On the road on an e-bike

From Leibnitz to Vienna: grannies cycle in protest

Six grandmas and one grandpa are starting the "Ring for the climate" campaign.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

The Styrian Grannies and Grandpas for Future are getting on their e-bikes to "ring the bell" for the climate. With their call for a sustainable transport transition in their luggage, they set off from Leibnitz to Vienna, where they were received by Green Minister Leonore Gewessler.

Liz Pabst is a grandmother of nine - and has also been a Grandma for Future for about a year and a half. For her retirement, she had planned to cut back a little after many years of working in the social sector. She wanted to read more and make more music. Then a flyer fluttered her way at an event - and her activist side was reignited.

"I was already involved with Amnesty International in my youth," says the now 60-year-old. Now she has found a new volunteering passion with Omas and Opas for Future Styria. The group is now presenting this year's biggest project: a 266-kilometre cycle tour from Leibnitz to Vienna, on which they will present their demands for a change in traffic policy. Together, they are campaigning for a reduction in car speeds and the expansion of pedestrian, cycle and public transport networks.

Liz Pabst has been a Grandma for Future for one and a half years.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

She starts on May 13 in front of Leibnitz town hall. At their first stopover in Graz, the seven Styrian grandmas and grandpas will be welcomed by Green Deputy Mayor Judith Schwentner. Their route continues via Frohnleiten, Kapfenberg and Baden until they arrive in Vienna five days later. There, Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (The Greens) will also receive their manifesto. Their "Ringing for the Climate" campaign will end on May 17 with a demonstration in front of parliament.

They are demonstrating for their grandchildren
The aim is to show that the older generation also has a voice, explains Hildegard Schweder, organizer of the activist group and initiator of the cycling campaign. Climate protest should not be blamed on the young alone. "We are doing this so that the next generation still has a beautiful planet to live on," says Schweder.

"I became aware of the urgency through a book by Greta Thunberg's mother," says Pabst, a grandmother of nine. When she read about how Thunberg began to protest in horror after a climate lecture at school, she recognized herself in it. "Like her, I asked myself the question: How can people know something like this and not act?" says the Leibnitz resident.

Now the grandmas and grandpas are hoping for good weather on their bike tour. The batteries of their e-bikes are already charged and they will also be accompanied by a professional guide. "The project is a great challenge for us," says Schweder. The fact that the activists have already formed something like a group of friends makes the project manageable. "We're not the youngest anymore, but my children are happy about my involvement," says Pabst.