Cycling in Paris (Do you want to die?)

[dellzeqq]

I crossed over 100 french roundabouts this year and not one was priorite a droit

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I crossed over 100 french roundabouts this year and not one was priorite a droit

bet they all had cedez le passage signs though. They love a cedez le passage sign, the rural French.

 

[Jezston]

They don't but it's Paris, there are no rules. In fact that's the only rule, there are no rules.

Unless there are traffic cops arounds. You'll see them at major junctions at rush hour, standing by their cars, showing off their steroid enhanced muscles - and that's just the female officers! Then people behave.

But seriously, DO NOT piss off Paris police. Bunch of on edge thugs ready to kick off at the slightest provocation. Think of them like football hooligans and just stay away from them.

 

[Norm]

I crossed over 100 french roundabouts this year and not one was priorite a droit

Was the Arc one of them?

It's only been a couple of years since I've ridden / driven in France but, over the preceding 15-20 years, the UK-style roundabouts with UK-style "Cédez le Passage" priorities were certainly in the ascendancy.

The older road systems, though, such as the Arc de Triomphe, were still glorious in their "á droite" traffic flows.

 

[jay clock]

I used Velib (Boris Bikes) for a few hours at Easter last year and had no problem whatsoever. Take it easy and you will be fine.

 

[Matthew_T]

Matthew, have you ever been to Paris? Or America?

Yes I have been to paris many times. I must say that I prefer Southen area as I is a lot more peaceful when you have a villa in the middle of nowhere.

 

[chris-s]

I spent three days cycling in Paris in July, FANTASTIC!

Never once felt vulnerable up and down the champs élysées, round the arc de triomphe, racing the scooters away from the lights.

Chris

 

[Norm]

Yes I have been to paris many times. I must say that I prefer Southen area as I is a lot more peaceful when you have a villa in the middle of nowhere.

So, why the "Top Gear" view of the roads in France? Why the melodrama suggesting that anyone who rides there wants to die?

I'll take Paris over London, but I'd choose Castellane and the Gorges du Verdon over either of them.

 

[gavroche]

Stop it guys! You lot make me feel homesick now.

 

[Bicycle]

I think the OP needs to be aware that France does things the wrong way round.

France joins the tiny minority represented in part by Germany, Serbia, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, the USA, Spain, Algeria, Luxemburg, Romania and countless others in insisting on deliberately standing in the way of the correct traffic system.

They drive on the right side, which is to say the wrong side. I mean the incorrect side.

They also cycle on that side and drive their lorries on it. No traffic at all uses the correct side, which just seems lazy to me.

This might have given the OP the impression that things were more chaotic than they are.

Also I've noticed, having lived there for a few months, that all the driving in France is done by the passenger, not the driver.

This is because (for reasons I cannot fathom) the driver has no controls in front of him. These are all mounted in front of the passenger.

Why anyone would want the front-seat passenger to drive them around is anyone's guess, but like all those countries listed above and many more, France seems to think this a good idea.

This is, frankly, typical of a country like France. They insist on having a French word for everything, and even when they use the proper (English) word they pronounce it in some strange, foreign accent. For example: France, Paris, train, table, impossible.

So, OP... Look out over there. It can be jolly, jolly tricky and if you get yourself into a scrape, people will feign ignorance of English however loudly and slowly you speak and however much you provide helpful actions to get your point across.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

I knew a snail once, who lived in France. He drove a sports car with a big letter 'S' on the bonnet and roared around the lanes of Tarn & Garonne in it. I never did work out why he did that.

 

[Matthew_T]

Well has anyone had any incidents where they have been cycling in a foreign country and realised they were on the wrong side on the road (right side of the road) and had to move quickly over to the right side of the road (wrong side of the road)?

 

[Ajay]

Bicycle, loving your work.

 

[Bicycle]

Well has anyone had any incidents where they have been cycling in a foreign country and realised they were on the wrong side on the road (right side of the road) and had to move quickly over to the right side of the road (wrong side of the road)?

It's like a clipless moment, most of us have done it but some people are quite shy about admitting to it.

Crossing on a ferry from the UK is OK, as you are 'in a group' and there are signs everywhere.

The worst is airport car rentals. Your head in a little Donald from many hours in a cigar tube... and then you come out of the rental carpark straight into Hell... or similar.

Also strange (never known why) is coming back to the UK after many weeks or months abroad.

My scariest moment was waking up at a motel in Bavaria and hopping straight on my bike (of the Brmm Brmm! variety). It was V early in the morning. After about 3 miles a car came towards me and was flashing.

He was right over on my side of the road.

Well... it turns out that it was I who was on his side.... Luckily, he had a sense of caution and he swerved.

I'd like to say I was in complete control, but I fear I was not.

Everyone has had these moments, but I think I am thicker than most at these things.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

The offside rule is very clear and very simple.

If you score against Arsenal, you do so from an offside position wherever you shot from and wherever the defenders are positioned.

If you score for Arsenal, it is never offside. This is because Arsenal players are all jolly good and have a highly developed sense of fair play.

There is nothing complicated about the above. Most referees are too thick to understand those fairly simple conditions.

Most fans are swayed by their own bias. I hate that. I'm not biased. At all.

As to the Priorite a Droite rule, that's French for "It's my right of way". That's how I see it and I once knew someone who was related to a translator.

I fear you may hae confused the offside rule - you clearly MEANT to say Liverpool