Let’s imagine a republic ruled by adventure, the rejection of a sanitized life and the love of karaoke. Your name? Mad Jacques, in homage to Jack Kerouac, with a touch of madness, and a French side. His ministers? TO horizon bossto bucolism chiefTO pallet bossTO prick the chief officer or even one guingette specialist. Its citizens? The “jacquots”, city dwellers in search of chlorophyll who gather together to live crazy adventures: on foot, by bicycle, hitchhiking or even by canoe, depending on the challenge they have decided to take on. They must reach a remote village, most often in an unsuspected French region, with Bamboche at stake.
The Jacquots know their community motto by heart: “You don’t have to shout about your “dèm” and your carbon footprint to live the adventure” −, and carry with you a passport stamped “République de Mad Jacques”. The burgundy-colored brochure presents, throughout its pages, a series of epics accessible to its citizens. We move on from the Loire, with the challenge “Find the last four. Significant risk of indigestion”, in Mont Blanc with the “Rando, ravito, raclette” route. A weekend with a gigantic feast of melted cheese.”
Without forgetting, of course, the Creuse, the former stronghold of Mad Jacques, where a hitchhiking race is held every year. “The “Beijing Express” even better, without cameras: 3,000 couples hitchhiking on the small roads, the biggest rural festival in France upon arrival”. The passport is fake and Mad Jacques is not a republic, but a company that organizes adventures to explore, with gentle mobility, the most remote corners of France. Jacquots really exist.
“Zero mental load”
At the end of September, nearly 500 people cycled, for three days, the green valleys of Mayenne and its characterful villages, defying the rain and prejudices about this small department of the Pays de la Loire, which also fought with us to locate it. on a map before joining the trip. “I live two hours from here. And yet, I didn’t know anything about this area! »confides Axel Domain, 33 years old.
This engineer from Nantes was initially interested in GravelMan, an unassisted gravel bike race: “But it is very sporty and does not offer any comfort. Mad Jacques combines effort and good atmosphere, with friendly stops. Everything turnkey. It is ideal if you want to organize a weekend, zero mental load. Also, there are quite a few groups of friends, we can see the athletes at the front, followed by the local hipsters and, finally, the party animals. »
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