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. 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, write us via the contact form.
Ecotopia Biketour 2021
In the year 2021 we will be cycling for 2½ months in Czech republic, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. We will start on the 9th of July in Prague with one-week of preparation camp and cycle south towards Linz to join the bike festival Cyclocamp (July 30 – August 8), then going east crisscrossing Danube towards Vienna. We will then continue south admiring the Alps, visiting Graz, Ljubljana, pass by Zagreb, eventually navigate westwards and cycle to the Adriatic for a final swim.
You can check the route page for more detailed route plan or register as a participant!
Also now you can reach us on the phone: +43 660 9628049 (signal,telegram)
If you have some questions or have recommendations for projects, groups and events for us to visit on the way, please write to info@ecotopiabiketour.net
Biketour concepts
Participation Guidelines
> participation guidelines
Self-Organisation
> how it’s prepared
> consensus
> circles
Online Tools
> online-tools
> photo-sharing
On the road
> on the road
> tasks & rota
> trailers
> wildcamping
Food
Whenever it’s possible we go dumpster-diving and buy food from local farmers and small shops.
> veganism
> rocket stove
> dumpster-diving
Activities
> skill-sharing
Latest blog posts
July 2019, Scotland. Daily ecotopian life.
It’s 8am, 9am, or sometimes 1pm, when the Ecotopians open their eyes. In this country, no stifling heat propels them out of their tent at dawn. This piece of cloth becomes a morning shelter when the soft sound of the drops striking the roof echoes tirelessly. Despite this “flic floc” melody from the clouds and the resulting temptation to stay warm; body against sleeping bag or body against body; every morning their souls find the energy to face the greyness awaiting outside. Ziiiiip, the entrance opens, and the senses marvel. Their ears are glad to hear the voices coming from familiar…
It’s cold and wet
It is said that it is not good to believe in cliches. For this reason we went to check what is said about Scotland. From Edinburgh to Glasgow, we had numerous chances to taste the lovely weather of this amazing country! When it was not raining, we were cycling uphill and downhill over and over again with the wind pushing against our unperturbed smiles. Only to arrive somewhere to cook under the tarp accompanied by the ceaseless choir of millions of midges. We were wondering why last year we were around 40-50 ecotopians and this year we were not more…
Quest For Rocket Stoves
With the skies above our camping place threatening rain and thunder and with two days left before we were to leave Edinburgh, the heart of the bike tour was missing. The heart of the bike tour is an ugly-mangled thing. We crouch beside it at night, offering up endless twigs and sticks, blowing on it our hopes for hot food. The heart of the bike tour is a rocket stove. It is made from a large oil drum, piping and insulation. We had two vegetable oil drums, found at the back of a restraunt. We still needed to find some…
Quand la route devient chez toi
vélo couchée avec remorque Le temps que je passe en Ecotopia Biketour restent comme un tat des aventures tres denses dans ma tete. J’ai du mal a en sortir des expierences specifiques, quest qui vaut la peine de raconter et quoi non? quelle des milles histroires choisir? soir de deluge ptet celle-ci: on arrive apres une journee de decentes et montees le long des falaises asturiennes sur une pre pas loin de la mer. Une reunion est prevue, finallement, quand les gens se sont rassemblees, on fait un tour de paroles, quelqu’un dit: „je vois pas comment on va faire…