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

The biketour has finally started

biketour July 9, 2012 July 13, 2012

The first people were meeting on friday, preparing the camp at Can Masdeu and later joined the biggest Critical Mass ever in Barcelona. On saturday more people arrived constantly. For about three hours, Biciclot offered us their workshop, tools, spare parts and knowledge in order to prepare our bicycles for the tour. Since there is a water shortage (it’s summer and it’s the mediterranean!) and the campsite didn’t gave us the possibility to shower, a short detour to the beach on the way back was a welcome refreshment. We attempted to form our first circle in the evening but ended…

Bon Voyage Ecotopia Biketour

alice July 4, 2012 July 13, 2012

Ecotopia Biketour is now on the road and we are looking forward to all our adventures together! The shiny new biketour booklet 2012 is ready, print off a copy and bring it with you. We also have a day-by-day calendar and a page on which projects/campaigns we are visiting so you can see where we are and where you will join us. If you want to join us it’s still good to register, find out all the info you need here. If you are coming to Barcelona this weekend, check the wiki for information about where we will be when:…

Monday 9th July: Critical Mass in defence of Collserola and against Eurovegas

alice June 26, 2012 July 4, 2012

What? First day of biketour! When? Monday 9th July 10h. Leaving from Can Masdeu 12h Meeting Vallvidrera, Pl. Mont d’Orsà (for brief information about the fight to defend Collserola and the struggle against Eurovegas). 14h. Communal meal at Kan Pasqual (bring something to share with others).

Celebrate the start of the biketour, 8th July at Can Masdeu 10.30h-19.00h

alice June 26, 2012 July 4, 2012

Come and meet Ecotopia Biketour, find out about Degrowth and help us celebrate the start of our 2,000km journey by bike from Barcelona to Venice, which leaves the next day! Ecotopia Biketour is an eco-mobile do-it-yourself activist community which cycles through Europe each summer. This year our journey takes us through Catalonia, the South of France and Northern Italy and our theme is degrowth, challenging the damaging mentality of growth which overlooks real social and environmental values. We will visit projects, collectives and people who are experimenting with alternatives to growth, learn from each other and live sustainably! And we…