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

Coal is just dead dinosaurs – 20th July

mandolinquent July 21, 2013 August 6, 2013

Sorry this entry is not available in this language For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in this site default language. You may click one of the links to switch the site language to another available language. So my Uncle used to say. I’m not so sure of the science behind that, but this dinosaur is very much alive! Its arms flail around scaring small children under the guidance of cyclists and campers until it reaches the centre of the village. It’s stomache opens up and regurgitates a hosts of black biodegradable balloons with messages tied…

A night at Ventus – 18th July

biketour July 21, 2013 July 21, 2013

Sorry this entry is not available in this language For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in this site default language. You may click one of the links to switch the site language to another available language. (PICTURES TO FOLLOW – INTERNET TOO SLOW!!) After 70 kilometres, we arrive in the little village of Niebendorf to stay with Christian, Ben, Lucia, Virginia in the gardens of Ventus e V. It is a group of fantastic people who are giving a few teenagers a chance to try an alternative psychiatric health treatment, living close to nature and…

Grenzen der Mehrsprachigkeit

grenzblog July 19, 2013 October 14, 2013

Sorry this entry is not available in this language For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in this site default language. You may click one of the links to switch the site language to another available language. Wir werden auf unserer Reise mehr Sprachgrenzen übertreten, die nicht mit Staatsgrenzen übereinstimmen, als Staatsgrenzen, die gleichzeitig eine scharfe Sprachgrenze darstellen. Heute haben wir eine überquert: Die erste Grenze der “offiziellen” Mehrsprachigkeit. Auch wenn dies z.B. in Berlin jeden zweiten Meter passiert: Die Stadt mit ihren tausenden Sprachen gilt juristisch gesehen als einsprachig. Anders die Situation in der Lausitz,…

PEOPLE POWER – a poem on the go!

kate July 18, 2013 February 20, 2014

Sorry this entry is not available in this language For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language. L’energia flueix com la vida, there’s just something in the air que j’ai jamais entendu; c’est l’amour, c’est la colere maybe is only the smile in the face. But it needs to be done com una ploma que bat les ales; pero nunca encuentra su sitio where to rest just for a bit. It’s the sun going down but not the feeling of being alive, feel…