day 19 - Vienna

Day 19
July 21st

We had a city tour planned for the morning, but the skies had different and the rain beat the cyclists' will to see the city. Andi, however, is never deterred by the rain. He dragged Julian up the hills and recorded a special message to everyone out there, following us on our way to Russia. You'll see the video at the end of this post. In the evening we had dinner and concerts at Tüwi, in what would be the last night for many in the group.

Since tomorrow is farewell day, here's the best tribute we can pay to our brave riders: let their voices be heard. To all who are leaving us now or had to leave before, we wish you the very best things in life. Roll picture:

day 18 - Vienna

Day 18
July 20th

Our first day in Vienna was rather busy, and also very rewarding. We rode to the House of the European Union and were welcomed by Mr Richard Kuehnel, the Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Vienna and one of the first supporters of Ride for your Rights! After the initial greetings, and with the presence of national media, Mr Kuehnel signed the Bike of Honour and joined the group for a spin, before inviting us all inside.

Once we took care of the formal opening remarks, we began to explain the goals of our project and our opinions about the obstacles hindering student mobility. What was supposed to be a short conversation developed into a lively exchange of ideas that lasted for more than an hour. From each person's personal experience, to the actual role and powers of the European Commission, we had a fruitful discussion and a valuable opportunity to transmit our concerns to the European bodies.

After a short break, we moved on to a workshop on Non-Violent Action, led by Mr Harold Otto, originally from the USA, now working with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation in Vienna. We learned about the intelectual principles behind the concept, heard inspiring thoughts from Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and other leaders of non-violent activism. We ended the workshop with some roleplaying, where Tiago incarnated an "evil" border guard (being the most experienced as of late), Niki as his assistant, Sasha as a clueless German tourist and Tanja as an annoying traveller behind schedule. Then we took the time to put ourselves in the other person's shoes, to better understand both sides of a strife.

After yet another short break, we met Prof. Neda Forghani-Arani, originally from Iran, now teaching at the University of Vienna. She led the second workshop of the day, dedicated to the subject of Global Education. We tried to analyze the way we identify ourselves, in terms of nationality and otherwise, and tried to deconstruct that same identity label. We then split into groups in order to figure out what it takes to be an agent of change. It appears that everyone agrees on the essential aspects (knowledge, values and tools) and that all the riders are quite prepared and motivated to bring about the change they seek.

Julian gave some closing remarks and we went out to lunch at a Pakistani restaurant. According to Sasha, when they say hot, they mean hot.

The afternoon was free for most people, but there's a small group that is always busy. A visit to Ciclopia was in order, where Julian had his bike serviced, Sasha felt like a kid in a candy store and Tiago managed to place the capacity of Boris at seven and a half bikes, plus luggage.

In the evening we had dinner with Mr Gottfried Bacher, from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research, who had joined us for the morning meeting and wanted to talk to us in a less formal atmosphere. Very familiar with the Bologna Process, he is the person to talk to when it comes to recognition issues, and we're very glad he showed so much interest in our project.

We went on to check out the Vienna night life, after one of our fullest days so far. Intercultural exchange at its best. And the Ride never stops.

day 17 - Bratislava to Vienna

Day 17
July 19th

With the largest group so far, we gathered once again in Sad Janka Kral'a (really, it's a great meeting point!) and welcomed yet another two more cyclists. No ride in the park anymore, we're in it for a big one.

We hit the road, had a break in Orth an der Donau, had a little picnic, two more riders joined the group and we went on our merry way. We were joined by - whom else - our friend Reinhard, who can't resist tagging along with us on his bike and put together a nice surprise for us. We had a quick break in the park, before we moved our first big meeting, in front of the UN building.

By the UN building, we met disabled students and took some time to learn about a very important resolution. Students on wheelchairs, deaf students, they all encounter many more obstacles that the rest of us do, and their rights need much more riding from all of us.

For the final stretch, we crossed the Reichsbruecke into the center, and had a buffet at the University of Vienna. Guess who was there: Stephanie! This lady has no Boris, and yet she managed to reach Vienna in time to meet us again. Always nice to meet fellow travellers...

As most of the riders went home (more than half the group came from Vienna), the rest of us who live elsewhere made our way to Meininger Hotel, where we found the comfort we need for a couple of days of recovery. Much thanks to Pascal, who is our acting babysitter at the moment and, despite the attempted poisoning with Bulgarian rakia, he seems to enjoy our presence very much.

Stage D completed, eleven more to go.

day 16 - Bratislava

Day 16
July 18th

Everyone dispersed on this half sunny, half rainy break in Bratislava. For those who made it, there was a city tour led by Michal. For the rest, BA has always something to offer, being the welcoming city that it is.

In the afternoon, we gathered again in Sad Janka Kral'a for our scheduled event. We had a short visit from a few activists from the local Critical Mass, then welcomed four new riders coming from Vienna, and we rolled out the Bike of Honour for the Director of Higher Education from the Slovak Ministry of Education, Mr Peter Plavcan. During our informal meeting we had the chance to express our concerns and the goal of the project, discussed the recognition problems with an informed perspective and collected another signature on our GoCycle.

We've become a large group at this point. We'd like to see it even larger up ahead. After all, this is the Ride for your Rights!

After this, the same old story: rain on the way home, dinner and a bit of clubbing, as the group prepares for an impressive arrival in Vienna...

day 15 - Gyor to Bratislava

Day 15
July 17th

We began stage D lighter than expected (some jackass stole a bag from our camp) and once again crossed the Danube, making our way to the dam in Gabcikovo.

There we met a true citizen of the world, currently based out of Bavaria. This nice lady came up to the group, inquired about the project and where each of us came from. She then proceeded to speak in nearly every language represented by us: Serbian, Hungarian, German, Portuguese and the classic Globish we all use to communicate around the world. She told us about her amazingly full life, signed our Manifesto and wished us luck for the rest of our way.

We followed the cycling path to Bratislava, short one member: Sasha's day off. Washing hands is overrated, but only to a certain extent. We later gathered in Sad Janka Kral'a, where we met Michal, our local organizer. He led us to the dormitories, presented us to the amazing old school bureaucracy there and we all made it to our own respective rooms.

Out to dinner, we were met by 3 more riders, coming in from Vienna: Connie, Miriam and Tanja hopped off the bus with their bikes, right under our noses! Then, those who were still feeling fresh went for some clubbing. The best part of the dormitories in Mlynska Dolina is that you don't really have to go far to find some food and some fun.

Again, we deserve it!