By bike from Brussels “for love” to Vébron

Étienne Geeraerd a parcouru la distance avec deux sacoches remplies de provisions et son saxophone sur le porte-bagages. Midi Libre – Corentin Migoule

Falling under the spell of this Lozerian town during a performance in 2010, a saxophonist from Brussels traveled 1,000 kilometers by bike to take part in the festival and meet up with an actor friend.

At the end of June, as the riders of the Grande Boucle set off from Florence (Italy) for three weeks of racing, Étienne Geeraerd was preparing to begin his Tour de France. Equipped with an aging bike that was the polar opposite of the ultra-aerodynamic machines of the peloton champions, the septuagenarian (72 years old) relied on the strength of his thighs and a steely mind to swallow up the thousand kilometers separating Brussels (Belgium) from Vébron. “In 2010, I played here with my jazz orchestra. I fell in love with the place and had a friendly crush on the actor Philippe du Janerand. When I found out that Philippe was coming to Vébron for the festival, I decided to come back. I told my children that it was the best anti-gentrification course", laughs the Brussels native.

"This village has something magical"

It was indeed by leaving the notion of comfort at the door that the latter made his journey, completed in less than two weeks at a rate of 80 kilometers per day."I alternated between wild nights in tents and campsites", replays Étienne Geeraerd, exhausted by this long journey punctuated by misadventures. "We can't imagine how beautiful some hamlets are, places that we would never see while driving a car", rejoices those who remember the hot coffee and biscuits offered by a "nice lady" after a craving from Puy de Dôme.

Slowed down by storms and a derailleur which was shattered following an impact with a stone, the cyclist arrived in Vébron at the start of the week and intends to stay there for a few days to devour short films. "The festival hasn't changed, the people are still as charming. This village has something magical, a telluric energy!", he appreciates, while already thinking of the return that he will make in part with the ;rsquo;help from the train.

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