By bike, on foot, by kayak... It doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you're out in nature and having a blast. That's the thrill Hélène Fauveau wanted to share when she started Paulette, her bike rental agency, in Toulouse in 2019. This lover of France is determined to make it a new sustainable tourism trend, in every sense of the word. We met Hélène a few weeks before the opening of her fifth agency in Lyon. And the least we can say is that her passion for micro-adventures is contagious.

Hello Hélène! To start this interview, we'd like to know a little more about you and your passion for cycling, which is kind of the star of this newsletter. Where does your love of cycling come from?

"It was my love of outdoor sports in general that drew me to cycling. Ever since I was little, I've loved the great outdoors and nature, combined with sport. As a child, I moved almost every two years. My father was restless, always looking for something new in his job. So I changed friends often, but I had one anchor: a chalet in the Pyrenees. That place really grounded me. Even today, I still need that total disconnect. I stop thinking about everyday life, I take a step back, I push my limits... and I love it (laughs)!

How was Paulette created?

Maybe it's in my DNA, but... I always need to be on the move, both in my professional and personal life, whether it's intellectual or physical energy. At the beginning of my career, I worked in Paris for several years in digital marketing, first on a permanent contract, then as a freelancer. I felt a lack of physical movement and the idea of starting a business appealed to me.

In 2018, I cycled along the Canal du Midi, a wild and bucolic ride on bumpy roads from Toulouse to Sète, with friends I had converted to micro-adventures. We were all equipped, except for one friend who wanted to rent a bike. And wow! We had to request quotes, send emails three weeks in advance, and the prices were outrageous—150 euros for three days, I think. It was an obstacle course, when you can book a hotel in Bali in just three clicks.

This bike trip was incredible. I fell in love with cycling and it made me want to share this passion with even more people, even though, technically, I knew nothing about it.

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How did you finally get over it?

When I got home, I discussed this emerging project with my father, who is a franchise car rental operator.

He encouraged me: "This is a project for you. I can help you, if you want." We gave ourselves two months to draw up our business plan and validate the project. And on April 20, 2019, we opened our first agency in Toulouse, using my father's car rental agencies as relays for bike departures and arrivals from Narbonne, Béziers, and Sète. In the following years, we opened other agencies to expand our network and allow our customers to explore many other routes in France: Toulouse, Nantes, Bordeaux, Paris, and in a few weeks... Lyon. In 2022, more than 9,000 Paulette bikes have been rented for day-long cycling adventures or longer stays!

"When traveling by bike, there's this terribly exciting element of the unexpected."

Where does your desire to create microadventures come from?

It's the experience of freedom. When you spend four hours a day on a bike, you have a completely different relationship with time and movement. And there's that element of the unexpected, which is incredibly exciting. We know we're going to struggle, that we're going to have to find our way in the fog, and that's exactly what we're looking for.

Above all, I really wanted to showcase France's regional diversity, which I absolutely love, with its varied landscapes and towns, including those that are often overlooked, such as Toulouse, probably because it has poor train connections, but also Narbonne and Béziers. When you wander around the villages in these areas, you discover beautiful villages and incredible people. It was important for me to help people discover these hidden treasures.

What do you think cycling enthusiasts are looking for?

Pushing yourself, getting out into nature, doing some sports, sharing, and above all, having a different experience.

Can you share one of your fondest memories with Paulette?

In the summer of 2020, two young people came to rent a tandem bike. They wanted to surprise their grandfather, a cycling enthusiast who had lost his sight, for his 80th birthday. They wanted to get him back in the saddle and have him cycle for just one day, to remind him of sensations he had lost. I found that really touching.

"We are still in the early stages of cycle tourism."

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What is needed to boost cycling tourism in France?

There is a lot of talk about bicycles, but everything is often lumped together: city bikes and the famous "bike-to-work" phenomenon are something else entirely. This sector is extremely dynamic and involves a lot of infrastructure and many different players. We are still in the early stages of cycle tourism. I think we will soon see a rebound effect from the explosion of cycle commuting on tourism, as cycling is becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives, including our vacations, thanks in particular to the growing desire for "slow travel" and micro-adventures. I also believe and hope that French people increasingly want to spend their money in France. But the main obstacle to the development of cycle tourism today is the ability of all travel stakeholders to work together: hoteliers, restaurants, train stations, etc. Our customers are not looking to "rent a bike, " they are looking to "have an experience," and that includes everyone. Our sector still needs to be structured and modernized to streamline logistics. Things are moving forward, and I think the Accueil Vélo label is helping a lot to professionalize this network. We can sense that cycle tourism is becoming a real economic issue.

"More and more of us are seeking above all to share experiences and escape."

Who inspires you on a daily basis?

People who decide not to follow a well-trodden path in order to create their own way.

This is the case, for example, with "travelers" and "explorers" such as Alexandra David-Néel, Sylvain Tesson , and Mathieu Tordeur. I greatly admire their ability to find the means to make adventure and exploration a profession in their own right.

To cite another example, I have great admiration for Clarisse Crémer, who left her job as a consultant to try her luck on the professional sailing circuit: quite a leap!

Should we rethink our relationship with travel?

Yes, the definition of "travel" has long been associated with visiting a distant location. Today, I feel that more and more of us are looking above all to experience something, to meet people, to be a little shaken up by an escape from our daily lives. You can be blown away by the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, but you can also experience the same thing while enjoying a seafood platter, a drink in your hand, after a 100 km day, listening to the stories and anecdotes of a former sailor.

Can cycle tourism help change this view of travel?

Yes, it's one way to achieve that goal of "wonder." And I sincerely hope that our daily work in this sector will inspire more and more people to take this type of vacation.