The THTs usually take place over the weekend and are designed to go on tour together with other readers, make new contacts and get to know the advantages of a TF partner hotel. A short, crisp event with two nights' accommodation and one day of driving. "We could also offer a whole week," suggested TF host Claus from Waldhotel Eisenberg, "an adventure week with several guided tours and a supporting programme." Good idea!
Claus is the co-inventor of these popular hotel tours and has been involved with great commitment since the beginning; both the first and the eleventh event took place at his Waldhotel. The experienced host has a good feeling for the needs of his motorcycling guests and immediately got down to the preparations with his team.
The result was an entertaining week, packed with interesting tours, delicious food and some extras. For the first time, there were personalised T-shirts, the names ironed on individually by the boss himself in the evenings. With so much attention to detail, nothing could go wrong. In addition, some sponsors were on board. Different Rukka suits and biker jeans from Axxus were available, not only to try on, but also to test during one of the day tours. For one evening, brand manager Moritz from the company Cardo was a guest. In an entertaining talk, he presented the latest communication devices, answered all questions in detail and helped seriously interested people to fit the test samples into their helmets. Furthermore, one could inform oneself about Yuasa batteries and take a look at the various Kellermann turn signals. The stylish Helite airbag waistcoats also aroused great interest. Tour guide Sascha had a few spare cartridges in his pocket and demonstrated several times how they work directly on men and women.
There was a lot of motorcycle talk, experiences were exchanged and tips were given. Participant Winnie, for example, was so enthusiastic about his newly acquired Axfix loading system that he scheduled a demonstration appointment and showed how to safely load and unload even heavy machines into a transporter on his own. "We're all not getting any younger," Franz said, "and knocking over a K 1600 can be quite expensive." In comparison, he said, the rail is almost a bargain.
The Waldhotel is a Honda test ride hotel where different models are available for test riding for a fair rental price. So I grabbed the NC 750 X with DCT transmission – a good choice for the winding roads of the Palatinate.
The "Pfalztourguides" Dani and Sascha were mainly responsible for the route. They know the area very well and worked out day tours of around 250 kilometres each especially for this event – including enough breaks, nice coffee and lunch stops and charming, winding roads away from the main traffic. Supported by tour guides Nam and Steffen, the four groups cycled through the Palatinate Forest, into the Northern Vosges, towards the Saarland and along the Hunsrück over the Moselle to the Taunus over the Rhine.
Of course, a stop at the Dürkheim Giant Barrel was a must, as well as at Johanniskreuz or the oversized bench near Leimen. Speaking of bench seats, another highlight was a visit to the Baehr factory in Rodalben near Pirmasens, which manufactures, among other things, comfort bench seats for numerous motorbike models and, of course, also caters to individual wishes.
There were five guided tours on six full days on site. But it was not the case that the tour guides had a day off. On the contrary, they actually had a lot to do, namely in the kitchen. With a little help from the host Claus and the chef, they conjured up four Italian-influenced courses for the whole team. Bravo! Who has ever been cooked for by their tour guide?
The first TOURENFAHRER week was a positive experience in every respect and the overall package was coherent: very nice touristic tours with interesting stops, accessories to test, lots of fun, good conversations, new friends and last but not least a very attentive service team.
The THT dates for 2024 are not yet fixed, but will be announced here as soon as possible.
The participants
Alexander: Triumph Trident 660 · August: Honda Silver Wing 600 · Axel: Harley-Davidson E-Glide · Bernd: BMW R 1200 GS · Bianca: KTM 390 Duke · Claus**: Honda CL 500 · Dani*: BMW F 800 GS · Detlef: Honda CTX 700 · Detlef: Moto Guzzi V85 TT · Dieter: Yamaha XT 1200 Z Super Ténéré · Dirk: Yamaha FJR 1300 · Franz and Otti: BMW K 1600 GTL · Friedhelm: BMW R 1200 GS · Gabi: Yamaha Fazer · Gerald: Yamaha MT-09 · Harald: BMW R 1200 GS · Herbert: BMW F 650 GS · Jürgen: BMW R 1250 RS · Marco: Yamaha FJR 1300 · Michael: BMW R 1200 RT · Moris: Yamaha Tracer · Nam*: Ducati SuperSport 950 · Peter: BMW R 1250 RT · Ralf: Ducati Multistrada V2 S · Reinhard: BMW R 1200 GS · Robert: BMW R 1200 GS · Rudi: Honda ST 1300 · Sascha*: Ducati DesertX · Stefan: BMW R 100 · Stefan: BMW R 1150 GS · Stefan: BMW R 1250 R · Steffen*: BMW R 18 · Thomas: KTM 890 Adventure · Toni: Honda NC 750 X DCT · Ulrich: Yamaha FJR 1300 · Uwe: BMW R 1200 R · Walter: BMW S 1000 XR · Winnie: Kawasaki Versys 1000 · Wolfgang: BMW R 1250 R · Wolfgang: Yamaha MT-07
*Tour Guide ** TF Hotelier