Sidecar tours and sustainability - does that fit together?
With my blog post today I would like to thank you first of all for your great support during the first week of the campaign!
It was a brilliant start and I am overwhelmed by the many positive reactions and the financial help I received in the first days!
My big thanks to all who shared the post and thus helped to spread the campaign and of course to those who, by ordering a thank-you gift and with free support, make their contribution to a successful project!
Again and again I get feedback on the subject of sustainability and environmental protection. From the first day of my idea "Sidecartours" I have also asked myself the same question again and again:
Travelling with a motorcycle sidecar and sustainability - does that fit together? And how can I best put this into practice?
Of course, the easiest way would be to give up travelling on a whim. No distance travelled, no CO2 consumed, holidays on balconies. But renouncing does not make us happy. We all need our time out, to see something different, beautiful landscapes, foreign cultures, deceleration.
So how do we do it? By now we all know that flying is a climate killer, and cruise ships are certainly no alternative, especially since we have to get into port first.
Individual holidays are definitely the right keyword and definitely more sustainable and resource-saving than package tourism. Compared to travelling by car, a motorbike consumes considerably less fuel and CO2 emissions are of course lower as a result.
But now the next question arises: With a motorcycle with a combustion engine through the most beautiful landscapes? That can't be it.
Anyone who knows me knows that in my private life I buy and consume sustainably as best I can. And most of all, I would like to ride a motorcycle without noise and emissions. Now there are already the first electric motorcycles on the market. Unfortunately they are unaffordable, especially as a Sidecar, and the range is unfortunately hardly sufficient for my planned tours. But would they be so much better?
In the course of my research on CO2 emissions, I learned that as soon as you take the production and power generation into account, the CO2 balance, compared to the combustion engine, does not differ significantly.
What always helps me a lot is the exchange with my long-time friend Dr. Christoph Soukup. Christoph advises industrial companies on the subject of circular economy and runs a successful podcast "#muellistmist" on this topic. So in him I have found the perfect sparring partner on the subject of sidecar traveling and sustainability.
He advised me to offset my tours and my private consumption of CO2, preferably with projects in regions that do not yet do as much as we do in Europe and also recommended the right partners for this.
And there is one thing we definitely agree on:
Use what you have!
Every new purchase, every additionally produced product consumes valuable resources and produces additional CO2 emissions.
Therefore also a new electric vehicle.
So for my tours I use the Sidecar I already own and as an additional purchase there is a used vehicle. In addition, our second motorcycle is converted to a Sidecar.
The CO2 compensation of my offered tours is taken care of, none of my passengers have to worry about it.
With the motorcycle sidecar it is possible to travel comfortably, safely and sustainably. A good portion of adventure is on top!
Sidecar tours and sustainability - it fits!
Your Tobi from Gespanntouren
Sources:
Dr. Christoph Soukup #MuellistMist www.muellistmist.org
Electric motorcycles: https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/de-de
CO2 compensation: www.primaklima.org
