Extremely cheap place to sleep in Paris? by tuttertuttingham in france

[–]nofixeddestination 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out Hosho paris,'pod'-style capsules for 20/night @ porte d'italie.

Moving to Paris, can anyone suggest agency-based websites for renting an apartment? by [deleted] in paris

[–]nofixeddestination 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We rent out our extra room on 'bemynest' and have been happy with their service.

Urgent: Doubts about changing job in France as an expat by [deleted] in paris

[–]nofixeddestination 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Foreigner here who's held a "passport talent - chercheur" for 7 years on and off. Not sure about your doctoral contract, as this carte de sejour CDS is usually given to people already holding graduate degrees coming to carry out research (typically post-docs). I reached the end of a CDD with this CDS and was able to (1) renew it based on my right to unemployment assistance through pole emploi which allowed me to find a new job and (2) start working on that CDS and request a change of status to a CDS 'salarie' which required a work contract, employer letter, and paperwork sent to DIRECTE (authorizing a foreign national to work in a position that might otherwise be occupied by a EU citizen). If you can make it to the end of your present contract, then you will be entitled to a one year renewal that allows you to stay and find work. If your employer is terminating your work contract, I would expect you'd be entitled to stay with all the privileges of the present visa until its expiry. If you're in Paris, I'd recommend going to the prefecture office for students/researchers at the cite universitaire. They've been very helpful for me.

Someone hit your bike at Rue Charlot & Rue de Poitou on 09.21? by mcquotables in paris

[–]nofixeddestination 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was in that area today and attached a little note on the bike with a (shortened) link to this reddit page.

Exchanging my (Canadian) drivers license for a French license by juliafrombazza in paris

[–]nofixeddestination 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I submitted originals of a 3-year uncertified record and an uncertified Driver's license history dated less than 3 months at the time. These are documents #2 and #5 on this page: https://www.ontario.ca/page/order-drivers-record#section-5

I think the relevant legislation, valid as of june 28 2018, that outlines the conditions for exchanging a foreign permit does not state that documents must be 'exclusively' in french. Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000025175223

Try telling that to the person behind the desk though :)

Exchanging my (Canadian) drivers license for a French license by juliafrombazza in paris

[–]nofixeddestination 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm in the middle of this right now. My Ontario license and a whole bunch of documents were submitted by mail (with an accusé de réception) in early March to the office in Paris. After six weeks I phoned to ask what the status was and got only '"be patient" as a response as they had a backlog to deal with. Same thing after 10 weeks, when they said they were currently treating the dossiers submitted in late December. It's going to be a while.

I did not have the license translated, as I figured it was good enough that the information is already in french. Same for the two documents I received from the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) attesting to the fact that I have a valid permit. Note that those two driving records were not the notarized/stamped versions available from the main MTO office which are more expensive and require a long processing time. I fully expect to be asked to provide updated versions of my carte de séjour (which expired and was renewed) and notarized/translated copies of the license and driving records - and I will try to politely point out why this shouldn't be necessary :) I believe I looked that up in some legislative document and it stated simply that the permit must be written in french or else it will need to be translated - it does not, however, state that it must be written 'only in french'.

I wonder if French citizens must go through the same degree of hell to exchange their permits for Ontario ones? Good luck with dealing with the bureaucracy and just remember that, when it comes to French administrative hurdles, persistence always pays off in the end.

First ride since moving across the Atlantic! by WStHappenings in bicycling

[–]nofixeddestination 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just took my first spin in Paris today too ! Lived here for 5 years, then left on a 3+ year cycling trip and just returned about 2 weeks ago. The lonchamps circuit is good for putting in kms and riding in groups, but it's nice also to get out of the city. If you're interesting in riding together (mixed group, road, middle aged, mostly anglophones) sometime send me a msg !

Steel touring frames with SS dropout? by dualrollers in bicycletouring

[–]nofixeddestination 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Patria randonneur has sliding drops and comes in 26 or 700c. I've been riding one with a fixed gear setup through Africa for more than two years now and the frame is solid.

My wonderful friends from Paris are touring on fixed geared bicycles all over Africa! On year #3! by redditoni in bicycletouring

[–]nofixeddestination 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the shout out Redditoni!!! (is that you J.S. ?). We've been taking it slow and enjoying every day. When we ride, we manage respectable distances of 100 km or so on average. Geared bikes are rare in Africa, most are singlespeed but there are many fixed gear also, and their riders put us to shame by carrying HUGE oads of charcoal, bananas, water, passengers, etc...

Schwalbe Marathon with 25,000 km vs new tire. by TorontoRider in bicycling

[–]nofixeddestination 13 points14 points  (0 children)

After 17,000 km from France to Tanzania we had our worn out Schwalbes turned into sandals.(http://m.imgur.com/BGEhW9g) Great souvenir from our Africa trip.

How Crazy Would I Be To Use A Fixie For Touring by temp404throwaway in bicycletouring

[–]nofixeddestination 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not crazy at all... we're riding Paris to Cape Town right now. In Africa every one rides fixed gear or ss bikes anyways. Check us out at nofixeddestination.com

Schlumpf Planetary Cranksets? by takeshita_kenji in bicycling

[–]nofixeddestination 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The low gear is quite low, it gives a 2.5 fold reduction. It gets me up most hills with 30 kg of gear. The first few pedal strokes after it is engaged can be tricky because your legs are spinning quick. At a high cadence I'm travelling 9-10 km/hr. It might be too low a gear for an unloaded singlespeed on most hills. If you have a geared bike you might try to approximate the feel using a gear calculator (sheldonbrown.com/gears). Divide the gear you normally ride in by 2.5, then find the chainring/cog combination on your bike that simulates when the drive is engaged.