first days cycling italy..

And now for another day by day update from the past week. although we have just realised that; 1. today is our two month birthday of starting cycling!!! Time for a celebration I think. 2. we only have one week left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nooooooooooooooooooooooo saturday 25 august, after the the NO TAV camp general assembly, a big group of people tried to walk to the TAV construction site and were stopped by a police block which made us have to take a smaller path. We were heading to the Clarea protest site, where many tree houses and other resistance structures where some…

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last days in france

Riding through the Alps we have seen some beautiful (and steep!) mountains and visited some inspiring projects. Shooting stars have been more common than internet along the way, so here is a quick update of what we have been doing: tuesday 14 august, the action working group had a meeting and contacted local activists against nuclear energy along our route. At lunch time, Caroline, the mayor of Éourres village, joined us to eat and talk together about community living and how this alternative village was formed. In the afternoon some people joined in with the willow basket weaving and wool…

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five weeks on the road!

sunday 5 august, we held an anti-fracking workshop in Avignon square. While preparing dinner, T. held a Rhythms of Resistance workshop with recycled materials, pots and pans. We then joined up with the Serious Beans Project (a band who will join the tour so long as they can carry their violin, trumpet and doube bass amoungst other instruments on their bikes). They later gave us and the locals a free gig at the nearby campsite. monday 6 august, we cycled south for few hours under light rain, then debated Degrowth and Food over lunch before asking local land owners for…

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Degrowth makes you grow

Last Thursday, after five weeks of cycling, I left the biketour on a high, knowing already that I’d be back. I left partly because I was a bit tired. Selforganization is very empowering but takes a lot of energy and effort, especially when you are on the road with 25 to 30 people on average. I felt I couldn’t fully participate anymore unless I had a substantial break. Another reason to leave was that the distance would allow me to reflect on the things I just learnt and experienced. Waiting for my train in Montpellier I wrote down these quick…

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another week on our bikes…

thursday 26 july, after the long circle of wednesday, one of the conclusions was the lack of time for resting and organizing workshops, so the group decided to change a bit the plan for the next days and go directly to Montpelier in two days (just one night of wild camping). Some of us stopped in Beziers for internet and most of the day we followed paths near the canals till Agde where we found a field to camp. friday 27 july, yo and me took the train to Montpelier in order for her to hitchhike early and pass on her bike. The others…

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Biketour in poetry form :-)

Ecotopia Degrowth 2012 Follow the arrows and arrive to a buzz of energy, Vines to be weeded and a circle under an olive tree, Friendly faces and warm smiles welcome you to the group, Intrigued, wander about the farmhouse to have a better look. A Degrowth workshop to share information together, Sitting in groups discussing in lovely weather, Name games with which to remember everyone, Sign up for a task on the list – they’re lots of fun. Sleep side by side with strangers on the floor, A commune and family you feel you knew before, Close bonds form and…

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One paragraph per day…

(soon will try to upload some pictures to this post also) sunday  15 july, we said goodbye to our kind hosts of Can Piella in the morning and followed a nice road to San Pol de Mar, Iago arranged us a place to stay, the Poliesportiu municipal, and in the night we met with a orquestra band from the town and some friends of a known poet Perejaume to talk about comunity living and degrowth while we cooked our first dinner on our rocket stoves at the beach. monday 16 july, we continued following the sea, by a beautiful scenic road, and stoped…

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Decreciendo sobre ruedas

Participar en Ecotopia biketour es una formidable aventura personal y colectiva no exenta de múltiples y variados riesgos. Si uno no sabe mantener el sutil equilibrio entre las dos ruedas de su bicicleta podría verse obligado al descanso forzoso durante unos días e incluso a abandonar definitivamente su soñado viaje. El riesgo aumenta cuando uno se hace cargo del entrañable y viejo remolque lleno de utensilios de cocina, avena para el porridge matinal, cereales, frutos secos y verduras varias para las próximas comidas. Esto es lo que le pasó hace unos días a uno de nuestros compañeros cuando descendía por…

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