No car challenge

In 2018, whilst Caroline was pregnant with our first child, Arthur, we decided on a climbing trip with a difference.  Our goal was to repeat the multi-pitch route El Ojo Critico, a notoriously loose and scary 10 pitch 8a in the magnificent Ordessa National park, Spain. Since the route had been opened in such a strong style we also wanted our trip to carry a strong positive message, and so instead of driving or flying we decided to travel to Spain by train and mountain bike.

On that trip we found ourselves in one of the most physically demanding and dangerous climbing days of our lives, but we also developed an appreciation for slow, eco-friendly travel that we’d never considered before.  Whilst the ride to Ordessa took several days, I never once felt bored on the journey, which is the opposite of how I often feel in the car after driving only a few hours. 

Since then, mountain bikes have become a big part of our climbing lives’, and apart from being a load of fun, it helps us to slow down our pace of life, as well as being great for the planet. It’s not always simple, especially combining it with young kids, but over the last few years we’ve refined our approach, and the equipment we use, and the rewards are well and truly worth it.  

©Collection Ciavaldini/Pearson

For our 3rd annual ‘Bike and Climb’ project, we wanted to try to do something everybody could have a go at, and so instead of packing up our kit and heading off into the sunset on a big point to point adventure, this year we stayed right at home. Not everyone has the time or financial freedom to go out on multi-week adventures. Hotels or BnB’s are definitely an expensive luxury, but a necessary one for charging the batteries of our E-bikes, which in turn are necessary for pulling our heavy trailers full of climbing gear.

Add to the mix trying to fit things around work, or school and things quickly get too much for a lot of folks. Sure, we want our projects to be inspiring, but if they are never accessible perhaps we’re missing something? 

Our No Car Challenge was pretty simple – carry out our normal day to day life for 3 weeks without using our car. We also decided to ban buses, taxis, friends cars, and hitching, leaving us with our two legs and three wheels for any distance more than a few 100 metres. From the daily school run, to trips to the doctors, climbing, shopping, and amusement parks – in 3 weeks we rode hundreds of kilometres, but we were surprised at how easy it actually felt. There were definitely some tough moments where a 15min car ride would have been nice instead of an hour on the bikes, but in general it was a great way to get outside, get fit, and really enjoy our amazing local countryside. 

The 3rd edition of the No car challenge

As seems to be the case with everything child related, baby steps are the key to a happy life. During in his 3 and a half years on this planet Arthur has already ridden hundreds if not thousands of kilometres with us, whilst at 6 months old Zoellie had barely even seen a bike. Also, this year, Arthur was big enough to ride up front with me, freeing up a seat for his little sister in the trailer at the rear, and although he loves the feeling of being right up there in the action, we didn’t know how he’d deal with longer rides and hours in the saddle.

We planned to start slowly with short local rides to get them used to the feeling, adding a few KM every few days until we were ready for the ultimate goal, an overnight visit to Russan, 80km of trails and cycle tracks, carrying all our climbing and camping gear.

The first couple of days passed without a problem, despite unseasonably cold weather making the riding more uncomfortable than it should be.  Tresques is the closest cliff to our house, a tiny limestone cliff hidden behind the tennis courts and vineyards of our neighbouring village. Mainly catering for beginners, Caro and I have been once in the 8 years we’ve lived in Connaux, preferring to drive a little further to some of the truly world class cliffs we also have in the region. Biking however, changed our perspective, as does being parents, and suddenly a trip to Tresques with Arthur, Zoellie, and a few of their friends from the village becomes a really worthwhile mini-adventure.

©Collection Ciavaldini/Pearson

The No Car challenge wasn’t only about climbing, but also changing our habits for day-to-day life. Living in a small village means we are lucky on one hand to have a lot of amenities close by, but it also means we are quite far away from others. I take Arthur to school by bike every day, even before we started this challenge, because it’s far quicker than walking or taking the car. On the other hand, I’d always jump in the car to drive to the nearest town as you save around 15 minutes each way over travelling by bike.

That extra 30min per day felt justifiable, when you can feel like you are constantly running after time and small kids, but in reality if you plan things better in advance it’s really a non issue. By organising appointments into blocks, or doing your shopping online for direct collection, you save far more time than you lose. Sure, If you want to ride fast you need to force your legs to do the work, but you can also consider it part of your daily work out and gain even more time.

We’d heard rumours for a few years about a little limestone traverse hidden somewhere in the woods around Castillon Du Gard, but with so much other great climbing just a short drive away we’d never really taken the time to go and look. During our No Car Challenge however it seemed like a great way to have a real adventure. An hour or so of riding each way, a chance to step into the unknown, and if we could find it, a potential 8b+ to test our current fitness on.

With a few phone calls we had a rough location, all that remained was to check it out. The ride to Castillon was beautiful, and reminded us once again how you can discover incredible new places right on your own doorstep. We rode along paths and trails through picturesque forests and fields, many of which we never knew existed, despite regularly driving on the main road just a few hundred metres away. The little cliff, despite being overgrown, was far more inspiring than we ever expected (it doesn’t take much for someone who grew up climbing at Raven Tor), and during the 3 weeks of our No Car Challenge we enjoyed a few quality sessions on the unique pocketed rock, whilst the kids played happily on the floor just a few metres away.

The two main crags near our home are Russan and Seynes. Seynes is truly world class, and is a little closer to our house, but it’s a south facing cliff with no shade whatsoever, and at this time of year is hotter than the Sun! Russan is a little further away, and whilst a lot of the crag is also south facing, there is a giant cave, made famous in recent years by Seb Bouin and a crazy 9a+/b, that offers shade for most of the day. 

The longest days we’d ever done with Arthur on previous trips were around 45km, so it seemed unlikely that we could ride the 80km to Russan and then home, in a single day. Even if we could physically manage it, it wouldn’t be fun for the kids to be on the bikes for that long, and we’d have very little time to climb before we had to turn around and go back.

Staying overnight was the obvious choice, but also brought with it its own complications. Carrying camping gear, food and water for 4 people significantly increased the weight of our trailers, which reduced the autonomy of our batteries, not to mention that it would be Zoellies first night away from home – she’s not exactly the best of sleepers.

We set off from home one morning in May, with trails that had become very familiar over the last few weeks flowing easily under our wheels. It was already hot in the south of France, and with a cooling wind hiding the full effects of the sun, by mid-day I already had a wicked sunburn. Passing La Capelle, we turned onto new terrain, riding first over a plateau of glorious oak woodland, before dropping down into the Gorge du Garron and views of the majestic Pont du Gard. 

The new cycleway between Uses and Remoulins gave us a brief rest from the rocky single track we had been following, though not so much our legs – as we turned off our batteries, hoping to save precious Wh for the return ride. The last 10km climbed gently back up out of the gorge, passing picturesque villages until we arrived at our destination.  

One of the downsides of climbing at Russan was always the relatively long hike from the car, but with bikes we easily made our way to mere metres from the cliff, even with our heavy trailers. The bivy cave was everything we could have hoped for, and more! A natural cave, with a beautiful constructed stone arch porch. Big enough for ~10 people, we had it all to ourselves, it even had an indoor fireplace with a natural chimney. 

Leaving our camping gear and food behind, faith in the good of humanity that they would still be there when we returned, we set off for the crag via one of the most impressive approaches I know. Russan used to have a giant waterfall flowing over its very centre, and whilst the water is long gone, the channels it eroded remain, and you can abseil into the giant cave through a spectacular hole in the roof. With Zoellie sleeping in her baby carrier on my chest, and Arthur dangling between my legs, Caro lowered me down the 30m free hanging descent, out of the sun and into the strange semi-underground world. Arthur loved this part of the adventure, cheering with glee as we spun around in mid air. Zoellie didn’t even wake up!

Even within the shade of the cave it was still very hot, and so it didn’t feel like too much of a sacrifice to only climb a couple of routes, giving the rest of the afternoon to Arthur. Maybe it’s just the proud parent in me talking, but he’s really getting quite good at scrambling/climbing, even though his favourite moment is clearly jumping back into my arms once he’s reached the top.  Caro was also on form, managing her first Fr8a flash since the birth of Zoellie, with a wonderful fight up steep, never-ending jugs.

Back at the bivy, relieved to still find our sleeping bags and food, we thought about the last month and all the great moments we’d shared. By switching out our car for our bikes, we turned day-to-day activities into real adventures, our backyard into a new playground to explore, all whilst at the same time making a positive (even if very small) change for the planet.

One of the biggest motivations for doing this kind of thing is to leave a better world for our kids. We want them to grow up being happy, but also proud that their parents tried to do something, even if it was only on a small scale. It’s easy to feel depressed about the state of the world and the actions of our governments. We know that our efforts amount to very little in comparison to the damage done by big industry, but that’s no reason not to try, and the more of us that try to make positive change the more likely we are to see that message spread.