Paris, Sunk Costs, and a Sea of Yellow Bianchi Bikes

As we wandered casually around the city, we kept bumping into large, organized groups of cyclists clad head-to-toe in matching yellow kit, all riding identical bright-yellow Bianchi bikes.

Eventually, we watched dozens of these groups assembling around the Arc de Triomphe.

At first, I assumed it was either an elaborate corporate marketing stunt or a group of enthusiastic fans re-enacting the traditional final stage of the Tour de France. But as more and more yellow jerseys flooded the roundabouts, it became clear this was far too large and organized for a random group ride.

A quick bit of research revealed the truth: we were witnessing the arrival of Team Rynkeby.

This is a massive, highly organized annual European charity ride where teams set off from various starting points across Europe—Nordic countries, Germany, Belgium, and beyond—and ride hundreds of miles to Paris.

It is a serious undertaking. You don't just pay a small registration fee, rock up on a vintage Raleigh Grifter, and hope for the best. Participants undergo a competitive selection process, commit to rigorous group training miles for months beforehand, and pay several thousand Euros to cover their official team kit, support infrastructure, and specialized Bianchi team bike.

Watching these long chains of exhausted, sunbaked riders leisurely cruising around the Arc de Triomphe after riding across Europe in scorching heat was incredible—and a far better sight than anything I had planned to see.

Photography Notes
Location: Arc de Triomphe & Champs-Élysées, Paris, France.
Subject: High-Contrast Street Cycling & Bright Primary Colors.
Capturing Fast-Moving Yellow Colors in Bright Sun: Yellow jerseys under harsh mid-day Parisian sunlight can easily clip on your camera's yellow/red color channels, turning detailed fabric into flat, neon blobs.
Check the RGB Histogram: Don't just rely on the general brightness histogram. Check the Red and Green channels independently to ensure the vibrant yellow paint on the Bianchi frames and jerseys retains highlight detail.
Freeze the Action: Use a shutter speed of at least 1/1000s if framing riders sweeping around the cobblestone roundabouts, or drop down to 1/30s to attempt a motion-blur pan shot against iconic Parisian architecture.

We took a short weekend break to Paris recently, blessed with glorious, baking summer weather.

The original catalyst for the trip was simple: we had a couple of spare flight bookings that we couldn't get refunded. Naturally, I fell victim to classic sunk cost fallacy. What do you do when you have two extra flight segments sitting idle?

Simple: you reschedule the flights, purchase brand-new return legs, book two nights of hotel accommodation, pay for meals out, and shell out for taxis—all to avoid "wasting" the original ticket. Perfect financial logic! Oh, hang on... I’m now down at least a few hundred quid extra. But hey, at least we were in Paris.