Tips for getting by in France?

[Plug1n]

A new role at work is going to have me spending the working week near St Germain-en-Laye  on the west side of Paris.

I'll probably start out in a hotel and weekends back to Herts, but may look for something more self service longer term.

A couple of things that I'd appreciate tips on:

1. Riding - is it as simple as getting my Ritchey Breakaway out of its bag and then keeping right?  Head west through the Forêt de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and keep to the smaller roads?

2. Mobile phone - any good PAYG options for data?  Three "Feel at Home" looks good but apparently they cut it off after 2 months, even spread over different trips within a year.

2b. Anything else that matters? (OK, I lied about "a couple of things...")

[The French Tandem]

1. Riding : you should wear a hi viz gilet or jacket at night and when it's raining. Be extremely cautious with "priorité à droite" : when you are at a junction with no sign/traffic light, you should give way to any vehicle coming from your right.

2. Mobile phone : you can get a decent mobile phone service from any company for 10€ per month. The only problem  is that you need a valid home address before you  can get a french sim card.

2b. Enjoy! St- Germain is a great place for cycling.

[T42]

Yeah, hi viz is obligatory outside town limits when visibility is poor.  Thing is, the police aren't all that aware of the "outside town" bit and have been known to hand out tickets inside town limits as well.

Also beware of chicanes with cycle "lanes" through them: most of them are so constructed as to make drivers think they can overtake a cyclist with no danger of hitting him, whereas this is not the case.

[Redjeep!]

I'm jealous. There's some lovely cycling around the west of Paris.

I did a solo London to Paris last summer using the famous & wonderful Donald Hirsch route, which brings you in through the forests to the west of the city.

http://www.donaldhirsch.com/dieppeparis.pdf

In general, I found the French drivers(fairly) considerate of cyclists. Probably more so than they are of other drivers, or UK drivers are to cyclists.

The paths through the forests are wide, flat and easy to navigate (my Garmin 520 took me through without a hick-up). They're also pretty extensive and so you could spend hours building confidence and staying off the main roads. I also remember that there were cycle lanes just about everywhere.

BTW, I didn't know about the high viz, and didn't wear any, but didn't do any night riding.

Enjoy !

[Plug1n]

So I've landed in 78100.

Didn't have a bike for the first 2 or 3 weeks but lugged the Break-Away through Eurostar last week (literally - how heavy can a steel road bike and a few clothes be?).

Anyway, stayed in France for the weekend and went for a couple of rides. As everyone said, no problems with the French roads, etc. 

Knowing where to go is a bit of a lottery but have found some ideas from Internet gpx files.

The problem I'm having is using OpenFietsMap in a Garmin 810 to get a route to the start of the track I've downloaded and then at the end of the ride home again.

OFM seems to think that most junctions are roundabouts when they aren't, so is proclaiming turn right because that's what you do at a French roundabout - even if the it's a straight turn left.  Also got routed clockwise on one roundabout (but did spot that one!).  Had a lovely time following the one-way system in Poissy.  Also had some epic fails trying to route from Versailles to St Germain en Laye, re-routing when off course doesn't seem to be working. 

Any suggestions for a better mapping solution?  I'd be happy to pay for the Garmin maps or even IGN (the French O/S equivalent, I read).

Otherwise, it's lovely territory when you keep away from the bigger towns and the N roads:)

[Samuel D]

Go southwest and you’re into the Vallée de Chevreuse, where about half of Paris cycles at the weekends. No reason you can’t ride there during the week. Some good climbs.

Go in the direction of Paris and you’ll hit the Hippodrome de Longchamp in the Bois de Boulogne, around which about half of Paris cycles during the week (Tuesday and Thursday evenings seem to be quickest if you want a challenge – last Tuesday the pack dragged me up the hill at 48 km/h on one lap, I kid you not. There was a tailwind.)

Longchamp is a bit of an institution for keen cyclists in the Paris region. You should experience it even if you’re not a faux racer type.

[Gattopardo]

I'm near you...If you want to leave stuff i'm in 78310.

[arabella]

Old school: I was pointed at IGN maps about 25 years ago.  There's some voie verte circuit of la région Parisienne you can do, but I can't remember what it's called (possible something like ceniture or boucle).  Apparently it's popular to do it in chunks.
I just did whatever I'd have done anyway, just on the right.