• Cycling as a means of transport is still timid in rural areas, particularly because of the lack of facilities for cyclists.
  • While Rennes hosts the congress of the Federation of Bicycle Users on Thursday and Friday, the issue of mobility in rural areas will be widely discussed.
  • Across France, communities are trying to innovate to offer a credible alternative to the car to rural residents.

She has been riding her bike every morning for the past four years to work. A short journey of a few kilometers on the roads surrounding the village of Faouët, on the border of Morbihan and Finistère, which she makes with a smile. After falling ill, Florence decided to take out the bike that was lying around in her garage. A choice "for health" that quickly translated economically. "Given the price of gasoline, I quickly understood the interest." Florence's problem is that it does not benefit from any development on its route. Unlike large cities, which are multiplying facilities, rural areas have not made much progress. "I ride on the departmental road, I have no choice. At first, I felt unsafe when a truck or tractor overtook me. I've gotten used to it a little bit." The Breton admits that she regularly has fears and would dream that a secure development is realized. "Overall, people are cautious, but there are always a few fools."

Florence's testimony is far from an isolated case. Anyone who has tried cycling in the countryside knows that at any time, they can be brushed by a more or less heavy vehicle traveling at 80 km/h or 90 km/h. "The big problem with cycling in the countryside is speed, the difference is very important. That's why we need facilities on their own sites, isolated from traffic," says Michel Villain, president of the Libourne à vélo association. The Gironde department in which he pedals every day is nevertheless one of the French territories best endowed with a cycle path. "But it's often for tourists, not locals." He would dream that the bastide of Libourne is connected to the neighbor of Fronsac, located less than 3 kilometers away. "No one takes her on a bike because there is nothing set up to be safe. It's too dangerous."


The statistics are there to confirm this. In 2022, more than 60% of cyclists killed were circulating outside urban areas, often on departmental roads. The difference in speed is THE main factor in this mortality. This question of cycling in rural areas will be at the heart of the debates of the congress of the Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB) which opens this Thursday in Rennes. The theme: "The bike, essential in the after car". After the car? But go explain it to the inhabitants of the countryside, they will laugh in your face, explaining that they have no other solution.

"That's why we need to develop cycling in these territories. It is even urgent because this is where the bike is most relevant, that it is the most efficient, because there is no alternative. In the city, people have access to public transport, they have the reflex," says Olivier Schneider, president of the FUB.

His association has been asking the State for years to engage in the development of rural territories conducive to cycling. "What we are asking for is to be able to test solutions in sectors where we are working hard to see what works and what does not. The instructions for using cycling facilities for rural areas have yet to be invented." At its congress, the FUB will want to show that cycling can develop outside cities, provided it is given the means to do so. "We need safe routes on a separate lane. Otherwise, it's uncomfortable for everyone, including motorists who have to pull over before overtaking."

Problem: Investments are substantial

The great challenge of these developments is that they must be carried out in territories that are not always linked, not even by an intercommunality. This Thursday, the departmental council of Ille-et-Vilaine will proudly present its development project between La Mézière and La Chapelle-des-Fougeretz. Separated by a few kilometers, the two small towns will soon be linked by an express bike path. Investment amount: nearly seven million euros. "This is one of the obstacles to development, because it takes a lot of money," admits Bernard Leroy.


Good solution on roads with little traffic. The creation of contiguous tracks would not make sense (artificialization of soils, unavoidable budgets over hundreds of km). Another solution: lightly trafficked roads changed into greenways only authorized to local residents. https://t.co/4or4Ne6oDS

— Stéphane Lefebvre (@StepLefebvre) March 7, 2023

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The president of the agglomeration community of Seine Eure, near Rouen, has succeeded in voting the construction of a network of 80 kilometers of bike paths for the inhabitants of his territory. "But it will take us ten years and €2.5 million a year to get there." Her community has also hired a project manager who has been doing "just that" for a year and a half. "We contacted companies to find out where their employees live. We identified useful routes, we analyzed to see which ones were feasible, "continues the president. In this territory, 105,000 inhabitants live in 60 municipalities. Medium-sized towns such as Louviers or Val-de-Reuil, but also small towns, which are difficult to connect other than by car. "Our ambition is to connect municipalities to areas of economic activity, to offer an alternative to people who do not have one."

Bike loans to try

To convince residents to get on a bicycle, the community offered a hundred electric bikes for rent for employees. Seine Eure pays half of the amount of the subscription, the other half being paid by the employer "so that it costs nothing to the employee". "The brake at home, it was also physical because we often have to climb to the villages that are located on the plateaus. But with the electric bike, everything has changed. As soon as you test it, you realize that you don't force it." And this is a 72-year-old man who says it. It remains to offer beautiful facilities to test it safely.

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