Tales of Change
A purpose adventure to document climate change in the
Rockies and the Alps
I rode my bike across the Alps in fall of 2018. I started in Trieste at the Adriatic Coast and went until Cannes at the Mediterranean Sea, following this route. On the way, I took breaks from cycling to go splitboarding, but the real purpose of the trip was to meet with locals and learn more about how climate change is altering life in the Alps. I talked with farmers, foresters, climate and conservation scientists, tourism experts, alpinists and professional athletes, psychologists, writers and journalists. They all told me their story. It was a truly enriching experience. It got me hungry to do more.
It just so happened that I embarked on this biketouring and splitboarding adventure during a period of tumultuous weather ex-tremes – the kind of extremes that are getting more frequent and more intense with climate change. Indeed, the heatwave of 2018 had left its mark on the Alps, with many rivers and springs in the southern Dolomites almost or completely dried out. I also experienced one of the strongest storms that has hit Northeastern Italy in recent years. The storm cycle brought record October temperatures, caused one of the largest forest fire Italy has seen in recent history, razed millions of trees, flooded villages and led to several dozen casualties. All this happened within one single week. But climate change is also about slow and subtle changes - changes that are altering ecosystems and communities over time - sometimes with profound consequences. It is this those multi-facetted impacts of climate change that I aim to document with this project.
In summer 2019, I
continued the Tales of Change project in North America. Starting in Vancouver, BC I followed the remote trails of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. I cycled for 71 days and filmed interviews with First Nation leaders, artists, climate and conservation scientists, artists, firefighters, farmers and energy experts. After a train ride across the US, I ended the trip New York City in September 2019. I am now working on a documentary to give a voice to those incredible individuals who kindly agreed to speak with me. Short teaser above also available here on youtube. Stay tuned for more to come. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading the tales I share here on my blog.