Grassroutes Caravan is a mobile bicycle village of resilience that is heading to Chicago to protest NATO this May. GRC organizer and member of DGR Wisconsin, Thistle Pettersen, says there is still room in the village for more riders and a DGR crew would be welcomed with open arms!

A recent article on Examiner.com explains more about Grassroutes Caravan and this year’s ride:

Each year, the Grassroots Caravan sponsors a cycling trip to different points in the Midwest. This year’s event is entitled Cycles of Revolution: ¡Brake the Banks!. Forty people participated in the group’s annual trip in 2008 to the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. This year’s trip is limited to 50 participants.

According to their website, this trip is to “promote and demonstrate peaceful forms of cooperative, collaborative democracy in the face of the endless wartime rhetoric of NATO.” Using bicycles as the vehicle to travel to Chicago is in tune with the NATO summit, because the wars NATO engages in are frequently fought “to secure oil and gas resources,” of which the bicycle uses none.

The Cycle of Revolution will stop in three communities along the route to participate in community events. As has been tradition in the previous three trips the group sponsored, particpants engage in community service in exchange for places to stay during the journey. Currently, approximately 20 people have signed up for the event, which leaves Madison on May 13. A kick-off fundraiser is scheduled for May 5 in Madison. The group has been holding fundraisers since January.

To get involved in Grassroutes Caravan, you can apply to ride or get in touch with the organizers.