We like to think outside is free. It isn't. The trails we ride, the lakes we swim in, the mountains that take our breath away, they need our investment as much as our admiration.
In our latest edition of Help Wanted, MAAP teamed up with Protect Our Winters France to explore the impact of climate change and urban congestion on one of Europe's most beloved outdoor regions, Annecy, France, through the lens of MAAP ambassador Boru McCullagh.
Boru has spent years riding through some of the world's most remote and remarkable landscapes. A rider driven as much by curiosity as kilometres, he's pedalled across continents, seeking out the places where the road runs out and something wilder begins. That connection to the land, and a deep awareness of what's at stake if we don't protect it, brought him to Annecy, and to the work Protect Our Winters is doing there.
Protect Our Winters (POW) is a non-profit built on the idea that passion for the outdoors can be the motivator to stand up for climate and social justice. Biking, riding, climbing, running, POW wants to rally the vast community of people finding themselves through sport to raise a collective voice to bring about systemic changes. The places we love and live in are not just a thing to protect. They're the reason to go beyond individual actions and strive for collective and political initiatives.
It was in this spirit that Boru set out to ride through Annecy.
A Town at the Heart of the Outdoors
"Spring might be the best time to be out there on a bike. Everything's in flux, nothing is fully settled and it's all changing each minute of the day." It was right at that turning point between seasons that Boru arrived in Annecy. The roads were dry, the shade still cold in the morning, but once the sun hit, the whole atmosphere transformed.
Annecy is the kind of place that stops you in your tracks. An alpine town nestled beside one of Europe's clearest lakes, it's long been a hub for cyclists, climbers, runners and anyone who finds themselves through sport. But beneath the beauty, something is shifting. Boru noticed it almost immediately.
“The tension wasn't something extremely obvious because the roads weren't packed and places seemed calm. What struck me was that it was harder to see. Being so well known in the outdoor world, seeing infrastructure up a mountain or paths leading all over isn’t that shocking, even though it’s way more visible,” Boru notes.
“What concerned me more was that it just felt a bit off – a tension that isn’t as in your face, because it’s so incremental. And that feels like much more of a threat because there’s nothing specific to point at.”
Quiet roads are ideal for riding, but that’s not always the case. The city gives its name to Lake Annecy. In peak season, the road around the lake is frequently packed with traffic en route to the resorts. Recent studies have shown that this congestion, especially tyre breakdown, is causing major water pollution in the lake. Hard to point to, but the evidence is there.
So how do we go about making meaningful changes? POW had this to say.
“A key part of our work in the French Alps – and all around France – is to help shift mobility to collective, human -powered and low-carbon solutions wherever it's possible. We try to inspire the community by creating stories and movies showcasing how things can be done differently. We put out tools and partnerships to help outdoor enthusiasts travel without planes or cars, and we lobby elected officials, governments and institutions to bring the political solutions needed to tackle such a huge topic.”
This problem is not small. Understandably, individuals can feel powerless in the face of issues like these – how can we affect change? That’s exactly what POW are offering. A chance to join together in hope of doing something bigger, to protect these places that help us to know the world and ourselves better.
“These places aren’t as fixed as they feel at first,” Boru tells us. “You assume places will continue to look and feel the same forever, that they’ve found a balance because they’ve been there so long. But as the balance changes, we have to be open and willing to counterbalance against it. It’s a reminder that we have to pay attention, always. If we can learn from and preserve the environment, we’re doing everyone a justice in that.”
About Protect Our Winters
Protect Our Winters (POW) is an NGO built on the idea that passion for the outdoors can motivate people to stand up for climate and social justice. POW aims to rally the vast community of people finding themselves through biking, riding, climbing and running to raise a collective voice to bring about systemic changes far beyond the mountains.
The places people love and live in are not the target that Protect Our Winters seeks to protect, they’re the reason it understands the need to go beyond individual actions and strive for collective and political initiatives.
With special thanks to:
Foundation Partner
Protect Our Winters Annecy — @protectourwintersfrance
Photography
Clement Hudry — @clement_hudry
MAAP Ambassador
Boru McCullagh — @marlboru_