Jean Perdoux

Incipit of the Chairman's editorial on the forthcoming review

Sad news: Jean Perdoux is no longer with us

Jean Perdoux, founding president of the Club des Cent Cols, died on 13 March at the age of 87. This marks the end of a long chapter in the history of the Club des Cent Cols. We have lost our guide, but not his ideas.

Who was Jean? Jean Perdoux was an extraordinary person who did extraordinary things. Without him, the Club des Cent Cols would never have existed, we would never have met. So we have to thank our lucky stars that Jean created the brotherhood, which allows us to practice our sport, cycling, in a passionate way. Jean gave us a goal and objectives. Jean was also responsible for building the cycle path around Lake Annecy. This path has a long history and was only completed in 2022. Jean explained Lake Annecy and the cycle path to us during the stop at Le Bon Wagon during the tour of the lake on Sunday morning, 6 November 2022, the day after the Club's 50th Anniversary General Meeting. Of course, Jean did many other things in his life to help others, the FFCT and his local community. Jean was a generous man.

Jean will always be in our memories, and we'll remember him every time we cross a mountain pass. A great way of remembering Jean is that many cyclists take up the "Les Cent Cols de Jean Perdoux" challenge, for which you have to cross the first hundred passes climbed by the club's founding president.

The Club's Board of Directors has decided to name the traditional international meeting after Jean, so from the next meeting onwards, the meeting will be known as the "Rassemblement international annuel Jean Perdoux".

Enrico Alberini
President of the Club des Cent Cols

Here are some of the testimonies we heard when we heard of his death:

Emotions and memories at the news of Jean Perdoux's death.
It was an emotional loss to lose the man who came up with the brilliant idea for our Confrèrie, which continues to bring together mountain bike enthusiasts today, more than 50 years after it was founded.
Memories of the many meetings where Jean evoked in his speeches the values of effort, mutual aid, friendship and simplicity that were so dear to his heart. Memories, too, of the general meetings he always attended, either in person or by sending a message.
My condolences to Tanou, their children and the whole family. Claude Bénistrand CC 0284 and Honorary Chairman

The news of Jean-Perdoux's death is very sad indeed!
Founding father of our wonderful brotherhood, and former member of the FFCT board. As well as the mountain passes, he was very fond of old postcards, especially the humorous ones on the theme of cycling that I post from time to time on my Facebook page, as he liked to tell me...
Goodbye Dear Jean!
My condolences to his family. Jean-Marc Lefèvre CC3331

I received the information from a number of people because Jean had been known and recognised for a long time after all he had given to cycle touring, to the 100 cols, but also to the federation and the department of Haute-Savoie and to all those with whom he came into contact.
I won't be able to make it to Annecy on Tuesday for the funeral, but the Federation will be represented.
Yours sincerely. Martine Cano President of the French Cycling Federation

Good evening everyone,
Good memories ... the visit to Annecy for the CCC's 40th anniversary (2012), the meeting at the Luitel in 2022the ascent of the Galibier (and photo at Collet de Plan Nicolas in 2013) for Henri Dusseau's 80th birthday. My condolences to his family ...
And best wishes to all, it's impossible to forget Jean ... when declaring a collar. Gérard GALLAND CCC 933

Dear cencolists,
Like all the members, I am saddened by this news. We will no longer see all the presidents in front of us, as we did in Annecy.
I didn't know Jean, I just told him how grateful I was at the fiftieth anniversary AGM.
Condolences to his family. VAILLOUD christian CC 5215 

A thought for this moment 
Many thanks to Jean for the success and development of this club... for which I would not have known or been able to discover our beautiful mountain ranges... Françoise Valluche

Hello,
I didn't know Jean Perdoux personally, but as everyone has pointed out, 50 years ago he instigated a project that still fascinates many mountain lovers.
I will not be attending Jean Perdoux's funeral.
My thoughts are with his family.
Best regards. Jean-Luc Matte

Age and disability no longer allow us to travel long distances, but we will always be grateful to Jean Perdoux for having founded this club that we love and for having enabled us to discover the mountains in a different light, with passes of all kinds where the reward for the effort was worth going beyond ourselves. Thanks to him, we will always have a friendly thought for him when we remember our hikes to the passes. Marylène and Claude DUPONT

It's bad news indeed, because we've lost a great creator and nature enthusiast.
I salute the memory of a founder who allowed us to share his passion. The discovery and search for passes allowed us to surpass ourselves, and to make wonderful acquaintances within this immense club.
I think that from up there he will continue to watch over this magnificent organisation that is the 100 passes.
Sincere condolences to his family. Edouard Escribano cc 6741

Good evening
My thoughts are with Jean Perdoux, the founder of the Club des Cent Cols.
I joined the club in 1994, 30 years ago, when it was founded in 1972.
I know how much I owe him, ... , thank you.
I offer my condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. Yves Blache, cent cols n°3876.

 The death of Jean Perdoux, with whom we had a special relationship, is very sad news. Chantal has contacted Tanou, Jean's wife, to express our sadness and wish her well in the days ahead. Unfortunately we will not be able to attend the funeral, as Chantal will be looking after her mother, who is 102.
Best regards. Alain Gillodes

  Mr President, please pass on my condolences to his family. His creation, the Cent Cols, a simple and ingenious idea, will live on, and every mountain pass crossed will be a way of paying tribute to him.
Yours sincerely J-P LESCOUEZEC

Of course, it was with great sadness that I learned of Jean's death.
I knew him as president of the CHAMBERY cyclotourists when I was 15 and I did a few outings with him.
at that time and he gave me a lot of his know-how.
Jean was a colleague of my father, Gilbert, at Bourgey et Montreuil in Chambéry and later in Annecy.
I had the pleasure of meeting him at the fiftieth anniversary AGM in Annecy.
I won't be able to attend the ceremony on Tuesday, but I'll be thinking of him and all the members of the CCC. Pierre Barrucand No. 3926 born on 1 October 1949

Régis Paraz's funeral speech

I have no official mandate to intervene on behalf of the Club des Cent Cols, but it is as a friend and former president of the club that I would like to pay tribute to him and express my support to his family at this painful time.

In 2011, we established a more personal relationship at a meeting to prepare for the Club des Cent Cols' fortieth anniversary celebrations in 2012.

I joined the Club des Cent Cols in 1991, and the first time I saw Jean was on the Col du Luitel at the twentieth anniversary celebration of the Club des Cent Cols, which he founded in 1972. The Col du Luitel was the hundredth different pass that Jean had climbed in his career as a cycle-tourist, and it was there that he had the idea of bringing together all the cyclists who liked to ride in the mountains and climb passes.

Despite the gloomy weather, there was a large crowd on 11 July 1992 to celebrate this event, proof that his idea was a treasure trove of intelligence and creativity that resonated with many 'aficionados'.

Just an anonymous and inexperienced member, I discovered through the speech he gave that day his deep convictions, his philosophy and his commitment to cycle touring. At other gatherings and general meetings, he expressed these same convictions every time.

The rules of the game he laid down reflect his taste for effort and his faith in mankind; they are simple and based on trust, with everyone declaring the passes they have crossed by muscle power alone.

Jean was a humanist with a strong commitment to sharing. If he wanted to bring people together around his passion for cycle touring and the mountains, it was also to defend values such as friendship, loyalty, conviviality and mutual aid.

This idea of sharing was reflected in his meetings, where he institutionalised the sharing of bread, wine and cheese.

He took his idea of bringing people together very far by promoting the internationalisation of the Club. His idea transcended borders and attracted cyclists from many countries and all continents.

A unifying force, he has inspired more than 8,000 women and men to date, guided by his powerful idea.

A committed man, he championed the cause of cycle tourism as a director of the FFCT in the early 1970s. It was here that he met Jacques Faizant on the Board of Directors. Faizant was one of the first members of the Club des Cent Cols and provided a number of his own drawings free of charge to illustrate the annual magazine. He founded the Comité Départemental de Cyclotourisme de Haute-Savoie in 1975. An eclectic cyclist, he also contributed to the promotion of urban cycling as president of the Club des Villes Cyclables. He was the driving force behind the magnificent cycle path along the shores of Lake Annecy.

During my involvement with the Club des Cent Cols, I made a point of maintaining the spirit of tolerance and values to which he was so attached. I found him to be a source of support, advice and kind words, whether at Club meetings or at his home, where Tanou prepared the annual lunch.

A long page in the history of the Club des Cent Cols has just been turned. The club is also in mourning. We share the family's deep sorrow at the loss of Jean, founder and soul of the club. His passion, dedication and vision have left their mark on all of us. Despite Jean's cruel absence, the Club des Cent Cols will continue on its path, carrying with it the precious legacy he left us. Every climb, every kilometre covered will be a vibrant tribute to his memory. Jean will remain forever engraved in our hearts and on the summits he so loved to conquer.
My sincere condolences

Bernard Pommel concluded his report on the passes crossed by Napoleon as follows

"Napoleon: the epilogue

It was autumn 1820. Napoleon, who was languishing on St Helena, decided to pass the time by counting the passes he had crossed. His figure approached and even slightly exceeded a hundred. Well," he thought, "after creating the Legion of Honour, I could create a club for people who have climbed 100 mountain passes... I'd call it the 'Legion of the Hundred Mountain Passes' or something like that... I'd say the rule is: to join the club, you have to have climbed at least 100 different mountain passes...
Yes, but how? With what means of transport? Should you count in the same way the journeys you make on foot, on horseback or in a horse-drawn vehicle? " 
Napoleon thought about it for a few moments, came up with no solution and abandoned the idea.

150 years later, on the Luitel side, a certain Jean Perdoux...https://centcols.org/historique/historique_du_ccc.htm

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