Véloriser : A tour of France to discover the territories!

Juliette Hazard and Thaïs Sarrebourse d'Audeville, two students of the Master Regional and Urban Strategy (STU), are currently cycling around France as part of their gap year. Meeting with two adventurers.

What are your studies before joining the master’s program?

Juliette: I started at Sciences Po after the baccalaureate, at the College of Reims in the Euro-American program. I completed my third year abroad at the School of Planning at the University of Melbourne.

Thaïs: I also joined Sciences Po after the baccalaureate. I completed my College in Paris and spent my third year in Nashville, USA.

Why did you choose this Master?

Juliette: I later want to act locally on defined territories because I believe that it is on this scale that the impact on our lifestyles can be the most important, and that the inhabitants can get involved, feel concerned. I also like the intersection of several disciplines, including geography, economics, sociology and the environment, for example.

Thaïs: Ecological transition issues are very important to me and I hope that my future job will be linked to these issues. In my opinion, the organization and management of territories makes it possible to deal with many issues related to this theme: transport policy, energy renovation, soil artificialisation and biodiversity conservation, development of short circuits etc...

Why did you want to do a gap year?

We wanted to take the time to reflect on our professional future and multiply experiences. We wanted to confront the theoretical aspects of the master with the reality of the professional world and the field. That is why we decided to split our gap into two parts. We first completed a six-month internship: Juliette was in charge of «smart and resourcefull cities» at Suez and Thaïs in the consulting firm Neoclide. Then the second part of the gap year was dedicated to the Véloriser project, our 4-month bike tour of France.

How and when did you come up with the idea of the «Véloriser» project? What are its objectives?

We met in the master’s degree and discovered that we share values and interests: ecology, sport, nature, adventure, and of course urban and territorial issues. Building on the experiences of our first year (pre-school, master’s trip, sociological survey), we became aware of the importance of field experiences in understanding a territory. We wanted to have a better knowledge of France and better understand the diversity of the territories that make it up. The bicycle, by the distances it allows to travel, seemed to us to be the ideal means of transport. At the same time, it constantly exposes the cyclist to his environment, which makes it easy to start conversations, to arouse curiosity, to enjoy the landscape...

So we worked on organizing our trip for a year, between March 2020 and February 2021. We had to define the route and the stopover towns, identify the professionals to meet and prepare the necessary material.

How is your trip going?

All right. >Apart from the weather that has sometimes complicated our routes, it’s only positive. Cycling is a great way to get around. We can travel great distances while taking the time to see the landscapes unfold and evolve. It also makes it possible to «feel» the territories since we physically experience them (topography, climate, density, level of urbanity or rurality, type of economic, agricultural or industrial activity) and offers real flexibility depending on the meetings and opportunities.

As well, people are very welcoming. We’ve always been able to find accommodation and have been extremely well received. Our hosts were very kind to us and shared with us a part of their daily lives. Carrying out such a project has enabled us to become aware of our capacities, both physical and social.

Are your initial objectives achieved?

Yes, we believe we have achieved our objectives. We wanted to go on an adventure, not far from home, and meet people with different lifestyles. We were not disappointed on those two points.

In terms of the understanding of the territories, it’s a bit limited because we end up moving almost too fast in some territories. It would be necessary to anchor several days and crisscross in stars to have a finer understanding of these, but it would mean seeing much less! Nevertheless, our interviews with elected officials (mainly mayors) and members of PETR (Pole of Territorial and Rural Balance) are very enriching and allow us to address current issues in an applied way, such as the devitalization of town centres, the impacts of the reforms of the territorial organization with in particular the expansion of inter-municipalities or the patrimonialisation of the territory and the advantages and disadvantages it entails. It was clear to us that, depending on the history, heritage and geography of each territory, the same policies are not developed there.

In addition, the fact of sleeping at the inhabitant every night also allows us to apprehend these places by their eyes. Spontaneously people talk about the lack of shops, housing estates under construction, the renewal of the population or on the contrary the depopulation of their village, changes due to intercommunality etc...

Has the health crisis had an impact on the project?

Yes, because the uncertainty about health measures has led us to doubt the possibility of leaving several times. This has forced us to be flexible and adaptable. Overall, we were able to follow the desired route and carry out most of the interviews we had planned. Nevertheless, we are aware that we discovered the territories in a rather special way since the shops and cultural places were closed. We may not have seen the usual face of the territories. But the fact that the residents were much more at home and therefore more available allowed us to find more easily where to stay every night. You are now at the halfway point.

What is your first overview of this experience?

Professionally and academically, this experience is very rewarding and will be easily recoverable afterwards. This trip is also very formative from a personal point of view. Embarking on such an adventure has allowed us to confront the difference and thus forge our openness. We are really out of our comfort zone and it is without regret at this point! We look forward to continuing our journey, and returning to our second year with a more mature and concrete vision of the territories.

• Follow the adventure of Juliette and Thaïs on Instagram