Outreachmail participants 06 eng

bike it yourself tour / ecotopia biketour 2006

bike it yourself to ecotopia and celebrate the world carfree day in croatia!

we have been so busy organizing it, that we almost forgot to tell you – ecotopia biketour is happening again this summer! for the first time in our 16th years history, we will not end the biketour in ecotopia camp, but continue on cycling to celebrate the world carfree day in croatia. biketour this year is going to be quite long, but you are invited to join and leave our clumsy and joyful group whenever you want.

we will start our "bike it yourself-tour" on 18th of june in šiauliai, lithuania and it will take us 6 weeks of cycling through lithuania, poland and slovakia to reach ecotopia camp in zajeska, beautiful place in the mountains of slovakia. we will stay at the ecotopia gathering for 2 weeks and then continue the biketour for another 4 weeks full of cycling, international exchanges and environmental actions through hungary, slovenia, ending in croatia on 22nd of september. you can really bike it yourself – all the way from lithuania to croatia!

come and join us on the diy street party in lithuania, participate in anti-via baltica highway protest in poland, harvest yourself veggies in ecofarm in slovakia and join dozens of workshops on art activism in ecotopia! hungary, slovenia and croatia will also offer great actions, beautiful campsites and great interaction with local groups. look at http://www.thebiketour.net/ for more details about this celebration of sustainable transportation and lifestyle.

join us, if:

• you can cycle 50-80 km per day (trust me, you can!)
• you are interested in environmental issues and willing to take part in some actions
• you are willing to take part in concensus decision-making and
• you are willing to take part in the daily tasks such as preparing meals, carrying trailers, washing up or tidying the sleeping places.
• watch out: sexist, racist, homophobic and other discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated on the tour.

how to take part? first you have to fill out in the application form which can be found at https://www.thebiketour.net/en/information/how-to-join/. those people who need visa for the countries we travel through will receive as much help as possible from the biketour organisers. each person pays a participation fee of about 15 eco per day (check: http://www.eyfa.org/ecorates for more info on ecorates). this fee covers everything - organisational effort, various events, actions, workshops, three meals a day and a place to put your tent.

we might be able to refund your travel costs - if you travel the cheapest, most ecological way. but this still in the hands of funders - contact us as soon as possible, if your participation depends on this. each person cycles at their own pace and we carry everything ourselves, with large items in trailers. we usually cook ourselves.

the organization is well under way, but we are always happy for every helping hand. lots of things can be done via internet - writing texts, layout, etc. please have a look here: http://wiki.thebiketour.net/index.php/Main_Page#Stuff_to_be_done.

looking forward to seeing you all!

friendly greetings,

"bike it yourself tour" organizing team

for more information: info@thebiketour.net

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Ecotopia Biketour 2006

We have been so busy organising it, that we almost forgot to tell you: The Ecotopia Biketour is happening again this summer! For the 16th time, the tour will go as far east as never before. The Ecotopia Gathering will take place in Zajeska, Slovakia. It will take us six weeks to reach it cycling From Lithuania, through Poland and Slovakia, we will stay at the Ecotopia Gathering for two weeks and continue the biketour for another four weeks full of cycling, international exchanges and environmental actions through Hungary, Slovenia and ending in Croatia on 22 September. As soon as 18 June we will be starting in Šiauliai, Lithuania. Our focus will be on sustainable transport and creating an environmental mobile community. Look at www.thebiketour.net for details about this celebration of sustainable transport.

Moving all our stuff by sheer muscle power, we will create an eco-mobile community which will support numerous ecological groups along the way by visiting them and joining them for actions. The biketour is a Do-It-Yourself self-sustaining community, with all participants expected to take a share of tasks and to participate in the non hierarchical, concensus-based decision-making process. Camping will be our usual accommodation and sometimes we will sleep in schools and private houses. There are usually between 25-50 participants from all over Europe, and occasionally some from further afield. Participants may come for all or part of the route. Anyone who fits the following guidelines is welcome:

• You can cycle 50-80 km per day
• You are interested in environmental issues and willing to take part in some actions
• You are willing to take part in concensus decision-making and
• You are willing to take part in the daily tasks such as preparing meals, carrying trailers, washing up or tidying the sleeping places.
• Watch out: sexist, racist, homophobic and other discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated on the tour.

How to take part? First you have to fill out in the application form which can be found at https://www.thebiketour.net/en/information/how-to-join/. Those people who need visa for the countries we will travel through will receive as much help as possible from the Biketour organisers. Each person pays a participation fee of about 15 eco per day (check: www.eyfa.org/ecorates.htm for more info on Eco-Rates). The fee covers everything - organisational effort, various events, actions, workshops, three meals a day and a place to put your tent.

We might be able to refund your travel costs - if you travel the cheapest, most ecological way. But this still in the hands of funders - contact us as soon as possible, if your participation depends on this. At the beginning of each day there is a meeting where the route is told and we get a map for the day, the task distribution is decided upon and any others problems are discussed.

Each person cycles at their own pace and we carry everything ourselves, with large items in trailers. We usually cook ourselves.

The organization is well under way, but we are always happy for every helping hand. Lots of things can be done via internet - writing texts, layout, etc. Please have a look here: Main_Page#Stuff_to_be_done There you can find a to do list.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Friendly greetings,

The Biketour Organizing Team

For more information: joao[at]thebiketour.net