The Flea Market, take 2 and 3

Bringing my friend Tom to the market at Porte Montreuil on Friday in search of a bike and just general browsing was not as fruit full as I had hoped but it was still enjoyable.

tom trying to run away

For those of you that haven’t read my section on buying a bike, this is where I bought my orange bike. The thing to understand about the flea market is that there are many stalls where they sell the bikes. The best one has a random selection of about 12 bikes in no particular category or style and will be completely different from one week to the other.

The bikes at this stall do work however and the guy who runs the stall will adjust it for your height ect. There are other bikes available at the market but they tend to be few and far between, and ranging from brand new to scrap metal.

How ever how could you not enjoy a trip to a place where things like this chair are available for purchase.

Completely contrasting the somewhat down and dirty style of the flea market is the sterile racks of identical bikes located at the nearby decathlon. Seriously last time I saw a lighting grid this square was when I went to see Tron Legacy in the cinema.

Before I go any further I must correct my previous quote of saying that the trip was not fruit full. The trip to decathlon led me to discover this. An advertisement of sheer brilliance.

The trip to decathlon was unsuccessful though in respect to actually buying a bicycle. The few bikes that were in the category that Tom was looking for were far too expensive, being in the €300 – €400 category.
Verdict: Thinking about it

We left the market at the same time and decided to have a race. The finishing point was Cafe Oz and the objective was to see if cycling was faster than the metro on longer distances.
Result: I arrived 6 minutes before Tom to cafe oz, and en route saw a protest at Bastille, and a festival thing on Rue de Rivioli. Tom saw nothing.

Saturday however saw me return to the flea market with another friend Katie. With no particular agenda apart from having a general look around, we ended up leaving with a bike for her and a double duvet for me. Katie picked up a vintage Dilecta Le Blanc from the 40s/50s for €60 euro. The bike is in pretty amazing shape considering its age and has its original front light which is still in working condition, an awesome leather saddle and 3 working gears.

Verdict: success

After a quick trip to the ATM and a hardware stall to pick up a lock, we were rock and rolling literally.

Also if anyone was wondering how I managed to get my double duvet home, 2 bungee cords and this picture should explain everything.

After a quick spin by my apartment to drop off the duvet the city was ours for the taking.