CharlieCharlie – Ecotopia Biketour

Articles posted by CharlieCharlie

winter meeting 2017

CharlieCharlie December 27, 2016 April 28, 2017

Preparations for the Ecotopia Biketour 2017 have most definitely begun! The biketour had an open meeting in Berlin last weekend where we reflected on last years tour, reviewed our online organisation structures, shared ideas for the biketour 2017, planned a timeline of what we want to do, and, actually made some decisions!! The most important one being the region of where the biketour will cycle in 2017. After careful consideration of the biketours values and priorities, we are pleased to announce that the region for the next biketour will be Germany, France, east Spain and possibly Switzerland. Over the course…

The Curonian Spit

CharlieCharlie August 10, 2016 April 28, 2017

From Kaunas, the biketour cycled for 5 days to reach the Curonian Spit, a long piece of land that starts in Kaliningrad (Russia) and streches for 100km in the ocean next to Lithuania, where you have to get a ferry back to Klaipeda on mainland Lithuania. We took the ferry to Nida (again, some kind of a puzzle in which we had to fit 14 bikes, 3 trailers, and tons of luggage into a small space…), the most southern part that belongs to Lithuania, and cycled north from here. The spit is a protected area of land and a UNESCO…

Biketour in Kaunas

CharlieCharlie August 8, 2016 September 8, 2016

From SapfoFest it was just one short day to cycle to Kaunas. On Sapfo we had already met a lot of people from Kaunas, and it turns out there is a lot going on in that city! We had been given a free campsite for two nights, which turned out to be a bit of field behind the official campervan site, underneath a busy motorway, but hot showers are always appreiciated regardless. We pitched our tents and headed to the co-operatively run pizza place in the city, run by the same group as catered the SapfoFest. We all piled in…

Queer Festival Fun!!

CharlieCharlie August 7, 2016 April 28, 2017

Two days cycling from Vilnius, we reached Žeimiai Manor House, location of Sapfo fest, the first fixed date that we made in the biketour calander when we were planning biketour 2016. Sapfo-fest is the first independent community-initiated Festival in the Baltics, which seeks to connect and empower the queer community, fight prejudice and discrimination, as well as increase awareness and visibility of queers in Lithuania and the rest of Eastern Europe – and has now happened for the fifth time. A lot of the biketour participants were super exicited for this festival. We arranged to arrive a day early to help…

Biketour in Minsk (part 1)

CharlieCharlie July 23, 2016 July 19, 2016

After Shanti-Dom, we cycled 70km to Minsk. Getting into the city was not so easy however, and somehow we had to cross the big ring road that circles the city. Consulting the GPS, we found that the easiest way was to follow a small footpath for 300m – but we soon found out that the footpath was up a hill, just through a corn field (with 3 trailers…) You could already see the huge wall of housing blocks approaching. All over the horizon! Minsk was not so pretty on first impressions – huge, identical tower blocks all around. It is…

belarus border chaos

CharlieCharlie July 18, 2016 April 28, 2017

When the 2016 biketour collective first discussed going to Belarus, we expected that the visa would require some work, but after doing considerable research into the process, decided it was a manageable task. We did some preparation, but then expected that everything would fall into place when we met together at the starting point in Warsaw and would proceed as planned. It didn’t. So, heres a list of all the ways in which we almost failed to get to Belarus (a blog post about how we actually made it into Belarus to follow…) 1 – firstly, we needed an invitation…

d-d-d-d-d-DUMPSTER DIVE

CharlieCharlie September 28, 2015 October 11, 2015

( This blog post is set to the sound of this song – https://zdradapalki.bandcamp.com/track/dumpster-diva ) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dumpster+Diva – Dumpster Diva definition Noun: A gorgeous dumpster diver possessing excellent diving skills. A teacher and leader in the movement against waste. Someone who brings the truth of horrific waste to the forefront of the movement against poverty. Usually has a side-kick with her so she can carry more and dive safely in dark places. I want to write a bit about one of the ways this years bike tour (I’m not sure about the previous ones, this was my first year) has fed…

Analog Blog 2 – ribersborg kallbadhus

CharlieCharlie August 6, 2015 September 2, 2015