Interview with Clément Desmousseaux, Planet Ride Co‑Founder

Planet Ride roadtrip adventures are built on two things riders can feel immediately: sharp logistics and real freedom once the wheels are turning. Clément Desmousseaux is one of the three co‑founders, alongside Alex Zürcher and Baptiste Frérot. If Alex and Baptiste are often seen as the “front of house” on the road, Clément is the quiet engine behind the scenes—web strategy, marketing, partner network, and the tools that keep everything running. After a decade in tourism (production, communication, marketing, web), he left his role as Marketing Manager at Shanti Travel in 2013 to help build what became Planet Ride.

“What do you do when you’re at work?”

Clément: My main job is shaping Planet Ride’s marketing and communication strategy. I also choose new local experts, build campaigns, and handle the administration and development of our website and the software used by our local experts.

If I’m honest, a “typical day” looks like: coding the site, calling local experts, and spending time in Excel. It doesn’t sound glamorous—but the creative side (visual work, messaging) and the part where you really try to understand what riders expect is genuinely exciting.

“What do you do in your free time?”

Clément: Free time… sorry, what’s that?

The little time I give myself goes to the movies or to travel. I’ve been living in India for three years now. The country is so vast that most of my recent trips are simply about getting away from the obvious and exploring remote regions.

When I lived in Portugal last winter, my free time was all about surfing, hiking, and cycling. I’d decided not to own a motorbike or a car there—though I still got lucky and rode an old Pyang Yang that friends lent me.

“What do you ride or drive every day?”

Clément: It depends on my mood, the traffic, and how motivated I am. Riding in New Delhi isn’t always a pleasure—or a stress reliever (quite the opposite).

On heavy-traffic days, I take out a 1996 Royal Enfield 350cc Machismo, with the gear shifter on the right side—old-school. On lazy days, I drive a tiny Suzuki Zen that slips through the city easily.

“Why did Planet Ride tempt you?”

Clément: When I left Shanti Travel, Alex and Baptiste immediately asked me to join as Marketing & Technology Director. Planet Ride was the dream opportunity: working with people I genuinely like, on a project we knew could take off.

“Why do you think Planet Ride will appeal to riders?”

Clément: First, I don’t think it will—I know it will.

Planet Ride will appeal to three types of travelers:

• Vehicle enthusiasts—people who live for a specific machine and want routes that do it justice.
• Roadtrip lovers—like Baptiste and me—who want variety in destinations and riding styles.
• A wider audience (couples, families, groups of friends) who want to discover a country differently, without being stuck in a bus or minibus.

Our local experts often come from high-level practice of their vehicle type, and they know how to pick routes that satisfy real adventurers. And for “Discovery” formats, some countries simply open up better with the right vehicle—4x4, quad, snowmobile—because that’s what gets you to the places that matter.

If you’re curious, you’ll find the full range of trips on https://www.planet-ride.com.

“How do you see Planet Ride in two years?”

Clément: The shared dream among the co-founders is to make Planet Ride the leading name for motorized roadtrips in France, Belgium, and Québec. But my personal dream is simpler: more and more riders satisfied with Planet Ride and with our network of local experts.

“Your favorite travel experience?”

Clément: The most vivid one I can recall is a three-day walk in Portugal. Short trip, huge memory—coastal landscapes, almost untouched, and incredibly calming.

My funniest experience happened in China, on the train from Xi’an to Hanzhong. I was reading a guidebook and a map written in English, Mandarin, and pinyin. After a few minutes: total silence. I turned around—half the carriage was sitting behind me, staring at the map, amazed. They’d realized we were literally reading the same Chinese characters.

That moment made conversation easy. Three people invited me to go “here” (pointing at places on the map, giving me names in Chinese). I couldn’t go though—there were floods at the time and those areas were clearly not the right idea.

“Your last roadtrip—where was it?”

Clément: Ireland, I think. Not the most original choice, but one of the most beautiful and enjoyable places to drive. We booked flights last minute, rented the car on arrival, and hit the classic problems of not planning ahead: one bank card didn’t work, the second one didn’t accept the deposit threshold. Then every evening we searched for B&Bs—time-consuming, but the payoff was huge.

When you spend the whole day driving through lunar landscapes, dramatic cliffs, and peat fields that almost feel like the Scottish Highlands, it’s pure happiness. A week later, we’d covered the Ring of Kerry and a solid part of Ireland’s south‑west coast.

“What would you wish for Planet Ride?”

Clément: A long life—and a lot of travelers.

À savoir aujourd’hui

This interview remains a clear snapshot of what drives Planet Ride: careful preparation, strong local expertise, and the desire to keep riders free once on the road. Before leaving in 2026, you should still verify entry requirements, driving/riding rules, and insurance conditions for your destination, as well as seasonal constraints and booking pressure in peak months.