On yer bike...

If you are a cyclist then this weekend you want to be around Saumur as not only is there the 'La Fête du Vélo en Anjou' - a weekend when, according to the local tourist board, 20,000 cyclists (and roller bladers!) pedal (and skate) their way along 120 km of 'reserved' roads on both banks of the river Loire between Montsoreau and Bouchemaine - but also the annual 'Anjou Vélo Vintage' in Saumur itself.

(Credit: Coralie Pilard)

The Saumur event promises a nostalgic look at the bicycle up until 1985 (don't know what happened after that) along with all things retro. Last year we popped over just after the event to see what they had been up to...we are not cyclists but it looked as if the town really gets behind the event in a big way..

Walking ? the dog...

Spotted in Descartes.

Pannier Pansies..

This bicycle is a permanent flower stand in front of a house in Colin & Elizabeth's village of  Braye sus Faye which is just outside the town of Richelieu in the Loire Valley. 

Bordeaux bikers...

Group of happy chappies on bench in Bordeaux park when we visited last summer (must do a post) with no obvious clues as to which two are the cyclists. The two with the white caps ?- perhaps part of a racing team? Didn't stay long enough to find out as looked like they were there for the day!

Wonder if we should introduce them to the ladies of Richelieu...

Ditched?...

Spotted in ditch by the side of the road, you'd be forgiven for thinking this rusty old bike had been dumped but no, it was only resting as its owner an elderly gent worked in the nearby field. Here in France you see very little abandoned property as little if anything, is wasted. Although I'm sure a lot of it spends its second lease of life travelling around brocantes! I always smile when I think about the Barrou brocante where we had a shared stall with our French neighbours.  Francois had among his many fine items an old (very old) wooden wheelbarrow wheel which was riddled with woodworm and looked as if it had very few turns left in it. I joked with him that this was the one thing, for sure, he was taking back home.Late in the day much to my surprise a gent who may well have been as old as the wheel, started to show more than a passing interest in it. I was gob-smacked to see euros change hands and had to ask him why the man had wanted such a wheel - the answer was as short as it was logical - he had a barrow without a wheel!

Recycling...

This spot of 'recycling' was at a restaurant at Saint-Martin-de-Re on our visit to Île de Ré last summer.

Green bicycle...

Following on from yesterday's post I thought I'd make this week  'bicycle week'  starting of with a bit of  green recycling !

You might remember the green bike from one of our Paris trips -painted lime green to make doubly sure no one was going to steal it, well here's another truly 'green' bicycle we spotted on one of our walks around Lesigny last summer - so much prettier!.

More from Paris....

I still had this post from Paris and because it features bicycles I have decided this week should be 'bicycle week' so every day will be a two-wheeler.post.

One of the great joys of being able to visit Paris so easily from here in the Loire Valley is that you experience a completely different view of France, from quiet slow paced country living to fast (well faster) paced city living.

The two-wheeled mode of transport is very popular there for obvious reasons and is in evidence throughout the city in its various forms. You can rent a bikes in Paris called Velibs. ( vel for vélo "bike"and lib for "liberty").These can be picked up at any metro station or anywhere there's a "borne" (stand) of bikes,you can ride around for half an hour for free as long as you return them to another Velib' stand within the period. Apparently they are within 300 mtrs of each other - ! think if you want to use them you should pay the very reasonable .€ 1.70 for the day (using a credit card) or for the more adventurous  €8.00 for the week.

  I like the way they have tried to make them look as cool as possible (French designer of course) - though I'm not so sure about the baskets! Where I can understand their practical nature I think it diminishes some of its 'cool', maybe they should offer some 'basket-free'.  The official website for the bikes can be found here...