Velibs! Chateau de Vincennes, Velodrome, Bois de Vincennes

You have to have a French issued credit card to use the Velibs in Paris. Luckily our friend Mary set us up for the day. If you exchange bikes every half hour they are free. There are stations all over Paris. It is the coolest thing ever.

We are riding in the Bois de Vincennes. It was beautiful and no rain.

We got to the velodrome but they wouldn't let us take the Velibs out so we had to watch. I wanted to ride it so bad!

The banking is actually pretty steep in the corners although it looks shallow here.

Nice helmet.

There were several lakes in the Bois. We rode the paths around them.

We stopped off at the Chateau. This was built before the city of Paris. You are looking at the moat.

This church is also Notre Dame. It was built before the Notre Dame in the Cite.

I love the French sandwiches. You get a whole baguette!

Mary and Mark heading across the drawbridge.

Me and Mary Velib'ing it.

Mary accelerated out of the saddle to power past me. She is a Velib expert.

This car is actually parked at the curb. Not all cars can fit in this spot.

Velibs in motion. The shifting is kind of tricky though, if you shift wrong your feet may come off the pedals suddenly. :)

There was a large group of musicians playing in the subway when we went back to our apartment.

Here is a video of the velodrome. You can see me on the sidelines wishing I could do a couple of laps.