Cycle for Climate Justice in Europe!

May 18, 2010 by sarah    1 Comment     Posted under: Span That World

Cycle for Climate Justice in Western Europe!

This is a really exciting opportunity if any woodies who have got a lot of free time over the summer and lots of enthusiasm for grassroots activism and sustainability!

We aren’t worried about volcano ash clouds getting in our way: we’re going to cycle from North Yorkshire (United Kingdom), via Leeds, Bristol, Caen, Le Havre, Calais, Ostende and Brussels to Cologne (Germany). Our 1,700 km itinerary is focused around mobilisations for climate justice and will take us more than two months: from 25 June until August 31 2010.
If you want to join (a part) of the biketour, you are welcome!

The Ecotopia Biketour is not just any roadtrip of simple pedal power through picturesque panoramas, it’s full of environmental campaigning and actions too!
We will participate in campaigns at places we pass: supporting front-line communities in reclaiming their land against polluting industries; debunking nuclear power myths; taking direct action against the oil and coal industries; highlighting alternatives to highway expansions; supporting the transition to carfree cities; at the same time as organising ourselves the way we wish to see global issues dealt with. Each week there will be workshops, discussions and (without doubt) fun & games. Some of the biggest stops will be at the Towards Carfree Cities Conference at the end of June, the  French climate camp in July and the German climate camp in August. All along the route we hope to meet, stay with and learn from local communities who take sustainable development into their own hands: home-made, home grown, permaculture, renewables, recycling, preservation of natural reserves… And there’s going to be a whole lot more: the Ecotopia Biketour is whatever we make it.

Join us, if:
you can cycle around 50 km per day (probably with a few rainy days!)
you are interested in environmental and social justice issues and want to take part in actions
you want to take part in consensus decision-making (communicating!) and
you want to help with the daily tasks such as preparing meals, pulling trailers, washing up or tidying the sleeping places.
How to participate
First: Read the ins and outs of the Biketour on our website & fill out the registration form asap:

http://www.ecotopiabiketour.net/join-us/registration

Then: find out if you need visa for the countries we travel through: United Kingdom [one visa zone] and France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany [separate "Schengen" visa zone]. Contact us, to we can see how we can help you to arrange your visa.
If you’re on facebook, you can join the Biketour event or even following us on Twitter is possible!
Each person pays a participation fee of 4-8 euros per day (those with a better economic situation maybe a bit more than those who have less money). This fee should help cover everything – organisational effort, various events, actions, workshops, three vegetarian meals a day and a place to put up your tent.
If join from the start: we will meet on the morning of 25th of June in London, as a lot of us will be travelling from the continent. In the evening, we can join the London Critical Mass. If you live in London and want to help prepare something (banner for the critical mass; screen printing for t-shirts; communal food; etc) your ideas and skills and energy are very welcome! We will travel north together on morning of Saturday 26 June, and meet up with those who didn’t come from London. The actual cycling of the 2010 Biketour will start in North Yorkshire in the afternoon of 26 June, exact location to be announced soon (when we find a suitable camping spot for Saturday 26th about 100km – 60miles – north of York).

You can also joining us somewhere along our route – but please let us know in advance around where and when we can expect you to show up. The itinerary is (hopefully) becoming more solid each day.
There are a lot of hints and tips we can give you for getting ready for the biketour, but to keep this invitation of a decent length, you better delve yourself through our website and look at everything already there. And if you have questions, ask!
Hope to see you!

Laura and Moritz

this years’ international co-ordinators

info@ecotopiabiketour.net