OK, Cyclo-Pouce is our "go-to" place to rent bikes in Paris. No, it is not out of the way at all,…read morebecause one of the nicest rides in the City is along the quay, and it's all downhill from the metro anyway. The cats in here are very copacetic and the rates are cheaper than elsewhere, a good selection of bikes and gear. They donate their profits to help poor kids get into biking. We rent for a week at a time and then forget about the metro and the busses, there is close to 400 km of dedicted bike lanes in Paris. And just toss your bike on a train and head out to the Loire or elsewhere. BUT REMEMBER to look at your dropouts. I didn't, and although I had a patch kit and a pump, I had left my wrenches back in Paris. If the drop outs don't have quick release, ask the guys at Cyclo Pouce to lend you a 15mm spanner. I had to beg one off of different farmers and merchants in Amboise and elsewhere because I was too cheap to go to a hardware store and buy one. But I did expand my French vocabulary to learn the word to tool (Util) and wrench (Cley) and almost the word for 15 (diex plus sanc) or just flap my hands around and speak Spanish with an Italian accent. More often than not the French folks would reply "Pardon me, monsieur, but perhaps do you speak English?"
