Tall Bike Tour

At the end of August 2018 I built a Tall Bike and cycled it 250km from Copenhagen to Växjö, to start my studies. Here’s a spoken word-esque account.     Bike touring by yourself on a tall bike (with no spare parts and minimal tools) is two things: 1. Astoundingly beautiful. 2. Existentially terrifying. I saw the tops of trees flickering copper, gold and crimson silver in the sun and happened upon a goth’s picnic on some forest roadside. They looked embarrassed for me, having heard me singing moments before. There was tarmac melted into long cracks in the road…

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July 2019, Scotland. Daily ecotopian life.

It’s 8am, 9am, or sometimes 1pm, when the Ecotopians open their eyes. In this country, no stifling heat propels them out of their tent at dawn. This piece of cloth becomes a morning shelter when the soft sound of the drops striking the roof echoes tirelessly. Despite this “flic floc” melody from the clouds and the resulting temptation to stay warm; body against sleeping bag or body against body; every morning their souls find the energy to face the greyness awaiting outside. Ziiiiip, the entrance opens, and the senses marvel. Their ears are glad to hear the voices coming from familiar…

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It’s cold and wet

It is said that it is not good to believe in cliches. For this reason we went to check what is said about Scotland. From Edinburgh to Glasgow, we had numerous chances to taste the lovely weather of this amazing country! When it was not raining, we were cycling uphill and downhill over and over again with the wind pushing against our unperturbed smiles. Only to arrive somewhere to cook under the tarp accompanied by the ceaseless choir of millions of midges. We were wondering why last year we were around 40-50 ecotopians and this year we were not more…

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Quest For Rocket Stoves

With the skies above our camping place threatening rain and thunder and with two days left before we were to leave Edinburgh, the heart of the bike tour was missing. The heart of the bike tour is an ugly-mangled thing. We crouch beside it at night, offering up endless twigs and sticks, blowing on it our hopes for hot food. The heart of the bike tour is a rocket stove. It is made from a large oil drum, piping and insulation. We had two vegetable oil drums, found at the back of a restraunt. We still needed to find some…

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