Bike and buslanes in Tirana

Thursday morning, after saying goodbye to Lisa and Felix, the biketour had a rendez-vous with people from ECAT, a Tirana based NGO which assist the government on environmental and technical issues. As Tirana is totally overcrowded with cars, the city has a problem with small particle (soot) pollution. To fight this silent killer the local government started to promote public transport and cycling in town. After visiting several towns in France and Germany, ECAT made a plan to construct combined bike- and buslanes. These will encourage citizens to make more use non-polluting transport options. ECAT invited The Biketour for a…

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Fryma e ajrit të pastër

Ne jemi Ecotopia Bike Tour, një grup mderkombëtar nga 11 vende, që qarkullojmë nëpër Ballkan. Qëllimi ynë ëstlitë të rrisim ndërgjegjësimin mjedisor. Elbasani ëslitë qyteti më i ndotur i Ballkanit Perëndimor. Kjo ndotje ka shumë pasoja për popullsinë këtu dhe shëndetin e tyre. Tre operatorë të mëdhenj, i çelikut, çimentos dhe ferrokromit shkaketojnë ndotjen me të madhe dhe nuk zbatojne ligjin mjedisor shqiptar.

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Biketour diary: The first week

9.7.Veles -Teovo After Emil saw us off in Veles, we cycled a quiet road to Teovo, enjoying a dip in a beautiful and cool B… river on the way and again on reaching the village. In Teovo we slept in the charming village school (picture) which, unfortunately, isn’t being used as there are not enough children in the village. We cooked lunch in church kitchen where we had the luxury of eating out of plates and in the evening we were invited for rakija and meze (a range of cold snacks served with rakija) at a local’s house. Our hearts…

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The Smelter of Veles

On the 7th and 8th of July the biketour visited the town of Veles. Veles is well know for it is high level of pollution. The pollution is mainly due to a very old iron smelter build in the early seventies by a German company. The smelter produced high polluted smoke which is blown by the wind in the direction of the town of Veles. What impacts the health of Veles’ people even wore is a big hill of heavy metal dust laying a round next to the old factor. The factory is close now for 5 years, but the…

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Cars vs. pedestrians in Belgrade

First, Biketour participants gathered at Belgrade from 5th to 6th of July. At Knez Mihalova in pedestrian zone together with Green Youth, Young Researchers of Serbia and Yugo Cycling Campaign we organized a street promotion of “walkmobile – sustainable pedestrian vehicle” for the public. We distributed numerous leaflets with info about advantages of alternative modes of transport compared to personal care use. After the action Biketour get on the night train towards Skopje. See more pictures from Milan here.

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