2017 – Ecotopia Biketour

Articles posted by 2017

Pujarnol

2017 October 18, 2017 October 10, 2017

On 13th of September, after 7 km of 5% slope uphill we arrived to Pujarnol, in the north of Girona. Even though of the scary arrival (the dogs were barking as crazy to the bikes) the views compensated it: huge house surrounded by forest, next to an old church and a cemetery. It looked like a castle. A bit of history: the main house is 1000 years old and the last 2 centuries used to be a hostel, where people could spend a night or have a meal. Now it hosts 10 adults and 6 children from different families that…

From Can Decreix to Pujarnol

2017 October 16, 2017 October 10, 2017

In between the projects of Can Decreix (not Candy Crush or Candid’s crash) we had 3 cycling days. The first one was all along the coast going up and down the cliffs and passing through little fishing villages. We left France and entered Catalunya by a mountain pass where we found a memorial about Spanish civil war. The first evening we were welcomed with full dumpsters that provided more than what 20 hungry cyclists can eat in a day. We had a feast in our wild camp, which was an old bunker with view on the sea. The second cycling…

Can Decreix

2017 October 14, 2017 October 10, 2017

We arrived at our next project, Can Decreix (Home of Degrowth), on the evening of Friday 8th. September, where we were to spend the next four nights. The project overlooked Cerbère, a small boarder town next to Catalonia, tucked away between steep vine-covered mountains, the sea and a large industrial train yard. The area is known for wine making, its dry climate and the Tramuntana, a powerful northerly wind which ravishes the area and is said to turn long-term settlers crazy. As the name suggests, Can Decreix is a project focused on putting into practice the principals of Degrowth. This…

From Rocalet to Can Decreix

2017 October 12, 2017 October 10, 2017

The start from Rocalet was slow and messy as always as when we go back to the road after some days of rest in a project. Our stuff was spread all around and we could feel that getting things done, pack and go was taking us some extra time because many people had left during our stay in the community. As part of the excitement of starting peddaling again Pepe (the red trailer) left with the axle of Una ( the one wheel trailer) inside of it, the pots ended by being carried inside of Knodels trailer and the confused…

Le Rocalet – Donkeyland, Rain, Rocks, River

2017 October 10, 2017 October 10, 2017

Rocalet is a young community that has been started in August 2016. A group of people buyed an almost abanded trashed place, where the last years one messy old men had been living. Now its a lively place with a garden area, a communal house, free running chickens, donkey land, a lot of space in the forest and music all around. If u enter Rocalet after climbing up a beautiful valley, a small road is leading you through the forest along a swinging plattform where you can hear the lovely sound of a flute sometimes wispering from the tree, along…

Dealing with persistent oppressive behaviour on the Biketour

2017 September 26, 2017 September 26, 2017

Every year, a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds join the Biketour. Like in any group that does not consist exclusively of people, who have already intensively reflected upon power structures, situations happen that are experienced as more or less oppressive by some people. As none of us is perfect, we will make mistakes. That’s okay, because the Biketour aims to be a space that is open. A space where people who have never thought about mechanisms of oppression before can learn about them. Sometimes though, some specifically difficult personalities are joining, who regularly show inappropriate behaviour.…

Abandoned kitties

2017 September 20, 2017 September 15, 2017

When a group of five ecotopians went outside the city of Issac (40KM away from Montpellier) and saw three adorable abandoned kittens hidden in bush they didn’t doubted and carried them on their bike, in a front basket covered by a wine box so they couldn’t jump off, unsure about what would happen next. They arrived very late at the farm were we were staying overnight and some courageous catsitters spent a hard night listening to the meows of the scared and hungry kittens. Even though our hosts were not very excited about keeping one of the cats (because there…

From La Voulte to the Mediterranean Sea

2017 September 16, 2017 September 15, 2017

From La Voulte we cycled south along the Rhône. There was a bike path (the Via Rhôna) all the way, which was quite good, but with some unpleasant surprises such as sudden steep hills, unpaved bits, impassable barriers or unnecessary detours as usual. Along the way there was a huge nuclear power station with a painting of a playing child on it and a wind turbine next to it for additional greenwashing. After one day we turned west into the mountains in order to reach the next planned project La Vieille Valette. The group split up in two for the…