Words: Kilian Bron
Photos: JB Liautard
I have always dreamed of getting lost in the great outdoors, both in the mountains and in desert landscapes. On paper, the continent of North America is the ideal place.
All the areas that I’ve been able to develop on so far were a digest of what I was able to discover in the United States and Canada. To introduce them, I find it interesting to compare them with my other adventures. The dense forests of British Columbia are an evolution of my riding spots at home. In a completely different style, the slabs of this same region remind me of other granite lines in the Namibian desert. The buildings as far as the eye can see in the heart of Manhattan are a new experience, but the encounters made on the spot with the ‘Bikelife’ crew are the purpose and the main objective that fuel my passion for bikes.
The goal is always to share my sometimes-quirky vision of cycling, in unusual environments that I try to sublimate as I evolve there. It is a real artistic approach, adapting to what’s there and adding my means of expression, which is most often on the bike.
For years now, I have based my vision of mountain biking around unusual and visually impressive places, mainly far from bike parks and trail centres. All these places fascinate me, the encounters along the way too, without forgetting the production work that runs alongside a film like this. Let’s be realistic, it’s essential to play on all these points to offer content that stands out, while adapting to the constraints of each shoot.
In Europe, we have the incredible chance to be able to express ourselves and practice our sport almost everywhere. You can still ride off the beaten track, pretty much without any constraints. In my opinion, this freedom of movement and this vision of my sport that has driven me from the start, is different on the American continent. This state of mind extends to my very view of adventure and expedition, which cannot happen if I stay within too much of a framework or a space defined in advance. From my passion for cycling to the discovery of new places, my message is also to defend this concept through these words, or our artistic approach outlined above. I express myself by proposing this, sometimes breaking the rules, and playing on my ideas, as long as they make sense.
Today, I am starting to fight to preserve this freedom in the heart of our mountains. An approach that sometimes becomes political but that requires a lot of dialogue so that the next generation can take advantage of this freedom and express themselves in turn as I was able to do.
In Canada and the United States, we found the right balance so that I could creatively express myself on these unusual spots. We put more emphasis on the other areas of creativity, such as the sequence of various spots in radically different settings, or a bit of scripting of a few American clichés, obviously to be taken in test.
The buildings as far as the eye can see in the heart of Manhattan are a new experience, but the encounters made on the spot with the ‘Bikelife’ crew are the purpose and the main objective that fuel my passion for bikes.
I particularly appreciated the organization of communities and associations, which are much more developed than in France, for example. I’m generalizing, but it’s still a reality in a large part of our country. I didn’t say anything new here, but it is certainly a great example to follow. THANKS!
I also ramped up my riding again. Which differs from my average daily life where I rarely exceed 10km/h on most of the alpine paths I ride. On the other hand, I absolutely wanted to use the most versatile mountain bike I could have. A COMMENCAL T.E.M.P.O. (140/125mm) is effective both when pedalling and when descending. This is the simple definition of my mountain biking, where a single bike allows me to express myself in every way. I can try flipping a freeride line, and then pedal back up each zone, or nearly!
I don’t define myself as an endurist, nor as a downhiller or a freerider. I’m just a mountain biker who gets creative with his favourite bike. The one with which I can venture to all areas and places unknown. In this case, crossing the USA and part of Canada with my very personal vision of trail riding… Which turned into “Cross Countries” as the title!
This project also marks the end of an era. It was one that involved restricting ourselves to producing these “signature” 3 to 6 minute edits. Lately, we have also offered books, podcasts and interviews, in addition to classic edits for social networks.
Since “FUEGO”, we have also focused our efforts on a documentary complimentary from the main edit, which will be available soon. The logical continuation consists simply in associating this documentary part with the short format, in the same video. As for each project, we address different societal or environmental topics. Wherever possible with this documentary format, I want to encourage our audience to become aware of these issues, so that the action sequences on the bike become real rewards.
Many thanks to COMMENCAL USA and COMMENCAL Canada who thoroughly played the game to help me and make this project a reality.