Bicycles!

You may or may not know that Maggie and I love bicycles. They're fun to ride, they're cheaper than most other forms of transportation, they're good for the environment, and they're good for our health. So it was with great pleasure that I saw a sign advertising a Critical Mass event a few weeks ago: http://22septembre.org/. (The message on the website reads, "Coincidence! We all just happen to meet while riding our bikes around the Arc de Triomphe on September 22nd, formerly "car-free day." Unannounced cyclist objective: insert yourself into and ride around the rotary without blocking traffic. If a traffic jam should occur, extricate yourself and leave.")

Last Tuesday, I went with Robert (he may have left Paris, but he hasn't left my heart) to the Arc de Triomphe to witness what can only be described as a flash-mob of cyclists. At 6:30 pm, at the height of l'heure de point (rush hour), hundreds of cyclists materialized in the rotary that surrounds the Arc de Triomphe and clumped together as they rode around and around, forcing automobile drivers to cede space and pay attention. It was glorious.