Biketour 2013
2013 Overview
Every year we have a Winter Meeting to discuss the following years tour. Last weekend, 12 people from all over Europe met in Berlin in the snow. You can read the agenda and a summary of the minutes here...
Why do we keep doing it?
- Because we believe in DIY, slow travel and Doing it Ourselves!
- Because we have a legacy of creating incredible experiences together / skills sharing / self organising / experiential learning ... and we want to do it again
- Because you know it will be the adventure of 2013
This Years Theme
- Borders
- Boundaries
- and beyond ...
Route Ideas
This year the tour is likely to start in Berlin (tbc) and will go "east or south". During the Winter Meeting (see below) we will clarify, what "east or south" means. The theme (also to be confirmed at the Winter Meeting) is "borders, boundaries and beyond" (tbc) and we are now searching for projects and actions in Eastern Europe to join this summer.
To come: A map of route ideas. Please add any places, projects, action camps, ecovillages, contacts which we could visit along the way here: or send your suggestions and proposals to info@ecotopiabiketour.net
See the 2013 route page.
Do you use FLOSS ? the Biketour does ...
One aim for 2013: To move towards only Libre and Open-Source communcation tools for Biketour, whilst telling people why!
Based on a key decision of 2012, a major goal of the 2013 coordination team is to further go towards a set of information and communication technology tools, which allow us to own our data, not "feed" transnational corporations, whilst protecting ourselves and others against surveillance, and empowering future generations of the incredible and usable "alternatives" online.
While for some people, data safety, privacy and conscious online communication has always been an issue - for others it is simply not considered. Out of a mainstream perspective, this can seem understandable - especially regarding technical knowledge. However, out of ecotopiabiketour's perspective, it seems paradox. If we use bikes instead of cars, eat tofu instead of meat, drink water instead of coke, cook communally instead of passing by the next McDonald's, visit grassroots communities and selforganised groups instead of shiny corporations: Why would we not act as "consciously" online? Here is a page with further arguments for FLOS biketour ICTs.
Here is a page with suggestions for FLOS biketour IC tools: Feel free to add your recommendations and knowledge about the suggested tools!
Kick-off days
This is likely to be a weekend in the first weeks of july. (to be confirmed)
What can we do during the kick-off days?
- Bike repair workshop
- Regenbogenwerkstatt?
- Rocket stove workshop
- Organising Ourselves: BT 2013 structure
- First aid workshop / course? (Red Cross, THW, etc.?)
- Workshop planning
- Action planning
- City Critical Mass
- Coincide with exisiting bike or border event
- Organise a Bike or Border event ...
Keep your proposals coming ......!
Things needed for biketour
Biketour as a collective "has" some collective stuff (pans / trailers), which are collectively transported and used during the tour. During the rest of the year, these things are stored in different places and should all come together again by the start of the next tour. Things used in 2012 and planned to use in 2013 can be found on the 2013 Equipment page. Please update this page with the things you have and write how they can get to the starting point of the tour!
Every individual joining the tour will have to use some private stuff. See page what to bring for ideas about what participants need.
The tour lives from its different people and all the (material and immaterial) things that these people bring and share. On the 2013 Equipment page you can announce what kind of additional things you will bring to the tour. This can help us to make sure in advance that we won't find ourselves in the strange situations of having 25 guitars but no single bike pump ;). You can also find some inspirations on what to bring.
Print Material On the Road
- BT booklet 2013: including schedule, description of places
- small language book
- maps?
- stickers?
Propaganda
- Where to publicize it
- some ideas on last year's page [Biketour 2012]
- put new ideas here!
Text that Needs Translation
These texts need to be translated into key languages (of countries we are passing through - in every case german and polish; maybe czeck, slovakian, hungarian, slovene, naš jezik; and any other language you like!). Please translate them into a new paragraph onto the page of the specific text linked below:
- email info@ecotopiabiketour.net if you can help with translations
Archive of Mailing List Communications
2013 Coordinator Call for 2014
Travel plans and advice
Page where people can share this if they would like to.
- to come: list with (cheap) travel opportunities for germany and the greater region