Chartres Shows Clever Ways to Avoid Driving a Car

I've found a slice of time to share some first day thoughts on Chartres, home of the world famous cathedral as well as a neat little compact town of about 42,000. They have built a lot of underground parking, here, you walk back from the 12th century cathedral and see many stairs going down, and lots of open paved spaces with fountains and long flowing water channels.

I was told that putting all of those cars down there has opened up the center of the city. It's a nice contrast between the two towers of the cathedral and these plazas. We walked past a store that sold electric bicycles...from what Kentski told me it's a nice way to ride, it gives you a little boost so that you still pedal but not has hard as without the electric assist.

In Paris this morning, all over the city were the Velibes, the free bikes that are available to anyone and look funny and non-personal, with their molded plastic handlebars and simple design . They are all women's models with long fenders and a red light on the back. I saw many a businessman and businesswomen dressed for work cruising by on these tan and seemingly ubiquitous rides. Then I passed a long rack of them where you return them after use.

There are also little electric vans called "Navettes" here in Chartres, vehicles that take tourists up to the cathedral and other sites, so they can leave their cars behind. More and more I'm seeing great ideas and ways to avoid using cars. From the fantastic double-decker trains that whisked me from Paris in comfort, to the many bikes and bike paths, France like so much of Europe is thinking ahead.

Another exciting bike-related project is in the works, called "La Loire a Velo," It's an 600 kilometer bike path that follows the Loire river all the way from St-Nazaire to Sancerre. Soon it will be 800 km, and planners envision this being a part of a bike path that will stretch all the way across Europe to Budapest.