Bike Bel – Ecotopia Biketour

Obituary: Strudel Apollo Sanchez Buchanan

Bike Bel September 24, 2014 October 21, 2014

Strudel Apollo joined the Ecotopia Biketour on 18th August 2014. At 2 weeks old, this orphan kitten stole our hearts immediately. We decided to help this cat-like fellow, descendent of Alexander the Great, and find for him a new family. With a surprisingly uncanny resemblance to his adoptive mother: big, beautiful, eyeliner eyes and bowed back legs that made him waddle in a cute way, it was hard not to like him. Since the beginning he proved to be a very curious and courageous cat. He got along with everybody very easily and he even won the cat-haters around. When…

Per.ka – a real solution to the food crisis

Bike Bel August 25, 2014 October 21, 2014

The people of Per.ka spent some hours with us last Saturday morning talking about their organic community garden. It is an incredibly inspiring story in itself, and within which there are a fabric of individual’s stories. It all began only 3 years ago when people got together and decided they wanted space to grow things together in the city. They looked around a few places, but the abandoned military camp at Karatasou was the natural choice: it’s vast, it was available straight away and with the support of the cultural club and water was readily available (although not without it’s…

Thessaloniki Programme

Bike Bel August 21, 2014 August 21, 2014

Hi everyone! Ecotopia Biketour arrives into Thessaloniki this evening at Per.ka, an ex-military camp, now a big organic community garden! Join us there to camp, or have a look at the schedule at activities we have planned which are open for anyone to join in! Day Activity Location Time Thursday Arrival at camp Set up tents Per.ka,military camp Karatasou http://perka.org/node/226 Evening Friday Bike Fixing workshop Yfanet, corner Perdika/Omirou 4-7pm Saturday Discussions with Per.ka Working in the Community Garden Per.ka 11-1pm 3-6pm Sunday Critical Mass ride to Vio.Me Visit to self-organised factory Vio.Me to listen to the…

The beauty of a rainy summer in the Balkans

Bike Bel August 9, 2014 August 9, 2014

This summer has been uncharacteristically wet here. In both Bulgaria and Serbia, locals would expect to be sweating in the midday sun, not dripping from yet another unpredictable shower. Alas, it’s raining constantly. In Kosovo, a downpour on the first night almost caused a flood and another disrupted a open air workshop. Now, in Macedonia, all the rumours have been that a storm is coming any minute now! Yet, being who we are, we decided to look on the bright side of things. So here are ten reasons why we are HAPPY it is so damn rainy! 1 Water sources…

The First Three Days in Sofia

Bike Bel July 14, 2014 August 20, 2014

The first of us arrived in Sofia on Thursday afternoon. After orientating ourselves, we were met at Eagle Bridge by a guy from Sofia Green Tours – a group of volunteers who give guided tours of the city by bike – and were shown our place to sleep quite deep in the Borisova park. There was tons of space for lots of us to stay…so far there were just 5! That night some of us joined the weekly Thursday night bike ride. About a hundred people showed up, and with the lights glowing, they descended slowly, stuttering patiently across zebra…