Vincent Drye, co-founder of La Mad Jacques: Mild mobility spiced up with a touch of madness.

To all those who think bicycle travel is a bore. That La Creuse is an old-fashioned province. That organized trips are the embodiment of anguish. So go and meet the "Jacquottes" and "Jacquots". No, they're not fans of the late Chirac, but of the Mad Jacques, a hitchhiking adventure that combines trekking, cycling, kayaking and village sausages. To better understand this wacky concept, I met the man who co-created it six years ago, Vincent Drye.

Hi Vincent! So, what is the Mad Jacques?

They're adventure races across France, during which a story is told around a territory, bringing together between 300 and 3,000 people depending on the format. The principle is always the same: reach a village lost in the middle of nowhere in two days, by bike, trek, canoe or hitchhiking. Participants cover between 50 and 100 km a day.

**But then, it's only for those who love cycling shorts **.

On the contrary, it's accessible to everyone. Many start bikepacking with the Mad Jacques. We always have two trails: the "classic", for bikepackers who want to get their feet wet, and the "big calf", for experienced Jacquos who want to be guided.

"We want to convert as many people as possible to gentle cycling

".

What is the aim of the Mad Jacques?

We want people to travel less far, but better. We want to convert as many people as possible to gentle travel. And we want to put adventure back into the daily lives of young urbanites. To do this, we're trying to recreate an imaginary world around adventure and forgotten territories. So every Mad Jacques ends with a two-day festival co-organized by the village. There are concerts, workshops on cycling and discovery of the region.

What distinguishes cycling adventures from other adventures?

Cycling gives you a tremendous sense of freedom. There's also the pride of getting around using your own energy. Above all, I like the friendly side of cycling, which is really conducive to conversation.

"You have to earn it to discover a place

Where does this desire to turn your professional life into a collective adventure quest come from?

In 2016, I was just becoming aware of our impact on the environment. I was driven by one observation: discovering a place has to be earned. When there's an effort involved, it gives taste and meaning. But you don't have to go to Petaouchnok for that. France has an immense wealth of geography and tradition, and it can be a thousand times more exotic to go to Creuse, Morvan or Picardy than a weekend in Prague.

Do you think things have changed since 2016 when it comes to soft mobility?

People want to spend more time on their leisure activities and be outdoors more often. The spread of telecommuting has left more room for short vacations of a few days, especially for 25/35 year olds, when parents prefer camping on the farm and roaming. That said, there's still real work to be done to deconstruct the link between distance and exoticism, and to put the right orders of magnitude on these subjects. For example, a study by Lobsoco and Greenpeace showed that while 70% of 25/35 year-olds think it's urgent to do something about the climate, the carbon footprint is the last criterion cited when choosing a mode of transport for a trip. Similarly, 60% of people still don't make the connection between the distance of their air travel and the volume of carbon emissions.

"It's 100 times more stylish to go to Creuse

than Bali".

What's your role on this subject?

We don't want to moralize. Our job is above all to build a new imagination to change people's attitudes to travel. In concrete terms, we're doing media work. We convey this message via our networks, our newsletter and our program of events. Little by little, we'll end up convincing more people that it's 100 times more stylish to go to Creuse than to Bali.

** And why is it more stylish, anyway?

When you go to Creuse in winter, you'll discover that it's the season for parties organized by the festivities committees: traditional balls, mussels and French fries, dances, soccer clubs... There's a crazy range of outings on offer, so much so that they're sold out weeks in advance!

What's a successful adventure?

It's the unknown. As organizers, it's our job to bring out the unexpected. That's what real travel is all about.

And what about you? How do you manage, with your two toddlers, to create the unexpected?

I do a lot of roaming, with my family and friends, and that's really where I recharge my batteries. Obviously, I plan a bit more, but one of the keys to finding the unknown that I love so much is to bivouac. When I set off by bike, I love being autonomous, with my stove and my tent. I can change everything according to how I feel at the time, even if it means revising the itinerary at the last minute.

🥗 The thing you want to eat after 100 kilometers by bike: A welsch

⛺️ Tip for a successful bivouac: A cold beer. A fire if it's allowed. And don't leave anything lying around (if fire, bury the ashes of the fireplace)!

📚 The unavowable tool when going on an adventure: Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace".

💡 A tip for those days when you're in one galley after another? Ask for hospitality and ... get arrêter✋🏻🛑.