three tikit testimonials

I wrote these three short articles for the Bike Friday webpage, but I don't think it would hurt to post them here, too. Enjoy!


Even when all of Paris stops, the tikit keeps going!

My new tikit arrived at the most convenient time possible- the day before the biggest transportation strike Paris has seen for 10 years. Metros, busses, tramways- no one knew what would be running, if anything at all. With the help of Paris’ new shared bicycle network, Vélib, Parisians resorted to pedaling to work or school, myself included. On my new blue and black 8-speed tikit, I rode alongside the Metro line that had previously taken me to school and saw Paris from a completely new perspective. The landscape wasn’t nearly as flat as I had remembered by train! I sped along the many “pistes cyclables” (bike paths and lanes of traffic reserved only for bikes, busses, and taxis) and made it to school 10 minutes quicker than my normal Metro commute. Later that evening, during a commute that usually lasted an hour with two train transfers, I was able to return home in half of the time!




So innovative, the tikit sells itself

While one of my tasks in Paris is to learn French as a student in an American exchange institute, my other job is to share with Paris information on Bike Friday’s newest creation; distributing brochures, visiting bike shops, promoting the tikit in any way possible. Even without wearing the “sales rep” hat, during the tikit’s first day on the town it attracted attention all on its own. People stopped and smiled at its little wheels as I rode by and I got curious looks as I folded the tikit and entered shops and cafés. An interested waiter stopped me on my way out of one café to inquire about my peculiar bicycle and even without a brochure to give him, he wrote down the name of the company, bicycle, and where to find it- information all clearly listed on the body of the tikit!





The perfect size for living small

In my apartment with my host mother in Paris, everything has its place and no corner is wasted. Paris apartments are notoriously small and I’ve heard many times before, “I would love to have a bicycle… if only I had the space.” My tikit, when folded down to its remarkable size of a small suitcase, fits perfectly in a corner of our foyer, just below the coat hangers. It looks like it was meant to be! Another opportunity to show off the tikit’s tininess was at a crowded restaurant last weekend. The server at first firmly told me that bicycles were not allowed inside, but upon seeing how compact it was, he let me bring it inside and I safely stowed it between the wall and chair where I was sitting. Over the course of the evening, everyone around me forgot that I had snuck a bicycle into the restaurant. Upon my departure, I had to lift the tikit high over my head in order to avoid bumping other diners and I heard cries of disbelief (What’s that? A bicycle?) from people at the restaurant. As I unfolded it and rode off, I’m sure they were wishing they had a bicycle as versatile as mine, instead of spending the rest of the evening waiting for a taxi.


ps: These articles and photos are featured on the Bike Friday webpage! I'm practically famous!

tikit arrival, strike in Paris, Friday night ride

I thought that updating twice a week wouldn't be that difficult, but it seems as though I'm having some problems with that goal. I attempted to write something on Wednesday in reference to the arrival of my tikit, but the words wouldn't come. I will do my best to recap the highlights of the week, and next week I will attempt to update more regularly.

Bike Friday shipped my tikit on Monday and for the first half of the week, I tracked it on the FedEx webpage as it crossed the US, the Atlantic, landed in Paris, boarded a delivery truck, and arrived at my school. On Wednesday afternoon I found it waiting for me in the office of IES where the secretary was very excited to see what was in the enormous package for me. I took the box into the courtyard and opened it to find my tikit, partially disassembled, and spent an hour putting it together and getting familiarized with its workings. Many students stopped to see what new gadget I had and I did my best to explain it to them, but the novelty of receiving a package in the mail seemed more interesting than the novelty of having a bicycle.

I gave it my first test ride while going to drawing that night and on my first day with the tikit, I logged about 15 kilometers- from IES to my drawing studio to my apartment.

It arrived just in time for the transportation strike that was scheduled to happen on Thursday. Most of the Metro lines and bus routes were closed and many Parisians were out on bicycles trying to get to work or school, but there were also many more cars than usual. I successfully rode to school for the first time and got many interested looks as I passed other cyclists and I wonder if other folding bicycles get the same attention. I stopped at a café between my first IES class and my drawing class (because my second IES class had been canceled due to the difficulty for the professor to get to school because of the strike) and while I was there, a curious server at the café took down the name of the bicycle and the website, which is conveniently written on the side of the bike. www.tikit2ride.com. I wished I had had a brochure to give to him, but unfortunately it isn't quite ready to be printed. Soon, I hope.

On Friday night, I met up with a group of cyclists near the Hotel de Ville where an organization leads night rides by bicycle every Friday night. When I arrived there were only about 30 people, with 10 or 15 members of the organization wearing bright orange vests, but a half an hour later when we departed, the group had swelled to over 100 people. A man who was making announcements at the beginning of the ride said that the largest group on a Friday night was around 950 cyclists. The largest critical mass I've ever attended in Minneapolis probably only had around 150 people attending- I can't imagine kind of crowd attends the Paris critical mass.

Here's a couple photos from the ride last night:









I found it hard to approach people at the group ride because most of the people there already knew each other (it seemed) and they were all bunched in their own groups, talking in their preferred languages. I heard German, French, and during the ride I heard some young people speaking English. I approached them, since I knew we would automatically have two things in common, bikes and English, and joined their conversation. I found that one of the girls was from LA and was in Paris on vacation and met a boy who is French, and also met a young American who is working in the suburbs of Paris at a paper company.

The four of us rode together for the remainder of the ride until the girl from California got a flat tire and we all stopped to try and fix it. The valve broke off of her spare tube so instead of walking back to her apartment, she rode on the back of the French boy's bike and the other American rolled the her bicycle alongside him while we all rode back together. At her destination, we exchanged emails and parted ways, but I think tonight I might meet up again with the girl from California.

The weather has been dry in Paris for the past week which has been very pleasant for biking. I'm glad it wasn't raining on the day of the strike- it would have made it a lot more difficult for the people trying to bike to work, and I'm sure the traffic would have been much worse. It's evening now and I'm sitting on a bench in a garden that was sunny 15 minutes ago, but now the sun has gone behind a building and my hands are getting too cold to type.

I believe this is a formidable blog entry; I hope there are no hard feelings for my sparsity of posts.

More Alleycats, plus 3 side notes

I visited a very trendy/ritzy/expensive boutique in the Marais today, Colette. It is a boutique that I had found references to online about an art exhibit in July dedicated to bicycles, and also that an Alleycat race had started there during the weekend-long festival that was also held that month, coinciding with a bicycle film festival. It took me a while to find the boutique but when I did come across it, I found that it was absolutely packed full of people. There was a new art exhibition opening today and there were photographs displayed all around the store, I later found out that several of the featured artists were present and signing prints and things today. I wandered around looking at the mannequins standing around the store but spent more time looking at the photographs on the walls. I think the theme of the photographs was "people on the street" and the title of the exhibition was "From the Street to the Night."

The store spanned three floors with music and accessories on one level, clothes and shoes on the second floor, a small hideout with lots of men's clothes, and in basement there was a aqua-bar. I didn't venture down into the basement, but I heard that they have something like 40 different flavors of mineral water down there. I wasn't interested in the expensive clothes or special water, but I spent a good deal of time looking at the photographs and wondering what I might find out about the Alleycat race. I found a section of the store that didn't have any merchandise in it- only pictures displayed. There was a desk with a woman sitting at it and I was unsure if I was allowed to enter that section of the store, but I went up the stairs and started looking at the photographs when the woman approached me. She was very friendly and started talking to me about the new exhibition. She gave me a program for all of the photographs and told me about the artists who were signing things and told me that if I had any other questions, I should feel free to ask her. She must have known that I wasn't there to shop.

I looked around at the photographs in her area and after a few minutes, decided to inquire more about the bicycle art exhibition. This conversation led to talking about the introduction of Vélibs to Paris and how although bicycles are becoming more widely used, they still aren't terribly popular... other articles I've read about bicycles in Paris seem to suggest otherwise, but that was the gist of our conversation. I finally asked her about the Alleycat race that happened and if they happened regularly in Paris. At first she told me no, but then gave me a look and told me that I might be able to find out more about them by going to this other place nearby and asking there. She seemed kind of sly about it and mentioned something about the organizers trying to keep it secret, but she gave me the name of the location and directions to get there, wishing me luck on finding Alleycats in Paris.

I am really not sure what the level of secrecy is concerning these Alleycats she was telling me about, so for now I will withhold the name of the location where I went to continue my search. By piecing together my clues, I'm sure anyone would be able to find out about them on their own too. I followed her directions and turned down this tiny street with no traffic or visible shops and found the location I thought she was referring to. It was locked up for the day and didn't have the same name she had given to me, but the directions made sense and I figured that it could be the right place if I came back during the week.

There was a small used book store across the street from my mystery location and I poked my head inside asking if the business across the street involved bicycling and when they were open. The man working at the bookstore verified that I had found the right location and asked me why I was trying to go there and I hesitantly explained to him that I was interested in Alleycat races, not knowing if it was okay for me to share this information with him (secret Alleycat race!!!). He told me that he was friends with the people across the street and that I could write them a note and leave it on their doorstep or he could deliver the note during regular business hours. It all seemed very sneaky and I couldn't resist. While I was writing the note which simply said, "HALDEMAN, Rebecca. Student, bicycle enthusiast. Interested in Alleycats. rebhal87@gmail.com." he went on a long one-sided debate about American politics (he knew I was American) and it was very difficult to leave. I gave him the note and apologized for the decisions of my country's government and wished him a good day, with the hopes of perhaps hearing back from this mysterious Alleycat organizing club.


Although most of this post is dominated by my quest to find Alleycats, a few more things to note:

-The dance performance I went to tonight was very strange. A sod-covered stage that moved by balloons inflating under it, 9 dancers that all moved in unison, chaotic music that played at random intervals during the performance... I wasn't entirely sure what to think about it and my host mom wasn't too impressed, but I'm glad I got to go and experience a new kind of entertainment.

-I made the GateauSport tonight (SportCake) and will give it a try tomorrow... Although I took a wild guess at the recipe since the directions on the box were very unclear, it smelled fine when cooking and when I stuck a knife in the middle, the knife came out clean. Hopefully it will work?

-I visited another bike shop today in the Marais that is very nice- new road bikes and commuter bikes and even a foldable mountain bike. I'm very excited to continue compiling a list of places to take my tikit once it arrives.

I think that's it for the night.
with love,
from Paris,
Rebecca

In the future: contemporary dance, tikits, alleycats

Good afternoon, friends and family,

I just got back from a brisk ride around the Bois de Vincennes. I met Jacques, the vice president of my cycling team, Paris Cycliste Olympique, at 10:15 and we rode a few laps around the track together and gradually added more people to our group until I lost track of Jacques. Malik, another member of PCO joined us and I rode with him for a while and listened to him talk about the race that he's doing next weekend in the Bois de Vincennes that PCO is organizing. I talked with Jacques a bit about helping him with registration at La Cipale (PCO's headquarters) so I think that's how I will be spending next Sunday. Phillipe joined us a little later, around 11, and then we came across the other woman who I had seen at PCO meetings, Stephanie. Malik and Stephanie are going to do the race next weekend as a team.

Tonight I am going to a contemporary dance performance with Mme C. Despite reading the description about it in a magazine she gave to me, I am not sure really what to expect. This will be my first real outing on the town (that isn't just walking around all night) and I am very excited.

I heard back from Bike Friday last night and found out that they'll be shipping my tikit on Monday! I hope it arrives before Friday so I can take it with me to La Cipale on Sunday where there will be many people to show it to.

This past week was quite exhausting- my late night classes are wearing on me. I'm really enjoying my figure drawing classes but it's difficult to spend a full day at school and then draw for three hours. On Wednesday night I didn't get home until 11pm! So late! We had a different model this week than last week who used different poses and had a much different style to modeling than the week previous.

I searched around on the internet last night for cycling associations (not necessarily clubs, but organizations active with promoting cycling as transportation, etc.) in Paris and found several that I hope to get connected with. I had been curious about the presence of Alleycat races in Paris- if they even exist here- and found a few links to past races.

(Clarification: An "Alleycat" is a bike race that usually happens in an urban setting, often in the downtown areas of cities, and are often dominated by bike messengers or cyclists who know their way around the city very well. It can involve stopping at various locations along the way from start to finish, like a scavenger hunt, and the races are not usually sponsored or organized by cycling clubs or teams- but they can be.)

Alleycat races are very popular in Minneapolis and the biggest indicator is the presence of "spokecards," a post-card sized laminated flyer that people weave in their spokes of their bicycle wheel, often the rear wheel. After reading last night about Alleycats that happened in Paris this summer I saw a man with a spokecard this morning, but it was a different kind of card- the kind that clips onto the frame and hits the spokes as they go by, making a rather obnoxious buzzing/clicking sound. I'm going to try and find out more information about Alleycat races in Paris today, not necessarily with the intention of doing one, but just to see what the urban cyclist climate is like in Paris. In Minneapolis, there is a huge variety of cyclists, ranging from commuters to roadies to mountain bikers to those who practice doing tricks on their fixed gears... After having discovered road bike culture, I would like to see what else there is.

Lastly, I would like to send out a big congratulations to my cousin Joe and his wife Brenna as their first son, Charles, was born on Monday. Welcome to the family, Charles.

C'est tout!

Drawing Class, Philosophy, La Nuit Blanche

Before I let too many days get away from me, I will try my best to document a few of the past week.

I had my first drawing class last Wednesday night. My drawing class is held outside of my IES school at a French art academy that offers drawing, painting, and sculpture classes to students of all backgrounds and levels. I was somewhat surprised to hear that I was required to go to the art school on Wednesday night because I was under the understanding that my classes would be held on Thursday nights and I would have open-studio time on Wednesday nights. According to this understanding, there was no reason to go to the Wednesday night open-studio without having had my first Thursday night class... I heard that some other students from my Thursday drawing class were also going on Wednesday so I decided it would be better to make the trip and check in with my teacher instead of risking missing anything important.

The Academie de la Croix Nivert is a one-room schoolhouse that looks something like a large storage warehouse. There is a loft where lots of tablets and tables are stored and the main floor has many easels and a raised platform in the center of the room where the model sits. It took me about 35 minutes to get to the school which caused me a bit of concern, knowing that on a normal Thursday I get out of an IES class at 2 and have to be at la Croix Nivert by 2:30, but I noticed that there were many straggling students coming into class late and the teachers welcomed them all with a very relaxed attitude.

When I arrived all of the students in the classroom, regardless of whether they were taking painting or sculpting or drawing, were given an easel and paper and we worked on figure drawing for the entire class period. I was very nervous at first, not knowing at what level the other students would be drawing at, but I was happy to find that there was a wide range of students in my class and I was somewhere in the middle. We drew poses from 5 minutes to 30 minutes and I felt myself getting more comfortable with charcoal and drawing again- something that I haven't really done since last spring semester. At the end of the class period, we turned in our two best drawings that will be graded at the end of the semester. Hopefully they will grade on personal improvement versus comparing to other class members?

On Friday I normally do not have any classes but this past Friday, I met with my Architecture of Paris class and we toured the Latin Quarter, visiting the Notre Dame de Paris, the Hotel de Cluny, and another church that I can't quite remember the name of. It was difficult hearing my professor talk about the sites we were visiting because I find that I have a hard time not looking directly at the person who is speaking (in French) and she kept telling us to look at the architecture and not at her. We will have one of these guided visits every two weeks or so- I'm looking forward to the tour of Montmartre.

On Friday night I went to a birthday party for my friend Addie that was being held at the IES Apartments. When I arrived there were quite a few people there, including our Residence Adviser who was concerned about how loud the party was getting. People started leaving shortly after but a good 10 people stuck around the party until 3am. I spent most of the evening listening to an existential debate between the R.A. and another IES student and from 3:00 to 5:30am the R.A. offered to us an in-depth explanation of Sartre and Existentialism. It was very interesting, and I found myself quite satisfied from mentally exhausting myself in a manner that I normally do not.

In recovery from a late night Friday and in preparation for Saturday night, La Nuit Blanche, I slept most of the day yesterday and did some homework in the evening. La Nuit Blanche is an all-night festival in Paris when museums stay open through most of the night and all over Paris there are performances and art installations to visit. It just so happens that last night was also the night of a Rugby World Cup match between France and New Zealand and France won, causing much celebration in the streets. With a combination of La Nuit Blanche and excited sports fans, I witnessed the most crowded streets I had ever seen at 3am in Paris. It was even more wild than when I was here for the summer solstice in 2005. Absolute madness. People were climbing up on the Fountain of St. Michel and singing and cheering and waving flags... wild. I didn't end up seeing many of the events of La Nuit Blanche, but I did walk around with friends until 6am when the Metro started working again.

It was a cyclingless weekend for me, but I was very happy to have some time to enjoy the nightlife of Paris instead of trying to go to bed early in order to go riding at 7am. I will get back at it next weekend, I am sure.

C'est tout!

Paris in Squares

I was having a hard time coming up with text for my next blog, so instead I decided to show you some images of my new home.


The view from my bedroom window, sunset.




One side of my triangular room.




A market near my apartment, open Tuesday and Friday mornings.




An accordion shop near my school.




Cemitiere du Montparnasse, also near my school.




One of my school buildings and the courtyard where I often spend my free time.




The new and popular bicycle renting service in Paris, Vélib.




A generic Metro picture, which happens to be the one that takes me home from school.





La Notre Dame de Paris.




The other side of the Notre Dame, with flowers.




Pigeons and the Centre Pompidou, Paris' Modern and Contemporary art museum.




A funk brass band performing in front of the Centre Pompidou.



Same band, called Beat 'n Blow.




Note how the singers use megaphones to amplify their voices.




The remains of a fire in a pile on the sidewalk. In the upper left corner lies a pack of cigarettes with the warning, "Smoking Kills."





A costume and puppet shop prepares for Halloween, a holiday not yet commonly celebrated in France.




Everything you might need to start a clowning act.






I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of the city, and also a timeline of some things I did today. More next time!

Love,
Rebecca