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Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.
Renting a Velib bike
UPDATE (25 October 2007): The system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have the EU smart chips! Good news for visitors that do not have an EU bank card.
UPDATE (28 October 2007): Be VERY careful out there... I'm sad to write that the the first fatility involving a Velib bicycle occurred on 19 October in the 13th arrondissement at the corner of boulevard Morland and Bastille. This is first fatility since the service started July 15 2007. The 60 year old woman was struck by a truck while riding in the shared bike/bus lanes that are still commonly found in Paris. While the majority of Paris bike lanes are dedicated to bikes, there remains many that are shared between bikes, taxis, and buses. Riding in these shared lanes is tricky and I've found myself having to compete for space with very large vehicles that do not always see the bike riders well if at all. Bike helmets are not required nor used in Paris and perhaps they may catch on as there have been many fatalities involving bicyclists each year. www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/285982.FR.php
UPDATE: With the transit strike over, bikes are now being repaired more quickly...
The French transit strike increased ridership but conversely resulted in many bikes not getting repaired. Twice while going to rent a Velib I found many bikes in the stands that were broken. The strike made transporting the bikes to the repair depots difficult resulting in many broken bikes being left in the stands.
So, WATCH OUT for flat tires, broken chains, bent wheels, etc.
The interface is a bit confusing... but it works (eventually) and you can rent a nice bike very cheaply.
Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.
THE BIKES
The sturdy grey bikes come with a metal basket on the handlebars and are heavier than standard bicycles, built to withstand heavy use. In line with the program's green image, Vélib‘ maintenance staff get around town on 130 electrically assisted bicycles. A barge with 12 stops along the Seine will pick up bikes in need of major repairs. Cleaning staff drive electric vehicles and use rain collected on the roofs of JCDecaux offices
Shimano (brake systems)
Prowheel (core hardware)
Nexus (gear shifts, cables, etc)
The bikes are 3 speed “roadster”-type bikes.
I had some luck as when I arrived at the Jaures station as there was a ratp truck unloading new bikes. I spoke to the RATP employees and found out there are currently about 13,000 bikes in place right now with plans to have 20,600 by the end of the summer in 1,451 stations. The bikes just arrived a few days ago (on the 15th of July – right after bastille).
I walked down to the Jaures Vélib station and rented one! It’s a pretty cool bike; a bit particular looking but no one seems to mind riding them. I road it about 30 minutes and it did well. It’s not meant for comfort so watch out for bumps in the road and cobblestones. It has 3 speeds so is fairly flexible. It also has lots of illumination so seems fairly safe at night (I’ll try it tonight and see how it goes).
You have to buy a Vélib pass first:
Daily card is 1 euro
Weekly card is 7 euros
1 YEAR is 29 euros
To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days. You can also obtain the 1 year card by filling out a form at the Mairie (the various city halls in each arrondissement), any metro ticket station, or many pastry shops as well!
UPDATE: I've found that I can get the Velib yearlong form online and link it to my metro pass by mailing in the form (along with a check for 29 euros and an authorization for 150 euros) to the Velib HQ outside Paris. Once this is done I can much more easily get a bike by just passing my navigo card over the sensor!
The three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.
There is a 13 point legal summary that you must accept to obtain a Vélib pass (one of the annoying features is having to read through the entire legal acceptance form on a small screen) NOTE: I have since found that you can "skip" the entire text. Another issue is that when you pay with a bank card you have to switch to a different interface screen. The Main interface (a color plasma screen) for the details of the bike pass then the smaller LCD screen for the details of your bank card. But, it’s very similar to the RATP and SNCF machines used to get metro and train tickets (at least in the complexity of the user interface).
To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days.
Either of the three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.
The first two options can be done right at the Vélib station. There’s not a person there so you have to use the interface.
Payment:
You can use French bank card and it looks like most ATM cards will work as well. I tried using my navigo and it worked great! I also used my Bank Card and it worked also. You can also use your navigo card (your metro pass which you can obtain free from www.navigo.fr/ - you’ll need to upload a photo and provide a French address – use the address you will be staying at even if it’s a hotel; the navigo card will arrive in a few days so do this before you leave)
UPDATE: The Velib system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have smart chips! Good news for foreign visitors who don't have an EU smart card...
Language:
The interface says it’s in French, German, English but these languages don’t work yet (I guess they have not translated the interface so these buttons don’t do anything). So, you’ll need to read French but it’s not that hard and there are always people around willing to help. The RATP employees say there are plans to include other languages (up to 8) but right now there are only 3 (and only French is actually working right now!).
UPDATE: During the 2nd week the interface was updated and is now working in English, Spanish, and French.
Once you receive an abonnement card you will have to select a PIN (code secret) that will allow you to use your card in other stations.
Once you process a payment, you select the stall number, then go push the button on the stall corresponding to the bike you selected. Then you just go ride off into the sunset! Then return the bike at any other station.
Once you have the pass and bike you are charged based on how long you ride it – simple. If you check out a bike and ride it for less than an hour and a half it’s free! But if you ride it longer you have to pay - A supplement of 1 euro will be charged for an additional half-hour, 2 euros for another 30-minutes and 4 euros for every addition half-hour after that.
Don’t forget to push the button on the stall to get your bike! I don’t know how many people I’ve seen try to “swipe” the paper bike ticket on the navigo interface!
SECURITY
The bikes come with a cable lock. This is passed around a pole or other object then connects into the frame of the bike. There is a small key that will release once the cable lock is snapped into place. I've had a little bit of trouble at first then realized that after clicking one end of the cable in place, to unlock it, you must also push it in a bit further to get the key to release. It's not the thickest.
RETURN
To return the bike just put it into one of the stalls. Make sure the slot is engaged. It will "click" into the slot, the light will go "yellow" then to "green" about 5 seconds later when the RFID system recognizes your bike as being returned.
If there are problems you can call Vélib’s emergency number: 01 30 79 79 30. This number is also printed on the bike's handle-bar.
JCDecaux
JCDecaux sponsors the project in exchange for advertising rights in Paris. JCDecaux is Europe’s largest outdoor advertising company. Like a similar scheme in Lyon, where 10 percent of the city's population has a subscription to the local sharing scheme, Vélib is operated by outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux, which is footing the bill in exchange for exclusive rights to 1,628 Paris billboards.
UPDATE: I've been renting one 2 or 3 times a week and it seems to work well so far. Theft has not been a huge problem so far but it does happen. The bikes come with a lock but it is not a substantial one and is easily cut. When I stop to eat somewhere I lock it up but keep it in sight. Right now they program is regarded with some pride by parisians so it seems including the appropriate marketing and presentation has some benefits. For example, the program was marketed outside of normal medial channels (outside of France). The support infrastructure is also highly visible with specialized electric vehicles, boats, and even uniforms for the maintenance personnel. This makes sense though given that the company financing it is JCDecaux (Europe's largest outdoor advertising firm).
The UI terminals: These are two-sided. One side is the main UI for renting a bike, the other is a map and a smaller interface for obtaining the balance on your bike by entering the ticket number.
There have been glitches:
1. Terminal's are sometimes offline so no way to get a bike
2. There are bikes available but the terminal doesn't know this (RFID system goes down sometimes) so it sends you to an interface to find another Velib station.
3. Sometimes the terminals will be rebooted remotely and will be unavailable for about 5 minutes while it reboots.
The UI is based on windows VB script and runs on the Windows XP embedded OS. The BIOS is Phoenix 1.14. The hardware is a 1.3Ghz Pentium III with 500MB memory.
Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.
See more info at www.en.velib.paris.fr/
I place my notes, tips, tricks on Velib on my Veliblog: velibobsession.blogspot.com
Renting a Velib bike
These bikes are fun to rent and ride but, depending on how long you are in Paris, you may just want to buy a bike and lock it up outside where you are staying. I love the Velib system but it is more appropriate for short-term point-to-point transportation. If you're in Paris for more than a few weeks it may be more useful to buy a 100 euro bike at Decathalon (along with a good lock). Buying a bike is also better if you plan to ride more than just 30 minutes each time. Having said that I still like this system and use it often to get from place to place more quickly.
UPDATE (25 October 2007): The system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have the EU smart chips! Good news for visitors that do not have an EU bank card.
UPDATE (28 October 2007): Be VERY careful out there... I'm sad to write that the the first fatility involving a Velib bicycle occurred on 18 October in the 13th arrondissement. This is first fatility since the service started July 15 2007. Marthe Coppel-Batsch, 59, a prominent Psychologist and Psychoanalyst, was struck by a truck near the corner of Boulevard de la Bastille and quai de la Rapée. The accident was caused when the driver of the truck could not see the bicyclist due to the "blind spot".
While the majority of Paris bike lanes are dedicated to bikes, there remains many that are shared between bikes, taxis, and buses. Riding in these shared lanes is tricky and I've found myself having to compete for space with very large vehicles that do not always see the bike riders well if at all. Bike helmets are not required nor used in Paris and perhaps they may catch on as there have 4 fatalities now involving bicyclists each year. www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/285982.FR.php
UPDATE: With the transit strike over, bikes are now being repaired more quickly...
The French transit strike increased ridership but conversely resulted in many bikes not getting repaired. Twice while going to rent a Velib I found many bikes in the stands that were broken. The strike made transporting the bikes to the repair depots difficult resulting in many broken bikes being left in the stands.
So, WATCH OUT for flat tires, broken chains, bent wheels, etc.
The interface is a bit confusing... but it works (eventually) and you can rent a nice bike very cheaply.
Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.
THE BIKES
The sturdy grey bikes come with a metal basket on the handlebars and are heavier than standard bicycles, built to withstand heavy use. In line with the program's green image, Vélib‘ maintenance staff get around town on 130 electrically assisted bicycles. A barge with 12 stops along the Seine will pick up bikes in need of major repairs. Cleaning staff drive electric vehicles and use rain collected on the roofs of JCDecaux offices
Shimano (brake systems)
Prowheel (core hardware)
Nexus (gear shifts, cables, etc)
The bikes are 3 speed “roadster”-type bikes.
I had some luck as when I arrived at the Jaures station as there was a ratp truck unloading new bikes. I spoke to the RATP employees and found out there are currently about 13,000 bikes in place right now with plans to have 20,600 by the end of the summer in 1,451 stations. The bikes just arrived a few days ago (on the 15th of July – right after bastille).
I walked down to the Jaures Vélib station and rented one! It’s a pretty cool bike; a bit particular looking but no one seems to mind riding them. I road it about 30 minutes and it did well. It’s not meant for comfort so watch out for bumps in the road and cobblestones. It has 3 speeds so is fairly flexible. It also has lots of illumination so seems fairly safe at night (I’ll try it tonight and see how it goes).
You have to buy a Vélib pass first:
Daily card is 1 euro
Weekly card is 7 euros
1 YEAR is 29 euros
To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days.
UPDATE: I've found that I can get the Velib yearlong form online and link it to my metro pass by mailing in the form (along with a check for 29 euros and an authorization for 150 euros) to the Velib HQ outside Paris. Once this is done I can much more easily get a bike by just passing my navigo card over the sensor! The process to get the Navigo metro card linked to the Velib system is lengthy and requires several forms to be filled out (very very French).
The three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.
There is a 13 point legal summary that you must accept to obtain a Vélib pass (one of the annoying features is having to read through the entire legal acceptance form on a small screen) NOTE: I have since found that you can "skip" the entire text. Another issue is that when you pay with a bank card you have to switch to a different interface screen. The Main interface (a color plasma screen) for the details of the bike pass then the smaller LCD screen for the details of your bank card. But, it’s very similar to the RATP and SNCF machines used to get metro and train tickets (at least in the complexity of the user interface).
To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days.
Either of the three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.
The first two options can be done right at the Vélib station. There’s not a person there so you have to use the interface.
Payment:
You can use French bank card and it looks like most ATM cards will work as well. I tried using my navigo and it worked great! I also used my Bank Card and it worked also. You can also use your navigo card (your metro pass which you can obtain free from www.navigo.fr/ - you’ll need to upload a photo and provide a French address – use the address you will be staying at even if it’s a hotel; the navigo card will arrive in a few days so do this before you leave)
UPDATE: The Velib system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have smart chips! Good news for foreign visitors who don't have an EU smart card...
Language:
The interface says it’s in French, German, English but these languages don’t work yet (I guess they have not translated the interface so these buttons don’t do anything). So, you’ll need to read French but it’s not that hard and there are always people around willing to help. The RATP employees say there are plans to include other languages (up to 8) but right now there are only 3 (and only French is actually working right now!).
UPDATE: During the 2nd week the interface was updated and is now working in English, Spanish, and French.
Once you receive an abonnement card you will have to select a PIN (code secret) that will allow you to use your card in other stations.
Once you process a payment, you select the stall number, then go push the button on the stall corresponding to the bike you selected. Then you just go ride off into the sunset! Then return the bike at any other station.
Once you have the pass and bike you are charged based on how long you ride it – simple. If you check out a bike and ride it for less than an hour and a half it’s free! But if you ride it longer you have to pay - A supplement of 1 euro will be charged for an additional half-hour, 2 euros for another 30-minutes and 4 euros for every addition half-hour after that.
Don’t forget to push the button on the stall to get your bike! I don’t know how many people I’ve seen try to “swipe” the paper bike ticket on the navigo interface!
SECURITY
The bikes come with a cable lock. This is passed around a pole or other object then connects into the frame of the bike. There is a small key that will release once the cable lock is snapped into place. I've had a little bit of trouble at first then realized that after clicking one end of the cable in place, to unlock it, you must also push the cable connector in a bit further to get the key to release. It's not the thickest cable and so I prefer to keep the bike in sight when locked (if possible). Theft is not yet a serious problem for the program but it does happen. If you happen to lose the key, call the emergency number listed on the bike (01 30 79 79 30) and someone will come unlock the bike for you.
RETURN
To return the bike just put it into one of the stalls. Make sure the slot is engaged. It will "click" into the slot, the light will go "yellow" then to "green" about 5 seconds later when the RFID system recognizes your bike as being returned.
If there are problems you can call Vélib’s emergency number: 01 30 79 79 30. This number is also printed on the bike's handle-bar.
JCDecaux
JCDecaux sponsors the project in exchange for advertising rights in Paris. JCDecaux is Europe’s largest outdoor advertising company. Like a similar scheme in Lyon, where 10 percent of the city's population has a subscription to the local sharing scheme, Vélib is operated by outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux, which is footing the bill in exchange for exclusive rights to 1,628 Paris billboards.
UPDATE: I've been renting one 2 or 3 times a week and it seems to work well so far. Theft has not been a huge problem so far but it does happen. The bikes come with a lock but it is not a substantial one and is easily cut. When I stop to eat somewhere I lock it up but keep it in sight. Right now they program is regarded with some pride by parisians so it seems including the appropriate marketing and presentation has some benefits. For example, the program was marketed outside of normal medial channels (outside of France). The support infrastructure is also highly visible with specialized electric vehicles, boats, and even uniforms for the maintenance personnel. This makes sense though given that the company financing it is JCDecaux (Europe's largest outdoor advertising firm).
The UI terminals: These are two-sided. One side is the main UI for renting a bike, the other is a map and a smaller interface for obtaining the balance on your bike by entering the ticket number.
There have been glitches:
1. Terminal's are sometimes offline so no way to get a bike
2. There are bikes available but the terminal doesn't know this (RFID system goes down sometimes) so it sends you to an interface to find another Velib station.
3. Sometimes the terminals will be rebooted remotely and will be unavailable for about 5 minutes while it reboots.
The UI is based on windows VB script and runs on the Windows XP embedded OS. The BIOS is Phoenix 1.14. The hardware is a 1.3Ghz Pentium III with 500MB memory.
This photo was taken close to Canberra along the Sydney to Melbourne Hume highway. The landscape reminded me of the famous "Bliss" default wallpaper of Windows XP.
for the "BERLIN BLUES" Slide Show I used Microsoft Photo Story 3 for Windows - a free download; embedded music played by myself on an acoustic guitar; visit my BERLIN SET
+
This is a view from Rt. 360 East between Burgess and Reedville, Virginia. This photograph was taken using an Olympus OM-4Ti / 50mm f/1.8 / Fujifilm Provia 100F on 5 frames. The frames were stitched together using Photoshop CC. Color is actual color from the film and the slight vignette is from a Cokin A series Gradual ND (G1-2 stops). I also should have thought twice about using the polarizer but it still turned out pretty cool.
I was going for an image that evokes the Windows XP "Bliss" image.....I think I made something pretty close....
For 9 hours each week, this is my kingdom... as far as the eye can see (...unless you look out the window or one of the doors - but I don't recommend it)
This is the Loew-Brenn computer lab at Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana.
(As of the Fall 2006 semester, this computer lab has been closed due to insufficient use. There is a new mini-lab on the second floor that uses some of the computers that are shown in this picture.)
(April 2006 - This picture was used on the "Coming Soon" website page for a company called M2 Technology, based out of Colorado.)
(November 2006 - This picture is being used by a company called BigFix, Inc. on their website: stage.bigfix.com/thepower/)
(September 8, 2008 - This picture is being used on the main page of the www.desda.eu/voorbeelden/ website.)
Viagem ao interior do interior do Pará. Fui à fazenda com a família. Logo de manhãzinha um frio de rachar e eu lá na carroceria de uma F1000 com a câmera no pescoço. A manhã vai embora e o calor amazônico vem à tona, mas junto com ele esse gratificante céu azul incrível e essa plantação de arroz verdinha: tudo ao melhor estilo Windows XP no meio do mato.
A travel to the country of the Pará state. I went to the farm with my family. It was just morning, one terrible cold weather and me on the back of one F1000 with the camera on the neck. The morning goes and the amazonic heat show it's force, but with that it came that pleasant blue sky an that amazing green rice plantation: everything in the best style Windows XP in the country.
Fotografado na Fazenda Jaguaré, Pará, Amazônia, Brasil
Photographed in Jaguaré Farm, Pará, Amazon, Brazil
from a visit to the national botanical garden in washington, dc. sadly, if the monitor is to bright there's a bit of banding; otherwise it works well. i tend to keep my laptop screen dim which is where i used this particular photograph as a wallpaper.
hope you enjoy this series of desktop background wallpapers. these images are created for a 1.6:1 aspect ratio. the image resolution is 2560x1600, use a setting such as center or fit if you are using a different resolution.
Matthew lasted through a busy adoption event last Saturday. Also left up for adoption is Moe, Madeline and Mark from this litter of cute mutts.
I've succumbed to creating more square images in case I decide to share on Instragram after I plop this here on the Photostream. Do you have these same urges to bend to popular display formats?
Summer 2018 in Trentino Alto Adige!
Shot taken in Pietralba. Beautiful place with a beautiful Sanctuary.
Minimal install was about 800MB.
Climbed to 1.62MB because of:
CCleaner, Colibri, Gimp-2.0, Grisoft, Luxor 1 and 2, MAME, Firefox 3.0 beta 3, snes9x, uTorrent, VLC, WinRAR, and Y'z Dock.
No "office" apps because I prefer using Google Documents.
Installed VMWare Fusion and Windows XP today so that I could run Microsoft's Streets & Trips software. This software works with my Novatel U727 EVDO card which has a built in GPS receiver. I can now get turn by turn GPS route directions with audio directions. It also has construction updates too. I'm still getting used to the software will post some more updates once I find out all the good features.
What's really neat is being able to get a read out of the number of GPS satellites signals that the card is receiving. I was also able to update the firmware of the card. The firmware update is PC based.
Doesn't this look like the classic windows XP screen saver. Also can you believe that there is absolutely no post processing except for some sharpening and a little bump in saturation.
This picture was taken in Palouse, WA on the scenic byway. I have some hundreds of pictures like this. Every single frame was a picture in this scenic byway. I couldn't help but to stop my car every one minute and take a couple of pictures. It was hard to avoid passing by without a click and weather was perfect with some wonderful clouds as you can see above after a terrible, rainy and cloudy saturday, I went back sunday and took these shots.
View in Black - A must
Yes - this is a PC inside of a VIC-20 case, and yes, the keyboard works too!
Please take a look at www.retrocomputers.eu for more info about my retro computer collection.
This view instantly brings back a wave of early 2000s desktop nostalgia, but with a much more organic, grounded soul. It feels like finding a hidden, untouched version of that iconic wallpaper right in our own backyard. What classic tech memories or landscapes flash through your mind when you look at a sky like this?
It is easy to use an Upgrade edition of Windows XP on a MacBook with Boot Camp, contrary to reports. All you need is a USB-connected external CD-Rom drive in which to place your old version of Windows (I used Win 98SE). It recognized that the disc was in the external drive automatically, without me even having to press a key. CompUSA has the full edition of XP Pro listed at $299.99 right now. I bought the upgrade edition during an instant rebate deal for $99. This IO Magic External USB CD-Rom drive is available for under $40 (see pricegrabber.com). So my total cost: $140. My savings: $300-$140=$160 ! Woohoo!
my new desktop. she has one of the most amazing smiles. the whole happiness thing just ups the sexyness so much more.
HDRtist HDR - www.ohanaware.com/hdrtist/
MSI once again equips a general purpose GP series unit with powerful hardware for a relatively cheap price. A mid-range graphics card from Nvidia and a Core i5 dual-core CPU from Intel are installed. The MSI GP60 Gaming G Series is an awesome gaming laptop and the Maxwell graphics and Haswell processor is a good combination.
Met deze MSI GP60 2PE-440NL laptop springt elke game van je 15.6” 1080p beeldscherm! De GeForce GT 840M met 2GB GDDR5 geheugen behoort tot de betere videokaarten van dit moment. Samen met 8GB aan werkgeheugen en de i5 2.9 Ghz processor speel je games als Watch Dogs zonder lag op je laptop.
Pluspunten
+ Full HD scherm
+ Steelseries toetsenbord
+ Goede gaming performance
+ Lekker snel
+ Mooi design
The verdant green hill kissed the blue sky at Corner Brook, NL. This landscape reminded me the windows xp theme, couldn't resist to take the shot!
Omaha, Nebraska.
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my permission.
© All rights reserved.
The view at the coastguard cottages at Seaford Head; the beach of Cuckmere haven and the cliffs of Severn Sisters country park in the background.
for the traffic Slide Show I used Microsoft Photo Story 3 for Windows - a free download; embedded music played by myself on an acoustic guitar; visit my SET "Video Ranking"