"Cycling brings people to ecology through pleasure".
15 years ago. It's been 15 years since Hélène, her husband and three children went on vacation by bike. 5000 km later, they've come back with funny photos of themselves in helmets, pitching tents before sunset, picnicking in the middle of fields, playing soccer during breaks. And always recharged to the max. Laughter, crazy landscapes, difficulties that turn into encounters, absurd games and rare confidences.
Hello Hélène! So happy to meet you 🥰. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Hélène, I'm communications director for makesense, an association that helps people get moving on environmental issues. And I'm the mother of three children, whom I take with me on my cycling trips.
Where did you get the crazy idea of cycling with your three children?
Cycling has been an extension of my body for 30 years; it's my way of getting around. But the real trigger came after the birth of my second child. We used to go hiking with our daughter all the time, but she had become too heavy and it was a real hassle. We absolutely wanted to go roaming: I need to be in the fresh air and on the move.
One summer, when our children were 3 and 5, we were invited to two parties, a week apart, in Toulouse and Biarritz. We said to ourselves, "Let's do it by bike! We set off the day after the party, which was perfect 😆. We did 50 kilometers with a lot of elevation gain and a mega-heavy cart. We'd finish the climbs on foot and arrive at 21:00 completely stoned. But the ride through the rolling Gers was superb. We loved the freedom and the low-cost adventure. It was the start of 15 years of family cycling vacations.
"The bike trip was a cocoon for the whole family
".
Who said it rained all the time in Brittany?
Have you passed this on to your children?
My 21-year-old daughter is passionate about cycling, and ever since she started traveling on her own, she's been cycling too! These 15 years of cycling memories form the basis of our family story. What the kids loved was that we all slept in the same tent: they called it the family cuddle. These vacations were, and still are, a cocoon for all of us. All our photos are of us in helmets. We always have a thousand anecdotes to tell, like the time in Austria when a huge storm caught us while we were swimming, and we all took refuge in the tent. When we got out, the grocery store was closed, so we ended up eating our leftovers in the toilet 😅. But the kids were small, so we improvised a game of cards and had a really good time.
Is your love of bicycle travel linked to your commitment to ecology?
I'm not making any claims about it. But I do think it's a bit like organic food: it's a way of introducing people to ecology through pleasure. In the same way that good local produce shows that paying attention to one's impact can be non-punitive, bicycle travel shows that traveling less far, less fast, without having a negative effect on the environment, can do you a lot of good.
The latest addition to the family 😂
"You always have to look after your arrivals to please the children
".
How do you overcome fatigue and the problems you encounter?
I'm pretty resistant to difficulties, so much so that people often say, "You're cute with your solutions, but hey..." 😂. The only thing I'm afraid of is someone getting hurt, and that's never happened. If you break your chain, it's a pain, but someone will help you. We have a tacit agreement as a couple not to get angry or swear. Well, I admit, I always tend to find it funnier than my husband, because sometimes it's absurd and, above all, it usually leads to great encounters with the people who come to help you.
Breizh beauty
What do you recommend to all parents who want to start cycling?
To please your children and make bike travel a pleasure, you have to take care of your arrivals. That's why we've always preferred camping, where the kids quickly make friends. You need to take frequent breaks, and not set yourself too many kilometers a day. I have lots of photos of us in parks and fields. And then, I recommend varying the possibilities: towing your child in the follow me, putting him in the cart and, as soon as it's flat, letting him have fun on his own and feel like the king of the world. Oh, and also: always bring a deck of cards and a ball (and Pokémon cards, mine got me pretty drunk with the characters! 🥲). Finally, be patient and resilient during intermodality, it's still hyper-complicated... When we got back from Budapest, for example, we took 7 trains and in Munich, we outright had to camp out in the station with our bikes 😂.
What have all these trips taught you?
It's silly, but the world is beautiful. You see landscapes for the mentally ill. You become aware of the incredible humanity of the people you meet: every time, they've helped us solve our problems. And you let your children experience the simplest of things, which do them a world of good.
Handy for a snack, the cart
"In life, we need to be indignant and filled with wonder
".
What itinerary would you recommend for a first-time visitor?
Very simple, you go to Gare de Lyon, you get off at Fontainebleau, you go through the forest to reach the banks of the Loing and in two days, you've already had a taste of adventure. And the next time, you take the RER to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, sleep there, visit Chartres and the pretty Picassiette house the next day, wander around the Perche and then, if you feel like it, continue on to Mont-Saint-Michel. And as soon as you feel like doing it again, the Dolce Via, in Ardèche, is very easy with children and really magnificent.
Can this form of travel help combat eco-anxiety?
I believe that to function in life, you need to be indignant and filled with wonder. Travelling by bike allows you to shed superficial ornaments and clear your head by doing some sport.
Norway, Hélène's favorite country
What's your greatest cycling adventure?
Norway. We took a cruise ship to Bergen, and it was a pre-teen's paradise: unlimited soda and activities galore! On the Lofoten archipelago, the road is literally above the sea, turquoise water with snow-capped mountains in the distance and villages of small red houses. It's the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen. Then we put the bikes on the train and headed up to the Arctic Circle. It was crazy, because it wasn't dark at all, and temperatures ranged from 8 to 25 degrees! One day, it was raining, so we bought ourselves a great cottage and spent the afternoon reading in the bunkhouse. We were all so happy 🤗.
Norway, here I come.
Hélène's adventurous recap
🚴🏻♀️ The best part of the trip? The departure, when everything's ready... It smells like freedom!
📍Road maps or GPX tracks? Map, especially since I'm not the one who takes care of it, and it allows you to store your phone.
🏕 Any organizational tips for camping? Pack lots of little bags for everything: socks, T-shirts...
👶🏻 The ultimate tip for going away with children? Let them vary the pleasures between the cart, the follow-me, the seat and plan plenty of breaks.
😜 The craziest trip? Camargue - Vercors in a 21-person broom wagon 😮 ages 2 to 78.
📝 What you need to know before setting off? Plan your itinerary and accommodation as much as possible so you don't have a hard time when you arrive.
