©Damien Bettinelli - @damienbtnli
Hello Mathias, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your career path?
**Mathias Riquier **: Nice to meet you, and thanks for the invitation! There have been a few zigzags in my career: in fact, I've only been working in the outdoor world for 5 years. But I've always more or less tried to turn my passion into my job, so I spent the first few years of my professional life as a culture and music journalist, for the magazine *Tsugi* or for the show Tracks on Arte for example. I've also done a few things I hadn't planned to do, like a stint on the TV show C à Vous, or a stint as a bike courier!
Now I'm based at Nantes, I'm originally from Bretagne - a region that means a lot to me - and I spend as much time on a bike as I do at music festivals or playing video games, becauseyou can like to sleep outside and be a bit of a geek at the same time!
" Les Others is one of the only outdoor media to develop a cultural sensibility"
Can you introduce us to Les Others?
Mathias: It's a truly unique medium, which I was a big fan of before I had the chance to settle down. It's one of the only media outlets that looks at "outdoor" subjects like climbing, cycling, hiking or mountaineering, with a step to the side and a "cultural" sensibility . Les Others is a medium made for marvelling at and questioning the world around us, very much inspired by literature, cinema and design. We develop a magazine that comes out every 6 months, with a strong thematic each time. Our latest volume, volume 18, is called "Par amour".
Our podcast Les Baladeurs is also a big success, approaching 80 episodes and really finding its audience! We're also very active on social networks, we publish a digest of outdoor culture in a newsletter... And we've even created a little brother, the media Recto verso, which is 100% practical, with tips, tutorials, adventures with lots of concrete details, etc... In short, we're not idle!
What was your first contact with cycling?
Mathias: Unlike a lot of people, I wasn't brought up on a bike. I even learned to ride a bike quite late, at around the age of 9, because I wasn't really interested in it as a child. I always had a good excuse for putting off learning, because I found it too restrictive. Then, one day, I decided to give it a try, because I could see that it could be a way of gaining independence.
My first real moments of pleasure on a bike came with BMX, around the age of 16-17. It was a world **totally different **from classic cycling, closer to a sliding sport. I was very attracted by the community aspect and the adrenalin it provided. I spent a lot of time riding BMX, until a dislocated shoulder and a spell in hospital put the brakes on my enthusiasm! But these experiences definitely marked my debut in the world of cycling.
How do you go from BMX to traveling by bike and a job entirely focused on the outdoors?
Mathias: It was in 2013. I was riding around Paris with my girlfriend at the time, near the Bassin de la Villette, when we came across some green signs pointing to London, 624 km away. They had been put up after the London Olympics, to promote the Paris-London cycle route. We said to ourselves "hey, it would be more stimulating and enjoyable to travel by bike than by plane!"
So we bought bikes and set off, even though we weren't really experienced. Finally, a week before departure, the weather forecast predicted awful weather for our initial trip. So we changed our plans and opted for a route between Bordeaux and Sète, of similar distance but with much milder weather. This last-minute change showed us just how flexible and fun bicycle travel can be . It was the beginning of a real passion for cycling adventures. When I got home, I started cycling to work every day. I don't think there's been a day since that I haven't cycled in my daily life...
" Thanks to cycling, I have that feeling of improvisation and flexibility that I look for on vacation."
© Sophie Gateau @sofigato
What do you look for in cycling?
Mathias: I like cycling for the freedom it gives me. I don't like to plan my vacations too much in advance, and this instrument allows me to change my plans at the last minute. It's a sense of escape, of improvisation and flexibility that I really enjoy. Sometimes you think you're going to sleep there, and then, at the last minute, you feel like changing, because another place catches your eye. With a bike, you don't feel trapped in a schedule, the thing that worries me the most! What's more, it's a means of transport that lets you meet people you'd never have met in real life. It's very enriching.
Can you tell us about your most outstanding memory?
Mathias: Ah, that's a difficult question! But I think it was my first ultra-distance race in 2018-2019, the "Born to Ride". This event involved me pedaling 1,200 kilometers, from Paimpol in Brittany to San Sebastian in Spain, with checkpoints at various lighthouses along the way. It was an enormous challenge, requiring us to cover between 250 and 300 kilometers a day for four and a half days.
In the end, looking back, I realize that it's not just the kilometers covered that I remember, but above all the adventures and the memories created along the way. Each day started at 6:30 a.m. and ended at midnight, with breaks for snickers to replenish my energy. Sometimes I ate three in a row, but I knew that in a few hours I'd have burnt them (laughs)!Crossing several departments in a single day was dizzying, and meeting people who were curious about our journey added to the magic and richness of the adventure.
What do you look for in these events?
Mathias: It's not really the performance that attracts me, but the intense experience that these events offer. In some ultras, there's a ranking, and you can set yourself goals like finishing in the top 10 or just managing to finish, which is already a huge challenge. But there are also very long-distance events without rankings or podiums, where the objective is not competition but rather the great hike. These events are physically very demanding, but this physical commitment is a means of accessing powerful and memorable experiences.
" In Ireland, during a solo cycling trip, I had a real emotional shock when faced with the raw beauty of the landscape"
What's the most mystical itinerary you've ever done?
Mathias: It was in Ireland, two years ago. I'm moving more and more towards slow bikepacking, returning to my first love of cycle touring, but with a gravel bike and more modern equipment. I prefer to go off on my own, which allows me to escape after interacting a lot with people in my job.
During this trip, I cycled along the Irish coast, where, as we know, the weather changes constantly - it can rain and shine several times in the same day! On the fourth day, I saw an island to the west and decided to venture out. Arriving on the island, I was struck by the raw beauty of the landscape. The rock formations seemed almost unreal as if they had been shaped by titans. This vision overwhelmed me, it was almost like an emotional shock.
I felt transported, a kind of Stendhal syndrome, that fascinating psychological phenomenon some travelers experience when confronted with the intense beauty of a work of art.
That evening, I took refuge in a small bed and breakfast. They were fully booked, but they found a way to make me feel welcome. I fell asleep in a warm bed, telling myself that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. This place, near Keel, west of Sligo, remains one of my favorite places in Ireland today.
Do you feel aligned with your values, thanks to your job?
Mathias: Having a meaningful job and being aligned with your values is gratifying. At almost 40, I'm enjoying the rat race less and less, but every morning I know why I get up. I visualize the concrete impact of my work: if, at the end of the year, 10, 15, 20, or even 100 people choose to leave the plane behind to hike or bike and discover a nearby region, then I know I've made a difference. It's tangible and it motivates me.
" I find that cycling has become very Instagrammable... Whereas for me, it should remain playful and fun"
What do you think of the evolution of outdoor and cycling?
Mathias: It's a subject I observe a lot for my work. There's been a real explosion in bicycle travel and a modernization of bicycle touring, now known as bikepacking. In the past, cycling was often seen as an activity for local clubs or tourists on vacation. Today, **the image of cycling has become much cooler and more desirable.**I have to admit that I even find it very Instagramable and trendy. Bikepacking, for example, has become very fashionable and is often taken very seriously. Whereas for me, cycling should remain playful and fun.
When I'm on my bike, I feel like I've got a toy between my legs, I'm having fun, I'm making silly noises, I don't care whether I'm going fast or slow, and I'm back to the carefree days of my 15s. It's important that cycling is fun. For me, cycling should be as much fun as a music festival, where you can really enjoy yourself and relax.
© Sophie Gateau @sofigato
Is cycling more inclusive than it used to be?
Mathias: At conferences and events, we're often asked if cycling is a rich man's sport. Although bikepacking is popular and very well represented on Instagram, this sometimes reinforces the image of an activity reserved for the privileged. We need to diversify this image, by including people of all ages, practicing different disciplines, with a real diversity of genders or morphologies, to show that everyone can ride a bike.
This diversification involves many initiatives, from special events to partnerships with brands offering more affordable bikes. I think it's crucial to remain vigilant and critical of these developments to ensure that cycling and outdoor remain accessible to everyone, and not just to a privileged elite.
" There's sometimes a big dissonance between ecological intentions and actual actions in the outdoors"
Damien Bettinelli - @damienbtnli
Does the outdoors push people to be more sober on a daily basis?
Mathias: Yes, for many, the outdoors encourages love and preserve nature. But we must remain vigilant. The environmental impact of our outdoor activities can be considerable, especially with practices such as air travel for hikes, spectacular climbs or the accumulation of technical products and equipment. Sometimes, I observe a great discrepancy between ecological intentions and actual actions. For example, many people adopt outdoor practices while multiplying van or plane journeys, which often cancels out the expected environmental benefits. For outdoor activities to be truly beneficial, we need to promote the use of second-hand equipment and more sustainable modes of transport.
How can we avoid falling into the cult of performance?
Mathias: The cult of performance in outdoor activities is omnipresent, with strong pressure to achieve spectacular feats and share them on social networks. We often see queues at the foot of Everest or publications boasting impressive climbs. To avoid this, it's super important to focus on pleasure and personal experience rather than measurable achievements. A quiet hike in a forest close to home can be just as rewarding as a famous climb. The important thing is to enjoy the moment, without worrying about external expectations or judgments.
Mathias Riquier's culture minute for traveling by bike
Music for straight lines: "Abyss", Talisk
Music for uphills: Meshuggah
Music for downhills: "Break My Soul", Beyoncé
Music for curves: "Start as you mean to go on", Aphex Twin.
A book for the evening: "Dans la forêt" by Jean Hegland, an excellent read about our relationship with nature.
