Firstly, things turn out differently and secondly, than you think. This much-quoted saying, attributed to Wilhelm Busch, was particularly apt in this case. Originally, the Hohenlohe Tour was supposed to be the final ride of the 2024 season. But then the renovation work at the Flair Park-Hotel Ilshofen began earlier than planned. As it is not as comfortable to stay on a building site, we have postponed the start of the season to spring 2025. ‘We'll be open again by Easter at the latest,’ said Managing Director Ronny confidently. But unforeseeable factors then threw a spanner in the works. Postpone it again? No way!

So we decided on a replacement hotel in the neighbourhood. In the end, we chose the ‘Landhotel Krone’ in Eschental. A good choice: rooms, food, staff - everything was great. None of the participants cancelled, everyone fully understood the situation. Here's to a chef's schnapps! This was served after the delicious regional dinner with roast beef, Maultaschen and Spätzle on the first evening together.

Everyone set off together for the day tour on Saturday. Tour guide Joachim led the way on his Gold Wing and Ronny brought up the rear. A considerable group. Nevertheless, the routes with little traffic worked well. There were no long through-town sections or short-switched traffic lights, and the group harmonised well as riders.

We roamed through the rural, hilly area between the Jagst, Kocher and Tauber rivers in the best of moods, garnished with a number of castles and palaces. The Götzenburg castle in Jagsthausen was very invitingly situated directly on the route. Joe drove right up to the entrance and because Sabrina Baroness von Berlichingen happened to be at the gate, we were allowed to take a look into the inner courtyard. It had already been prepared for the castle festival, which takes place in the summer months. Of course, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's classic ‘Götz von Berlichingen’ is also on the programme.

Not far away, a historic arched bridge leads over the Jagst to Schöntal, where we stopped for lunch at the ‘Gasthof zur Post’. There was enough time to visit the imposing monastery right next door. This was followed by a short stop at the Criesbacher Sattel with a sweeping view over the Kocher valley as far as Künzelsau, before continuing on to Langenburg. The castle, car museum and, last but not least, a famous sponge cake are the trademarks of this small town. The real Wibele can be found at ‘Café Bauer’ in the main street, with a great view over the Jagst valley from its sun terrace. Not far away, we rolled over the Unterregenbach ark bridge before the beautiful tour came to an end after around 220 fun-filled kilometres and lots of new impressions.

And because everyone enjoyed it so much and Ronny is a really nice guy, the group wants to meet up again in autumn. And it will be at the Flair Park-Hotel Ilshofen, which has since been completely renovated and reopened.

The participants
Christian: BMW R 1300 GS - Dagmar: Ducati Hypermotard 950 - Detlef: Aprilia Caponord 1200 Rally - Dieter: BMW R 1250 GS - Franz: BMW R 1300 GS - Joachim*: Honda Gold Wing (SC79) - Jörg: Honda Gold Wing - Kai: BMW R 1250 GS - Klaus: Moto Guzzi Stelvio - Michael: Triumph Tiger 1200 - Petra: Honda CRF 1000 L - Ronny**: BMW R 1100 S - Thomas: Suzuki GSX 1000 Katana - Toni: BMW S 1000 XR - Ulf: Honda XRV 750 - Walter: Honda Forza 350

* Tour guide     ** TF host