By Steve Hubrecht
The Columbia Valley played host to a truly unique visitor last week, when climate and peace activist David Ligouy rolled into town on his solar-powered electrical tricycle.
Ligouy wheeled into Invermere on Saturday, Aug. 27, spent a few days enjoying the valley’s hot springs, lakes and mountain vistas, then was off again on Tuesday, Aug. 30 en route to Marble Canyon campground in Kootenay National Park. He’s eventually bound for Montreal.
It may sound like he’s a long way from his destination, given that when he last spoke to the Pioneer on Wednesday, Aug. 31, he had just arrived in Banff. But that’s simply a matter of perspective. When you consider that Ligouy’s cycling trip is in fact a transcontinental journey that began more than four years ago and that’s he began slowly zigzagging his way north from Buenos Aires, Argentina, covering more than 40,000 kilometres across South, Central and North America, the 3,700 kilometres Ligouy has left to Montreal seem like a mere homestretch.
It’s a lengthy trip indeed, and one with a mission: Ligouy is cycling in order to raise awareness for peace, to abolishment of nuclear weapons, to increase awareness about climate change and the biodiversity crisis, and to improve women’s rights. That’s part of these reason the former electrical engineer created his solar powered recumbent tricycle in the first place, and also explains the official name of his endeavour: Don’t Bank the Bomb, Bank on the Climate.
Ligouy grew up in France and was part of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the coalition of groups that collectively won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for their efforts in getting the United Nations (UN) to adopt the International Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The peace prize was a momentous occasion for Ligouy and others at ICAN, but he wanted more. Although the treaty was adopted by the UN, the governments of 50 countries needed to sign it in order for it to be ratified. Liguoy built his solar powered trike in early 2018 with plans to symbolically cycle across 50 countries, hoping to prod them into signing.
He rode through several European countries in mid 2018, before crossing the Atlantic to Buenos Aires in fall 2018. He then set his sights north. The COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary pause on his journey, but once restrictions eased he was back on his trike. But in a rare case of bureaucracy moving faster (or at least faster than a solar e-trike), the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was ratified before Ligouy accomplished his cycling goal.
“I got to Peru in late 2020. At that point, I’d only biked through 26 countries. But that’s when Honduras, the 50th country, signed the treaty,” he said.
Ligouy was elated, but was quick to realize that his campaigning — and his ride — were far from over.
“It was a victory, but not a full victory,” he said. “For me, peace and sustainability have always been intertwined. You can’t really have one without the other. We’ve got the treaty ratified, great. Now let’s focus on the sustainability part. I decided to change the name of my trip from ‘Don’t Bank the Bomb’ to ‘Don’t Bank the Bomb, Bank on the Climate’.”
And so he cycled on, up through Central America, then up along the western coast of the U.S., through California, Oregon and Washington State. “There are so many people using e-bikes and e-cars in those states, it’s inspiring,” said Ligouy. He was in the U.S. when the Inflation Reduction Act (which aims to substantially cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions) was passed by the House of Representatives, which Ligouy describes as another inspirational moment.
He entered Canada by passing under the Peach Arch on Aug. 15. From Vancouver he headed east along Highway 3, passing through Nelson on Wednesday, Aug. 24, then Creston and Cranbrook, before arriving in Invermere. He plans to get to Montreal in time for the COP-15 Biodiversity Summit, which will be held from Dec. 7 to Dec. 9.
In Nelson Ligouy was convinced to start an online fundraising effort to generate money to convert 8,000 normal pedal bicycles into solar-powered e-bikes in Mexico.
“We need to climb that pump, to do what we can,” he said.
His four-year journey has had plenty of remarkable moments, Ligouy told the Pioneer. These include meeting a Shuar chief in the Amazon, talking with a Chilean human right activist who had spent 11 years in jail, and sharing a meal with a French draft dodger in Creston.
“I met him (the French draft dodger in Creston) because he was out riding his bike. He’s 84 years old and he rides every day. We met, and then he invited me back to his house for something to eat,” said Ligouy. “When we was 19, in 1958, he was conscripted into the French army. But he did not want to go to war in Algeria (the Algerian war of independence was happening at the time). He was for peace. So he decided to escape. He came to Canada as visitor and then never left. To be that dedicated to the cause of peace at such a young age, it impressed me.”
Ligouy told the Pioneer he much enjoyed his time in Invermere, where we was kindly hosted by local resident Bill Ark, and where he was even interviewed by a local youth interested in sustainability.
“Everybody in the town was very friendly. I really liked swimming in the lake, and the hot springs. They feel really good on your body after three or four years of cycling,” said Ligouy.
That local youth — Jack Grant — had just returned from a backpacking trip in the mountains and was setting up his tent to air out in the shared backyard behind his townhouse home. Ligouy had parked his solar trike in the backyard (which Ark shares as well).
“We just started talking,” Jack told the Pioneer. “My dad works in sustainability, so I’ve always been interested in it.”
Several other neighbours in the townhouses came out, and soon enough Jack was filming and interview with Ligouy, who even let Jack take the trike for a spin.
“He (Ligouy) was very friendly and he has this overwhelming passion. It was contagious,” said Jack. “His trip is a huge undertaking, and he’s doing it with a zero carbon footprint, all while living of about $3,000 a year. It’s pretty inspirational.”
Pedalling the solar trike was “pretty fun,” said Jack. “A first the solar power was not on, and I couldn’t believe how hard it was — it really weights a lot. But once the power is switched on it really goes fast.”
To find out more about Ligouy, his trip and his fundraising efforts, visit www.bankontheclimate.com.
Watch a clip from Jack’s interview with Ligouy at www.youtube.com/watch?v=k14rgrI9yNw.
