dear Ms." (name withheld). When I called him for an interview, I asked "Do you remember studying for the Transportation Finance final at my house?"

Last fall, he attended the wedding of some mutual friends on his bike. These photos show him looking especially dapper in his sports coat and jeans.


Occupation: Transport Planner
Hometown: Oaklandish
Favorite bike ride: Fruitvale for Tacos
Helmet or no helmet: Hellmut
Describe your bike: Which one?
Describe your personal style: uh, style?
Describe your cycling experience: Started with the bmx ride to school, rediscovered at UCSB and never stopped. Now I'm involved with WOBO. Come join us!
Favorite artist: Mother Hips

Velib parts and what breaks

After a short break, I have a few more words for you about Paris' magnificent bike share program, Velib' which I learned about last summer while vacationing there.

A hefty 22.5 kilos, Velib bikes come with a range of neat features. Since they are each used 10-12 times per day and travel about 10,000 km per year, they need to be very durable. JC Decaux designed them specificially for this purpose. Each feature represents a compromise between comfort, safety, resiliance and weight. Each feature is reinforced.

They have a low, step-through frame which make them easier for ladies in skirts to board as well as more flexible for people of all heights.
The seat height is easily adjustable.
All bikes have a bell without hammer, since the hammers broke off. Instead, bells ring simply by turning them entirely.
Three gears are integrated into the system, and shifting is possible even without pedaling. They have no derailer.
Bikes have both front and rear breaks inside the center of the hub like disk breaks but heavier.
Front light uses LED technology and is charged by the motion of the bike when in motion and a battery when still. There is a generator inside the rear light.
The large comfortable seat is an Italian brand.
The mud guard is uniquely desiged by JCD so that no one can sit on it and the flexible material is not likely to break.
Bikes provide a large basket for your stuff.
Double kick stand is very sturdy.
They come with a small cable and key for when you need to run a quick errand without returning the bike.



They have no visible cables.

One improvement JCD made after the lauch of the program was to reinforce the part of the bike that connects to the station -- they were breaking. This photo shows that reinforcement.


A solid tire would be more durable but heavier.

Other things

Clearly, I have other things on my mind.

Random Garrison Keillor quote:
It's where we are broken that we are of the most use.

Velib parts and storage

I love orderliness and repetition. So do the French. I was particularly taken with the supply room in the barge where all the Velib bikeshare bikes are fixed in Paris. Since all the bikes are the same, all parts are the same. Bikes come to the barge when they have a part that needs replaced. So, the supply room has stacks and stacks of exactly the same things.




All this repetition makes me think more of art than utility.

I wanted to compare it with San Francisco's Bike Kitchen, which recently opened in its new gorgeous location, but my camera wasn't working when I was at the Bike Kitchen last. Suffice to say, all parts were completely different and equally beautiful.

Velib mechanics by boat

When bikes break, they get collected and stored by the side of the Seine. The river is punctuated with these cages of bikes waiting to take a little boat ride to be cared for by cute bike mechanics (all bike mechanics are cute!) in maroon and black uniforms.


Meet the Barge Manager. He lives on the boat 24/7 with his wife. (I heard their quarters are quite large and nice, but I didn't get to see them.) They alternate with another couple every 2 weeks, and keep another house in the suburbs as their primary residence. His only job is to drive and supervise the mechanics.

The barge drives to various spots along the Seine to collect the bikes, avoiding the congested streets, and the mechanics fix the bikes all the while. How perfectly Velo Vogue that they all wear black shirts and maroon pants at work.

The barge's pretty noticeable. Here, Thomas is explaining to some Italian tourists how to use Velib' after they approached the barge with questions.

Velib mechanics by truck

Last summer, when I had my tour of Paris' bikeshare program, Velib, I was overwhelmed at how big the job is just to maintain all those bikes. In addition to mechanic bikes and a barge, JC Decaux has custom-designed trucks powered by eletricity (not gas), a narrow width to fit on the sidewalks next to the bike stations, and a special trailer to move the bikes around the city. These vehicles cart away broken bikes to be fixed and also redistribute the bikes so that they are available at all the stations.


Actually, some vehicles aren't electric, some run on compressed natural gas (CNG), which also does not pollute where it's used. Ideally, users would redistribute the bikes naturally through use, but work and school schedules can mess that up with what the French call the "pendular" effect (Americans also call this rush hour traffic and direction).

Passengers report never having to wait more than 5 minutes for a bike due in part to the redistribution system.

The maintenance system is so green -- even the water they use is collected from the rain.

Velib mechanics by bike

Probably the biggest challenge of running a bike share program of Paris' scale is maintaining all those bikes. I don't envy JC Decaux that job! In fact, Thomas told me that without maintaince, it would take 10 days for all the bikes in the system to be broken.

To do this daunting task, they have an elaborate system involving mechanic bikes, trucks and a barge on the Seine. Each maintenance vehicle is customized for the purpose. This post shows the special mechanic bikes used to ride around the city and make small fixes. Most (80%) repairs are done by bike. These mechanics visit every bike station twice a day. They represent about half (70) of all maintenance employees (140) working on the system.


This one has customized panniers that carry tool boxes:


This one carries parts in a trailer:

French bikeshare membership and use...

Every bikeshare system in France has a membership card with cute branding:


You can also join by the day, but that's not nearly so much fun. You use your membership card to check out a bike. Sometimes membership cards are also Metro cards. While the program is supported by advertizing supplied to JC Decaux, all fees go to the City of Paris.

The other side of the kiosk, in Paris anyway, will tell you where to find more bikes, or where there is a free station to return your bike, depending on what you ask it. It can also provide a 15-minute extension on the 30-minutes-free limit if all pods at that station are full. When I was there, the kiosks worked in 5 European languages.

Finally, stations at the tops of hills offer time bonuses in the form of a 15-minutes longer free checkout time bonus to help with bicycle redistribution.

Profile: Thomas Valeau

When I visited Paris last summer, I was lucky enough to get an inside tour of the program. The charming Thomas Valeau was my guide, and this is his profile.

Here, he is checking out his Velib bicycle.

If a station is full or empty, you can check the computer terminal for where there is an empty station to return your Velib or a free Velib to check out. The kiosks have a map for your convenience.

As a busy professional in Paris, he can check his blackberry while riding.

Occupation: Director of public bicycles customers management
Hometown: Paris
Neighborhood: I can see the Eiffel Tower from my window. Just its top in fact, and its powerful spotlight on nights, but most of time, I only see the ring road :-(
Favorite bike: Velib, what else ?
Helmet or no helmet: Bah Never!
Describe your bike: A beautiful bicycle, gray mouse, a little bit heavy, but so chic, designed by Patrick Jouin himself, 3 gears, Shimano roller breaks, hub... A technology and design combination!
Favorite color: Blue
Describe your personal style: Depends on the situation. I am capable dressing really differently from street wears as an old teenager to top class style. Usually, my preferences are for Armani, Hugo Boss or Cardin as I'm in business suit. Good point for Cardin and it's easy to iron the shirts...!
Describe your cycling experience: I like to leave my company car at home as I need to travel throughout my city. I definitely prefer to ride because it's much faster and more relaxed than driving. Moreover I never wonder how to park my car when I travel on Velib. I discover my city differently, chatting with nice girls at traffic lights!
Favorite artist: When I run in Montsouris park, close to my home, I love listening Ashton or electrik music to stimulate myself.

Strappy sandals on Parisiennes

This post includes a series of photos I took of parisiennes biking in sandals in Paris last summer.

I love this photo with her funky bike, shopping bag on the handle bars, and very funky white bike... but wait! Check out her sexy shoes....


Gold gladiator sandels, and of course a scarf


Women of all ages take on the streets with their bikes... even wearing long skirts:


Looking fresh as a summer breeze

Parisiennes biking in pumps

Next, I have for you a series of Parisian women biking in very-high-heeled shoes.

This is one of my favorite photos of the set but more because of the quintessential Parisien background activity. Ah love.

This blond also looks very stylish in black from head-to-toe including classic pumps and bike with basket.


I just barely caught this woman in floral-print dress and huge-soled wedges.


I left this one for last because I'm not sure if you can see that both these women are wearing very high-heeled pumps and one also a short skirt as they ride along the Seine chatting.