I love Paris in the spring time
I love Paris in the fall
I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles
I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles

I love Paris every moment
Every moment of the year
I love Paris, why oh why do I love Paris
Because my Vélib is here

Okay, so Cole Porter is probably spinning in his grave right now, and I'd have to admit that a recent trip to Paris had more to recommend it than some snatched cycling, but seeing Parisians embracing cycling with the help of a well-used municipal bicycle hire scheme is enough to send any city cyclist's heart soaring.

But let's get back to the beginning, emerging from the RER station after using the train to get from the airport, into the middle of a pleasant March day in the French capital. And straight away I was thrown into a world so different from my own, with every piece of railing surrounding those steps to the subterranean station providing a home to a bicycle.

Walking down the street to the hotel and that scene was replicated continually on any railing, and against numerous lamposts. It was like I'd entered the twilight zone. A feeling which was confirmed watching the cyclists who were on the move.