I don't really know if this is blog material and I'm sure it's not news either (might be nice to have some kind of My Articles section on Envirospeak to put stuff like this). It's basically a copy and paste from a long forgotten website (http://www.togg.org.uk/togg/lifecycles) which is in danger of vanishing so I thought it would be worth retaining for future reference.... 

Lifecycles Pedal Powered Multimedia Outreach Collective

Lifecycles is a collective of people wishing to raise awareness of environmental and social justice issues while also promoting positive alternatives and solutions. The inspiration for Lifecycles came from a series of unconnected long distance bike rides during 1999 and 2000. One such event involved people from all over Europe cycling to Praha in the Czech Republic for the IMF / World Bank meeting in September 2000. More recently a small group of people (including some of those now involved in this project) cycled to the Hague in Holland to protest at the COP6 international climate change conference in November 2000.

Lifecycles projects generally involve a bunch of people in costumes taking a load of bikes and trailers on the road and putting on events such as video shows and sessions for discussion and debate. The aim is to share information and practical skills relating to campaigning against genetic engineering, combating global warming, creating sustainable communities and more.

Having all the kit required for a totally mobile pedal powered cinema, Lifecycles prides itself on being able to put on a show anytime, any place, any where. Reality however does impose limits, even on us.

Our original tour planned for spring 2001 was cancelled due to Foot & MAFF. Instead, we did a week in Dorset near the five farm-scale GM test sites. We have since taken our pedal powered cinema to various events including the South West Permaculture Convergence, the UK Eco-Village Network gathering, and the Wheel Thing in Bath. We've also been mobilising our forces to provide guerilla cinema performances. Who knows, under the cover of darkness, there could be one at an unlikely venue near you.

Lifecycles was slow getting on road last year. We were awarded a grant to improve the technical side of things but it took a while to confirm whether the funds would be available and so didn't actually get going until late summer and even then, we didn't use the pedal power stuff.

We did a two week tour of Devon and Dorset which began on the 6th September with a film screening in Totnes market square. We then spent two weeks visiting dairy farmers in south Devon and Dorset to find out what they knew about the possible commercialisation of GM fodder maize.

This year (2003), we will be doing a similar tour in late May, early June. We will also be back on track doing pedal power cinema during the summer.

Techy stuff

• The rear tyres tend to wear quite badly using this system of drive. This could be solved if we could find more suitable rubber wheels. Ours were made out of wood turned on a pole lathe and covered with a bit of inner tube.
• The whole thing is held together with lashings and every time you set it up, it is slightly different. It takes experience to set up and get working and the alignment between bike wheel and generator is hard to maintain with random members of the public jumping on and off.
• The efficiency doesn't appear to be as good as it could be. It is also quite noisy.

• We've proved it can be done! Many of the alternative energy people we talked to about the project said it was mad. Perhaps they were right, but we've done it anyway.
• It is inspiring. People are amazed by the fact we can do this with old washing machine parts and quite a few have gone on to build (or try to build) something similar themselves.
• We didn't need to modify the tandems and the generator stands can be used with most standard bikes. This means we can use bikes instead of tandems for demonstrations of pedal power at green events, or use just one tandem if need be.
  
• Only the solar panels, inverter and trailer were bought new. Everything else was bought second hand, borrowed or built from recycled bits. The generators were built for next to nothing which was handy because we had little money left after buying the video projector.

Over the winter we looked into using hub motors, like those found on many electric bikes, in order to solve some of the problems associated with our pedal power setup. We have now done some fund raising and so will soon be buying a couple (if we can solve the sourcing problems - advice welcome).

We generally avoid buying new tat so the grant to buy new stuff is a bit of a compromise. However, it is not uncommon for other people to ask us how to build similar systems and it sometimes seems a little elitist to say that you have to hang around recycling centres and be good at improvising in order to do it. It may be less elitist to give the information required for people to opt for buying off-the-shelf components while still providing DIY advice.

If you want to know more about what we have done and how we did it then please do get in touch.

Lifecycles was conceieved as bicycle roadshow to raise awareness about genetically modified crops and the governments farmscale trials.

Lifecycles has evolved a lot since then. We recognise that there is no such thing as a single issue so climate change, corporate control and sustainability all get incorporated into Lifecycles events.

However, for the next year a least, genetic engineering will continue to be our major focus.

Despite the wishes of the majority of people of this country - 77% of whom say they want GM banned - the UK government continues to back the biotech industry. They plan to launch a massive pro GM propaganda campaign under the guise of public consultation and 'debate'. Using tame 'scientists', mindless media and massive amounts of cash, their spin doctors will attempt to reverse public opinion in order to pave the way for commercialisation of GM crops. Lifecycles, with sustainable energy and (of course) sequins and glitter, will be attempting to encourage some real informed debate and pro-active democracy.

Lifecycles is a non-hierarchical collective of groups and individuals around the South West.

When not on the road with Lifecycles these people may be your neighbours, work colleagues or family or friends. But, when astride a bike they become... Gene Genie, Helix & Felix the biotech boyz, the Benefical Insects, the GM Reaper, Patents On Life and a variety of other glam costumed exibitionists.

If you still want to get involved, trawl through your wardrobe for sequins and get in touch..

Lifecycles works with other groups and projects on a regular basis. We've done stuff with local youth groups, green groups, and Steward Community Woodland. We're are also working with the Rising Tide Network and have helped start up an new grassroots film production collective called 'Real to Reel' which is producing films for us to show. We also get films from Undercurrents, Indymedia etc.

If you think Lifecycles could help with something you are doing, then please do get in touch.
 
 

a.

 Lifecycles Wish List

Here is a collection of stuff that would help things run smooth. If you can help us get hold of any of them, or would like to help in anyway, please get in touch..

We have now raised enough funding to purchase all these things so if you have any of them available, please let us know. We would prefer to buy second hand whereever possible.

NEEDS

• Two brushless three phase hub motors to improve pedal power system. [order in progress]
• Tandems, trikes and bike trailers.
• People to join us for our next big road tour.

WANTS

• Costs: printing, postage, venues.
• Bike parts, trailers, tools, inner tubes, panniers, pannier racks.
• Waterproofs/cycling capes, cycle clothing, more sequined or otherwise sparkly clothing.
• Vegan, organic, locally produced or fairly traded - flapjacks, pasties, Clive's Pies (ideally mexican chilli or creamy mushroom), chocolate cake, chocolate biscuits, chocolate (especially orangey flavoured)
• Glorious sunshine - it is okay if it rains a little at night
• The moon on a stick and an end to the genetic manipulation of life.