Paris launches eco-friendly bike service

If you go

PRACTICAL INFORMATION: Check www.velib.paris.fr/ to see a list of bike stations. (The Web site is expected to offer English translations by mid-July.)

NO KIDS: Riders need to be 14 or up, and 5 feet tall. For now, there are no baby seats available.

HELMETS: The program doesn't offer helmets. Bring one from home, or pick one up at a bike shop. Try sporting shop Decathlon, 17 boulevard de la Madeleine, 011-33-1-5535-9755, or Les Velos parisiens, 3,4 and 5 rue de l'Abbe Gregoire, 011-33-1-4544-7297.

SAFETY TIPS: One confusing aspect of riding or driving in France is who gets priority at intersections. If you're cruising along a street and there's no indication to the contrary, you have to yield to drivers who are coming from streets on your right. Be sure to keep an eye out — cars tend to leap out of nowhere.

On many big boulevards, bikes are authorized to ride in the bus lanes. But buses tend to whiz by just inches away from you. If you try it, be very careful.

STOLEN BIKES: If the bike is stolen, you have to call 011-33-1-3079-7930 to let Velib' know within 24 hours, then file a police report. In that case, $48 is deducted from your card, not the full $205.

ROUTES TO TRY: Every Sunday the quays of the Seine from the Bastille to the Eiffel Tower are open to walkers, inline-skaters and bikers, and closed to cars. On Friday nights at 10 p.m., a parade of bikes departs from Avenue Victoria for a ride around the city. For more information (in French) on that ride, try www.parisrandovelo.com.

RENTING A BIKE: If you're planning a longer ride, Velib' will be expensive. Try Paris Velo-Rent a Bike, at 2 rue du Fer a Moulin, 011-33-1-4337-5922.