Their experience is inspiring. Especially at a time when social partners are struggling to find solutions to improve the employment of seniors. Philippe Thebault and Séverine Pelletier, two former work colleagues in Eure, both in their fifties, have turned the wheel of their misfortune in the right direction. Constrained and forced but with courage.
“We were made redundant in 2021 as part of the closure of the Saint-Louis sugar refinery in Nassandres,” recall the two friends, now co-managers of the company Doct’Eure vélo, a traveling bicycle and scooter repair service. . “When we were still employees of the sugar factory, we used to ride bikes together,” they recall. And our two families had been seeing each other for a long time. »
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However, a common passion is not always enough to travel together from a professional point of view. Both therefore took the time to reflect. For Philippe Thebault, the process settled more quickly. His background as an educator at the Évreux bicycle club served as an accelerator. “There was no question of ending my professional life during a period of unemployment,” he explains. At the time I had three years left to work... but that was before the pension reform and I still felt quite young. I went to train in Orléans where I passed a Professional Qualification Certificate (CQP) as a bicycle mechanic salesman. »
The precious key allows you to work in a cycle store, either as an employee or as a boss. Initially, Philippe Thebault preferred the first hypothesis. But also gives yourself additional time to think. At the time, Séverine Pelletier was considering a career change of her own. For multiple reasons, which she does not wish to dwell on, her project did not come to fruition. Faced with the insistence of her colleague and friend, the young fifty-year-old ends up saying yes to him. She joined him in the adventure a little over a year after their dismissal. Doct'Eure bike was born and hits the road in December 2022. The two friends are “50/50” partners in a simplified joint stock company.
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“From the start, the idea was to have a repair and recycling workshop for traveling bicycles,” remember the two partners. More and more municipalities are developing soft mobility and we therefore have our reason for being. It is more interesting that we travel with our mobile workshop rather than people taking their car to travel sometimes more than 30 km to have their bike serviced. The carbon footprint is much better this way with our travel alone. »
Every day of the week, the Doct'Eure Vélo van parks in public car parks in villages within a radius of 25 to 30 km around the town of Le Neubourg. Around fifteen municipalities are thus served. Whatever the weather conditions, Séverine Pelletier and Philippe Thebault provide the service. “The idea is to finish training Séverine,” explains Philippe Thebault. Let her pass and obtain the CQP for cycle technician. And so in three years I will be able to gradually hand over to him. For the moment we are good compared to the initial road plan. Our status, following the closure of the sugar factory, allows us to consider the adventure of entrepreneurship more calmly because we are not yet able to earn decent salaries to make a living from our activity. »
However, neither of them regrets their choice and continues to move forward. They wouldn't go back for anything in the world.