This time last year, Ian Matthews and Denise Bennett were city high-flyers.

They lived in a des res near the northern beaches of Sydney, Australia, where they had moved from England eight years before. Denise managed the customer service department of a perfume company, while Ian worked for a data communications firm, earning £100,000 and clocking up 300,000 air miles each year. Now they run an eight-bedroom chambre d'hôte on the outskirts of a small village in rural south-west France. Their shirts, ties and chic skirts have been packed away; these days you're more likely to see them wearing skintight Lycra.

Ian, 39, and Denise, 38, are cycling fanatics. Last July they flew to France to follow the Tour and, as in previous years, discussed their vague dream to one day quit their jobs and run a B&B in the Pyrenees. Then they walked into an estate agent's in Tarbes and fell in love with a 150-year-old maison de maitre. By September, they had sold their house in Sydney and quit their jobs, and that vague dream had become a reality.

'We had a fantastic life in Australia,' says Ian, 'but for me it just wore a bit thin. I didn't want to spend three months of each year in hotel rooms and aeroplanes any more. I wanted to do something completely different.'

They've certainly done that. If the couple imagined they were going to escape stress and hard work, though, they've had something of a shock. The house they bought, though huge and romantic, was in a run-down state, and needed completely renovating. Six months later, the whole place is immaculately white with exposed beams and oak parquet flooring.

'Doing the renovation was much harder and more stressful than my job ever was,' says Ian. 'Since then, it's been lovely but a bit strange. We feel guilty about not working on weekdays.'

Most of their free time is spent outdoors. The majority of their guests are cyclists, and Ian and Denise take turns to accompany them on day trips; anything from 20km (12.5 miles) to 150km (93 miles). As well as breakfast, they cook dinner on request, but also encourage people to sample the region's restaurants.

'One of the great pleasures for us is going out to eat every week, and telling ourselves that it's research. We have to be able to recommend places.'

They have called their chambre d'hôte La Joie de Vie, and they accept that for their lives to be a success, the place itself cannot be too much of a success.

'The cycling season is five or six months long, and if we can keep it ticking over during that time, we'll be okay,' says Denise.

However, they would like to extend the season into September and October, and to do that they are offering guests other activities: not only running, walking and fishing, but French language lessons (run by a professional teacher) and creative writing courses (run by a published novelist). Ian also offers advice to people who want to buy property in the area.

And if it all goes poire-shaped? 'It's not a big risk in a financial sense,' says Ian. 'We don't have kids and there's no huge loan hanging over our heads. If the worst comes to the worst, we can sell the house and make a profit and walk away.' 'It's a suck-it-and-see thing,' adds Denise. 'And we haven't decided yet, have we?' Ian smiles. 'Denise hasn't.'

'It is taking me a bit longer to get used to it,' she admits. 'I was having second thoughts a few weeks ago. We had a big talk about it, and Ian told me I could go back to Australia if I wanted, but he was staying here. So that was that. And then, the next day, we went riding in the mountains, and it was so fantastic. It just reminded me why we wanted to come here in the first place.'

Factfile
A night at La Joie de Vie (00 335 6233 6851; www.lajoiedevie.com) costs from €70 (£47) on a bed and breakfast basis for a double room without ensuite facilities and €100 (£67) for a queen-sized with ensuite facilities. You can also book creative writing and French language courses.Telephone for prices and dates.

Flights from Gatwick to Toulouse cost from around £114 return with British Airways (0870 850 9850; britishairways.com.