France Tales » Sport

3 great spots in Toulouse to run over pedestrians on a bike

Owen — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:00:36 +0000

I ride a bicycle in Toulouse every day. It is a pleasure and a thrill. Most of the time. Never had a problem with cars incidentally, it’s the pedestrians that I have shifted into my crosshairs. Think Frogger, both for French people and for the idea of the game, to cross the street. Not sure whether the goal is to cross the street, cross it unharmed, or to run things down as they cross the street. In any case, as a child born in the 70′s, who grew up in the 80′s, I am doing my part to revive interest in the game.

I am not an angel on my bicycle but I don’t do things that are super dangerous. Sure I sometimes run through a red light or a stop sign. I even sometimes go down one way streets the wrong way. Once in awhile, when I am in withdrawal, I may even go on the sidewalk, in order to fuel my need to run over pedestrians. If there are cars around or “pedestrians” I obey the law but if the street is deserted, all bets are off! But still, quand même, pedestrians do the stupidest things, so I consider it my calling, to right the wrongs, and “educate” them gently, or if the occasion arises, forcefully.

Lick your lips, whet those appetites, plan your itineraries as I share with you those most unholy places in the land of the Cathar’s where one can draw the blood of stupid pedestrians. Here’s a Google map to assist you.

View Kill Pedestrians Here! in a larger map

1. This is student land, Quai Lucien Lombard, big university just around the corner. There is a wide sidewalk, with lots of room for walking AND a separate bike lane, and yet pedestrians still walk in the bike lane, worse still, they refuse to leave it as if the bicyclist is doing something wrong. As long as I am going to be treated like a criminal, I may as well be one! I haven’t decided if running over students is worth 2 points because you get them early in life so you spare other bicyclists the headaches associated with stupid student behavior, OR if they are worth 1/2 a point because they are so skinny. Try this spot on a Thursday night, when students party, it’s crawling with them, the only downside is that they taste like Coq au Vin because they have already had so much to drink.

2. Rue de Metz, near Rue Alsace Lorraine. This is actually a formidable corner. I almost never run the light because it is busy, there are too many converging paths, and well the windows of the Musèe des Augustins is quite nice, I do have a heart, a small one. However, and there is always a however, going toward Le Pont Neuf on Rue de Metz there is a lane for cars and a lane for buses and the bus lane is also the bike lane. PLUS another good sized sidewalk for you guessed it, piétons. So, if you are following along, you might imagine, no matter what time of day, there are pedestrians in the bike lane on one of the busiest streets of Toulouse. If you don’t see anyone in the lane, hang tight, you will. Watch the sidewalk carefully, there is always someone just a baguette’s throw away from leaping to their death. The typical sequence goes a bit like this, ped jumps into street without looking, crosses halfway, cocks head as they look over shoulder, sneers, and if I have my way, picks up their teeth after being run over by either a bus or a bike, who by the way had the right of way! Guys I need your help here at this corner.

3. The Boulevard, Boulevard Strasbourg, by Place Jeanne d’Arc, Marché Cristal. Of all the places, this one I can at least understand, and possibly forgive. I mean there is a bike/bus lane so there is really no excuse, but walking by a French market would make anyone swoon and lose physical control of their legs. Since I knowhatchasayin I will take a kindler gentler approach, but be warned, you are not possessed by the spirit of Jeanne d’Arc, those voices you hear are mine, whispering, I promised kind, I promised gentle, whispering “I am going to kill you FOOL!” A man of his word.

Each Friday night Roller Rose has been rerouted and the critical mass of Toulouse, Roller Rose, will pass all three locations, please don’t OD on pedestrians though, leave some for me. *lickslips*.

If you like that, try these . . .

I received my new carte de sejour! (75)
Funny Ikea Ads (37)
Alliance Française or Rosetta Stone (24)
Tecktonik – The new dance craze in France (24)
Le Parkour- strange French sport (22)
VISA received, day of pain over! (21)
Funny consumer letter (21)
Funny French mistakes (21)
Carte de Sejour (18)
Using a gas grill from the US in France (17)

Toulouse Plage, a beach in Toulouse, sort of.

Owen — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:58:51 +0000

Tweet This

Toulouse Plage is a “beach” created on the banks of the Garonne River. This year it has moved back to the park Prairie des Filtres. Toulouse is not to be outdone by Paris, well yes it is, and since there is Paris Plage, now there is Toulouse Plage. Toulouse Plage has existed for a few years now. Toulouse Plage is now open.

We made a quick tour through Toulouse Plage last weekend. It is free to enter, yay, they no longer put sand on the ground, booooo. Well they no longer put sand everywhere, just in certain designated spots, spots that at night I’m sure all the wild animals use as a toilet.

At Toulouse Plage there are lots of free activities. We saw volleyball, beach volleyball (with sand, yay), boule, water skiing (you must pay to do this), a rock climbing wall, exercise classes, lots of stuff for kids, we saw a free salsa dance class, and of course there are umbrellas and lounge chairs. Many people say this year is the worst but I was happily surprised by the organization of Toulouse Plage.

Toulouse Plage hours:
Open until August 17th from 11:00AM to 9:00PM, some special nights there are dance classes and dance events and Toulouse Plage is open until midnight.

For more information about Toulouse Plage
www.toulouse.fr
06 60 14 44 53

To read more about Toulouse Plage, en français
No Sand but now there are games

Toulouse Plage is now open.

Have you been? What did you think of Toulouse Plage?

If you like that, try these . . .

I received my new carte de sejour! (75)
Funny Ikea Ads (37)
Alliance Française or Rosetta Stone (24)
Tecktonik – The new dance craze in France (24)
Le Parkour- strange French sport (22)
VISA received, day of pain over! (21)
Funny consumer letter (21)
Funny French mistakes (21)
Carte de Sejour (18)
Using a gas grill from the US in France (17)

Happy Birthday Eiffel Tower

Owen — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:39:02 +0000

Tweet This

Today the Eiffel Tower turns 120. Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower will celebrate its 120th birthday and, as a present, will receive a brand-new coat of paint.

The job will take over a year and will involve the labor of 25 painters applying over sixty tons of paint at a cost of 170 million euros.

This won’t be the first makeover. Designed by Gustave Eiffel and built for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889 to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution, the tower has had seventeen cosmetic updates since its birth, changing color several times, from brown-red to yellow to bronze.

Quoted in France’s daily Le Figaro, one of the painters chosen for the project spoke of his love for the job. “Once you’re up there, you forget the ground, your worries, the dangers, everything stays behind,” said Aderito Dos Santos Baptista.

There have never been any fatalities from the painting of the Eiffel Tower although there have been some injuries.

The first-floor restaurant, renamed ’58 Tour Eiffel’, will also be inaugurated after a complete make-over.

At 300 meters tall (324 meters with antennae) and weighing 7,000 tons, the Eiffel Tower was the world’s tallest building until 1930. There are 1665 steps to the top. One of the most visited sites in the world, the tower can boast a new record with nearly seven million visitors in 2008. Come visit the Eiffel Tower to say Happy Birthday.

If the Eiffel Tower was controversial at the time of its inception, it is now completely accepted and is one of several symbols of Paris’s beauty. Much like IM Pei’s pyramid entrance the Louvre, the French resisted the change, but now most agree upon its merits.

Happy Birthday Eiffel Tower.

Read these similar posts

Back from Paris (13)

Go skiing in the Pyrenees at Pas de la Casa

Owen — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:32:06 +0000

Tweet This

Recently I have started to ski again. There are many places to ski that are not that far from Toulouse. I have been twice to Pas de la Casa in Andorra to go to the Granvalira Ski Resort.

El Pas de la Casa is a ski resort (part of the Grandvalira resort) and mountain pass in Andorra next to the border with France. It is located at an elevation of 2408 m, one of the highest points on the European road network.

The ski resort of Pas de la Casa sits below the pass on the side closest to France. Its first ski lift was opened in 1957 and currently it counts 31 lifts, 100 km of pistes and 6.26 km² of skiable terrain. The highest point is 2640 m. It is the highest resort in Andorra, boasts the best snow record, and is the easiest to get to from Barcelona or Toulouse airports.

It attracts a large number of British and Irish winter sports fans, as well as French and Spanish. It is also favored for its southern latitude and duty-free status, READ- go shopping!

The nightlife is particularly youth-oriented, and a prevalence of red pistes perhaps makes the skiing more suited to intermediates than beginners or the most advanced.

We stayed at the Hotel Christiana which offered a demi pension special rate of 65€ per person. That is a little higher than some of the resorts closer to Toulouse, but since it included dinner and breakfast it was not much more expensive. The best part is you are less than block from the entrance to the resort.

I highly recommend visiting Habana Pub if you want to go out at night. Beware though, things don’t get started until well after midnight. It is more like Spain than France. The first time we went we stayed until 3AM, there was a huge storm and it was not sure we could ski the next day so we stayed late. This time we left around 12:30 and it hadn’t gotten started yet, there were people, but they were just arriving. They play a mix of Reggaeton, Latin House, and American club music. Very interesting place. For more ideas on what to do in Pas de la Casa, if you aren’t skiing in the Pyrenees click here.

If you like that, try these . . .

I received my new carte de sejour! (75)
Funny Ikea Ads (37)
Alliance Française or Rosetta Stone (24)
Tecktonik – The new dance craze in France (24)
Le Parkour- strange French sport (22)
VISA received, day of pain over! (21)
Funny consumer letter (21)
Funny French mistakes (21)
Carte de Sejour (18)
Using a gas grill from the US in France (17)

Bicycle Salon last Saturday in Toulouse

Owen — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:47:31 +0000

Tweet This

On Place du Capitole in Toulouse last week there was a salon devoted to other forms of transportation. Over the course of a few days buses, subways, trams, bicycles, walking were all profiled as ways to “deplacer”.

Last Saturday I went to the salon and it was all about bicycles. There were folding bicycles, electric assist bicycles, recumbent bicycles, bicycle bag vendors selling better bags for commuting, bicycle covers like the ones you see for scooters so you can ride in the rain and stay dry, etc. There were lots of interesting booths all offering improvements to the way we commute on bicycles.

There was even a bicycle obstacle course so you could try out the different types of bikes or show off your French pedestrian avoidance skills. I have to say the pedestrians are more dangerous here in Toulouse than the car and bus drivers. Someone should make a game like “Frogger”, that old Atari game, but with bicycles and French pedestrians. Yet another project to begin, not finish, and then stess out about, so for now I will leave it as a dream.

Read these similar posts

Tour de France videos from around Figeac

Owen — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:57:00 +0000

Tweet This

Yesterday the Tour de France came through Figeac on its way to Toulouse. Here are some Tour de France videos from around Figeac. The Tour de France overwhelmed the small town of Figeac but it was fun.

Yes it was raining.

No we weren’t driving this car.

Read these similar posts

Tour de France, Figeac to Toulouse

Owen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:16:50 +0000

Tweet This

Figeac is a lovely town where the Lot and the Aveyron intersect. We are spending this weekend in Figeac. It just so happened that the Tour de France 2008 was coming through Figeac this weekend. Figeac is a stop on the Tour de France 2008 on Saturday July 12th. An old friend is doing a stage in Figeac and we came for the long weekend. Here are some pictures of the lovely house his friends are restoring. I will have some better pictures soon.

Read these similar posts

Tour de France 2008 videos

Owen — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:24:30 +0000

Tweet This

The Tour de France 2008 is coming to Toulouse soon. Of course I won’t be able to have Tour de France 2008 videos from Toulouse as it hasn’t come yet, but I can put other Tour de France 2008 videos here.

Tour de France 2008 videos:
Here are some videos that are great, well produced, and in English, but they cannot be embedded so you have to follow the link.

Daily Motion Videos

Parcours Tour de France 2008
envoyé par TaiGer

Tour de France 2008 – étape 5
envoyé par GrimpeurRouleur

Youtube Videos
In English

Read these similar posts

Tour de France route in France and in Toulouse

Owen — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:12:44 +0000

Tweet This

The tour de France is in full swing. As you go around in France you see the signs indicating which days highways or exits will be closed, or even which surface streets inside a city will be closed for the Tour de France. Here in Toulouse the Tour de France will pas through on Sunday, July 13th. Here is the entire route for the Tour de France but also the route through the Toulouse region.

Tour de France route

Tour de France route: Figeac to Toulouse

Tour de France route Toulouse to Bagnères de Bigorre

Read these similar posts

Bicycling to work along the Canal du Midi

Owen — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:54:39 +0000

Tweet This

I haven’t been working very much lately. There have been a slew of French holidays coinciding with the days my class falls on. School holiday, May Day, also an article on Hub Pages, Victory Day, etc. Today I went to work for the first time in 3 weeks, no I don’t get paid when I don’t work so spare me the lucky you stories. My life in France has had its ups and downs. Some things have been a pretty easy adjustment for me and some things have been hard. Today was beautiful riding along the Canal. The trees were fully leaved, some in bloom, lots of people were out walking and riding their bicycles, and it was warm but not hot. When I feel a little sorry for myself I should remind myself of a few things, mainly, not everyone gets to ride their bicycle to work along a UNESCO World Heritage site. Really, the Canal du Midi is about 2 blocks from our apartment and then it is about 5 blocks from the building where my classes are. Basically the whole way to work. Not too bad.

Read these similar posts

English in Toulouse (1)
English in Toulouse- Friday Afternoons (3)
Figeac France pictures, photos, and images (4)
Tour de France 2008 videos (4)
Tour de France route in France and in Toulouse (1)
Deodorant in France (7)
Lost in France (6)
Spring in Toulouse France (2)
A Walk in the Jardin Royal (7)
Happy New Year 2010 (4)