29.10.12 A bike ride around Parc de La Tete d'Or

Monday 29th October 2012. It's the All Saints holidays and the majority of people I know have gone back to the United Kingdom for the week. I was crazy and didn't fancy going back home to London a few weeks ago when everybody was buying their tickets, then when the holidays finally approached, it was too late- the prices for the flights were too expensive. Some were even two hundred euros! I had already booked my flights for Christmas and I paid less than one hundred euros, therefore after examining my other options (like going via train or coach), it was eventually obvious that I would be staying at mine in Lyon by myself.

For a while I thought that it would be a good idea to travel solo for a little bit, maybe go to Barcelona or Florence by coach, but it was too late, too expensive and I finally decided that I wouldn't be travelling. I also wanted to save money because I'd like to buy my fifth camera (in two years). And yes, it's necessary for many reasons!

If the weather was nice, I had plans to rent a bike for the day and go ride around Parc de la Tête d'Or for the first few days of the holidays. However, it wasn't very nice at all. In fact, it was windy, it rained a few times and it even snowed too! Suddenly, despite the fact that it was nice on the Thursday, I had to turn on the radiator and wrap up warm in cosy clothes because I don't like the cold very much- only if I go skiing, but it's rare.

I spent the first few days of the holidays being a model student locked up in my bedroom doing homework. On Monday the bad weather weather had finally stopped; the clouds had gone and the sky was clear and blue, but it was still quite cold. I decided to go to Parc de la Tête d'Or because I hadn't seen most of the park yet, just the zoo. I arrived at the park doors and found that as it was midday, most of the bikes that you can rent from there had already been taken.

I was really happy that there wasn't a queue of people waiting behind me when I was using the machine because I found the system pretty complicated and difficult to understand at first, but eventually I opened an account and was nearly free to rent a bike. I had to do one more thing and then I was given the choice of two bikes, and I took the second one. The next challenge was lowering the seat which, due to the weight of the bike and the necessary force needed, was quite difficult.

At the start, I was a bit nervous because it had been a long time since I last rode a bike. I don't like roads or traffic, so I had a lot of problems when I was learning to drive, but that's a story for another day. After five minutes, I felt more confident, as if I'd never given up cycling.

I loved the fresh air that blew in my face, the heat from the sun, and the cold from the shade. I really liked seeing the whole park- it's a decent size! There weren't many people so I didn't have to worry about getting in anybody's way. The last thing I wanted was an accident!

The most annoying thing was the fact that bikes were prohibited down a lot of the small paths, like the paths next to the lake, which seemed really nice. I wanted to take more photos but I was careful not to leave the bike alone for a long time because I didn't want to lose one hundred and fifty euros. I really want to go back again on foot. I really like the photos that I took.

I think that the park is a place worth visiting; you can visit the gardens or the zoo, play games and even have a picnic if the weather's good. I know that I talk about the weather a lot, but I am British!

After an hour or two, I decided to return the bike where I got it from and this time there were a lot of people. One person was a French man who was quite angry with the system. So I offered to help him because nobody else was ready to help... I found out why. He was verbally abusive to everyone. Finally, all his problems were resolved and he took the bike I'd return a few minutes before.

I was happy that I had helped somebody and I made my way towards the direction of the metro station. I was half-way between the park and the metro when I realised that I'd forgotten my favourite fake fur gloves in the bike basket. My happiness disappeared and I was left feeling annoyed with myself.

Instead of going straight to the metro, I went to the Part Dieu shopping centre where I tried to find a replacement for my gloves but I couldn't find any like the ones I had and loved. However, I spent an hour and thirty euros in the art shop buying stuff to make Christmas cards with. At this point in time, I've made one small card which isn't very good but I have almost two months left and five days free a week, so I think I have enough time to practise.

---

Photo gallery