Velo!

I GOT ONE!

After a fair amount of fussing with flat tires and cranky bike shop owners, she's in action! And fast as ever! I picked it up last Friday used for 80 euros, more money than I was comfortable handing over all at once, but WELL WORTH IT. Take yesterday evening for instance: I was winding down from a stressful morning and a stressful assignment I had just submitted, had a few hours to kill, so I went and played in traffic for an hour or two. I'm surprised by how comfortable I feel navigating the busiest intersections in the middle of rush hour, though I suppose you could say I've been working towards this moment for some time. So far I've tackled La Place de l'Opera and La Place de la Madeleine, and have passed through Place de la Concorde ever so briefly. My greatest triumph will be Place de Charles de Gaulle, or l'Arc de Triomphe, but I'm not ready yet. 

Don't worry, Mom, yesterday I picked up a mountable light for riding at night, as well as one of those funny reflective ankle bands to keep your pant leg out of the gears. Also, I wrapped the handlebars, which were bare steel before and quite uncomfortable in cold weather. Hopefully my friend Cody will get his own velo soon, and then I'll have a riding partner. Until then, no one is fast enough to catch me. Better not speak too soon, I'll surely be proved wrong.