One lesson for Biketour organising out of 2024 is how much personal connections matter. For people involved in the process could see a clear distinction between project visits that had been arranged only via online-communication and those where we were able to meet the people beforehand. Very special were those where people very actively welcomed us because participants from Biketour 2013 had afterwards spent some months there. One such place was AKSC and other groups in Skopje, Makedonija – another one Rovies in Greece. By spending the winter in Skopje and afterwards the first month of Biketour 2014 organising in…

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On the 31st of July we cycled through a valley in south-eastern Serbia towards the border of Kosovo. Some small villages every couple of kilometers, not a lot of people on the streets, barely any traffic. The night before it had already felt weird to see a big truck or bus making their way into the darkness of the mountains every now and again, not really seeming like there was much to go to. The further up the hill we went, the more quiet it became, until suddenly we saw a big queue of trucks on the road waiting to…

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I went to the BikeTour as I was running away from a Rainbow Gathering (jolly hippy stuff) and was immediately relieved to meet some normal, cool, approachable people. A real collection of dreamers of a better world, but also with the practical mindset of those who make daily use of spanners and allen keys. But the most striking common trait was our ferocious (but strictly vegan) appetite. So I went from doing & eating almost nothing at the hippy gathering, to a bustle of activities & and jaw exercising during the Bike Tour.. On the very first official day, “Ecotopia”…

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The first of us arrived in Sofia on Thursday afternoon. After orientating ourselves, we were met at Eagle Bridge by a guy from Sofia Green Tours – a group of volunteers who give guided tours of the city by bike – and were shown our place to sleep quite deep in the Borisova park. There was tons of space for lots of us to stay…so far there were just 5! That night some of us joined the weekly Thursday night bike ride. About a hundred people showed up, and with the lights glowing, they descended slowly, stuttering patiently across zebra…

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Earlier today protestors met outside the Romanian Embassy in Berlin in Solidarity of the Sunday protest in that have been gaining momentum in Romanian, and beyond since September. There were simultaneous protest all over Romania but also in Barcelona, Paris, and parts of South America. After recently returning to Berlin from the Biketour, I took the opportunity to join the Berlin protest, that marched from the Embassy to Brandernberg Gate, chanting “United we Save Rosia Montana” and ‘Viva Revolution‘ in English and Romanian. There people lit candles, shouted popular RM slogans, and danced to live covers of adapted popular tunes,…

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Made whilst unpacking panniers from items foraged or carried along the way…this is just what would fit in the picture! (Click to enlarge). This a thankyou to all the people who cycled alongside us. For the people who cooked delicious creations – for those who built and fixed the rocket stoves (several times) –  for giving us amazing contacts – for showing us inspiring projects – for welcoming us into you community, home or garden – for joining us around the fire –  for those who lent me socks and clothes when mine were just too dirty or wet to…

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