About

Ecotopia Biketour is a self-organized, international community that has been organizing a yearly bicycle tour in different regions of Europe since 1990. During the tour we visit environmental and social projects and practice forms of activism and sustainable living. We cook communal vegan food, practice consensus decision making, and share skills by doing workshops. One of our core values is to create a non-discriminatory environment. Participants are asked to give a voluntary contribution of 3–5 € per day to cover food costs, but if you cannot afford this you are welcome to join for free! Ecotopia Biketour is for anyone interested in travelling by bike, community life, DIY, an ecological lifestyle, and/or learning by experience. If this sounds good to you, feel welcome to join us!

We try to make the tour as inclusive as possible for any level of fitness or experience with bike touring. We cycle a maximum of 30–70 km per day (depending on the hills), and on average half of the days we stay in a place without cycling. Our experience is that almost everyone can manage this, but there is the possibility to shorten the distances if we discover that it is too much. People cycle in small groups or alone, at whatever speed suits them, and many people like to take it slow and take lots of breaks. A detailed route plan for the day is shared in the morning, arrows are drawn with chalk on the road at every turn, and if you get lost you can always call the Biketour phone. If you have a shitty bike, you will not be the only one, and we enjoy supporting each other if something breaks. We make sure that the last people to leave carry a toolbox, a phone and a first-aid kit in order to assist if anything goes wrong on the road.

Read more about what the Ecotopia Biketour is. If you would like to get an insight into the organisation or just ask a question, contact us.

Biketour concepts

Participation Guidelines

Because we all have different visions of life and diverse personalities, Ecotopia Biketour has developed a set of basic values which helps all of us to create similar expectations from this project.
> participation guidelines
> awareness

Self-Organisation

As we oppose any leadership or hierachical structures, the Biketour is organised in an open way where everyone can be a part of.
> how it’s prepared
> consensus
> circles

Online Tools

We try to use free and open-source software as much as possible in the preparation process. The same goes for sharing photos and videos in the group.
> online-tools
> photo-sharing

On the road

Everyone should be able to cycle with the Biketour. Therefore we keep distances low and have scouts going ahead who mark the route. Everyone can follow the signs on their own level of speed. Any tasks like scouting, cooking or pulling a trailer are shared.
> on the road
> tasks & rota
> trailers
> wildcamping

Food

All communal food on Biketour is vegan and cooked with wood on our mobile rocket stove.
Whenever it’s possible we go dumpster-diving and buy food from local farmers and small shops.
> veganism
> rocket stove
> dumpster-diving

Activities

We plan and make many activities on the tour: skill-sharing, helping at projects, joining actions and protests, bike-fixing and other events.
> skill-sharing

Latest blog posts

Biketour update for 2010-07-17

biketour July 17, 2010 July 17, 2010

Now at the Kebele cafe having an amazing vegan breakfast http://yfrog.com/742ojnj off to Southmead Festival soon (running late…) # Just back to the Factory with the largest amount of skipped food I've ever seen! http://yfrog.com/jqa7zj # Going to be busy in Bristol today: skipping at the market, going to Southmead Festival, and visiting social centres and squats across town #

Biketour update for 2010-07-16

biketour July 16, 2010 July 16, 2010

Spotted on the Severn Bridge this afternoon http://yfrog.com/htpjluj # The sun is backbtoday and we have arrived in Bristol to stay at the Factory in St Pauls http://freefactory.wordpress.com/ #

Biketour update for 2010-07-15

biketour July 15, 2010 July 15, 2010

Meanwhile it has rained for most of the last 3 days. Is this the British weather that people were joking about on the Biketour mail list? # Last night in Merthyr Tydfil we met some of the most inspiring activists ever: the people behind http://www.stopffosyfran.co.uk/ # A really hilly day today, back across the Valleys to Usk, led by Tom #

Biketour update for 2010-07-14

biketour July 14, 2010 July 14, 2010

Today we are making our way from Abergavenny to Merthyr Tydfil along National Cycle Network #46. But the route just suddenly disappeared! #