Our Winter Meeting will happen between February 20-23, 2020 in Freiburg. We will decide in which countries (central/southern/southeastern Europe) and which time frame the next tour will happen, discuss our values and how to implement them, create flyers, posters and stickers to advertise the tour, and have fun together! Anyone who is interested in meeting us and finding out how we organise is welcome to join.

If you want to join the meeting, please let us know beforehand by writing to 2020@ecotopiabiketour.net. During the meeting, we will be reachable by phone on this number: +49 157 84844802.

We are looking for interesting projects and events happening in summer 2020 in Central, Southern and Southeastern Europe. Based on the projects we find we will decide the exact region on the meeting in February. Any information is appreciated. Find out more here.

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!

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.

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

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

10 years Ecotopia Biketour

Ecotopia Biketour September 20, 2018 September 20, 2018

It was super interesting to join Ecotopia Biketour (EBt) again, after 5 years not taking part and almost have lost contact. I would like to share here some of my thoughts that were eminent during this years tour, my fifth EBt. The first time being in 2008. Joining biketour for the fifth time is not the same as the first experience. The past experiences make that you have memories coming up from other years influencing the feelings, ideas and proposals that you will bring to the group. Luckily some other former EBt friends popped up as well! The year 2018…

Biketour in Allaríz and Saumede

Candid September 11, 2018 September 11, 2018

From Ourense we had to cycle a long uphill full of suicidal flies to Allaríz, a small but famous and touristic town south of Ourense. The original plan was to do a public workshop day and people’s kitchen in a social centre there. But there had been some miscommunication about the dates, and in the end the day that we were there, no one was there to do any activities with us. But we had a sleeping place organised, a small garden on the edge of the town. The infrastructure was a bit difficult, as the only source for water…

Hot Springs, Critical Mass and Squat with a view: Biketour in Ourense

Candid September 4, 2018 August 31, 2018

After a long and never-ending downhill, the Biketour arrived in Ourense. A major point on our route-planning map were the hot springs in the city, which we were much looking forward to visit (as we decided to take a route that would not pass by the other nicer hot springs in the Gerês National Park). The original plan was to stay for two full days wild-camping next to the springs, but when we discovered that the springs were in between two motorways and a national road in a steep river valley next to an industrial area, we were very happy…

Naked dogs, unasked helpful help, blahblah about blahblah and myself

luhukasu September 2, 2018 August 31, 2018

The water, the lake, the rhythm. Breath in and laugh at the world. Precooked plastic sealed quinoa taboulet. Also other food. Thanks dumpster. The beach, the sun, the wind. Pedal up and keep pedaling up. Pedal up and keep pedaling up. Downhill thrill. But we can’t stay here, go on. Although it was a nice place as many others before. Just a constant humming noise from the factory disturbed the beach-lake-cyclist paradise. And maybe that the natural park contains pine and eucalyptus plantations. And windmills. Us, a threat for their well-being. A cow stands next to the windmill, unable to…