It was nice to be back at the Rebstock. After we had done a tour with the ‘Metzger Motorrad Freunde’ (MMF, see TF 12/23) the year before, we already knew what to expect. Or at least we did, because it got even better.
The large covered car park in the courtyard gradually filled to capacity on Friday afternoon. The gazebo was completely reserved for us and, as befits a traditional butcher’s inn, a hearty dinner was served. Afterwards there was a short round of introductions.
Even though the Bavarian boxers were in the majority this time, there was a colourful mix of participants at the 18th THT. Readers with and without experience of the Black Forest, some from as far afield as northern Germany and distant Carinthia, as well as from nearby Switzerland and Bavaria. Saarland was most strongly represented with seven participants. Although the longest journey was not recognised, Harry was accorded the greatest respect. ‘We would still like to be this fit at the age of 86,’ was the general tenor. ‘The Kawasaki W 650 is the perfect motorbike for him,’ revealed his daughter Manuela, ’he could ride it all day.’ And indeed, he was absolutely saddle-solid and he could have taken one or two passages faster ...
What do you mean, start at half past eight? Too early for one, too late for another, just right for the next, we agreed: in full kit for the group photo at a quarter to nine and then off straight away. The first ride photo was even taken at 8.56am – a record-breaking time.
After about an hour of the finest bends away from larger towns, we came across the clock park with the world’s largest cuckoo clock just before Triberg. The clockwork can be viewed as part of a guided tour and the sales room is overflowing with the most diverse variations. While some were still waiting to see if a cuckoo might leave its little house, the first group dashed off again.
The next stage destination sounded gloomy, but the journey was great fun and the large, open tent at the Hexenlochmühle turned out to be a pleasant place to stop for a second breakfast. Anyone who hadn’t yet discovered the right cuckoo clock at the previous stop could find other models in the historic sawmill among other typical Black Forest souvenirs such as ham, honey and spirits.
Next stop was the cathedral in St. Blasien. Nobody expected such an imposing building in the solitude of the Alb Valley. In fact, the former abbey church, consecrated in 1783, is still one of the largest domed churches in Europe. Nor did anyone expect this to be a long visit. A special feature of this THT was that it was led by four master butchers: Andreas and Markus vom Rebstock, both of whom are also meat sommeliers, Johannes, the founder of the MMF, and Heiner, who followed behind as a ‘rag collector’. They took their home-made sausages out of their motorbike cases and set up a delicious picnic on a park bench next to the cathedral. Awesome!
Freshly strengthened, we headed to Präg and Todtnau over the 1231 metre high Feldberg Pass and on to Titisee. Hordes of tourists bustled through the village of the same name. We preferred not to stop, but chugged along slowly and then accelerated again. Our destination was the Kandel, the highest mountain in the central Black Forest at 1241 metres. At the top of the car park there was a great view, but we didn’t like the view because something was brewing. So we didn’t linger for long, but instead cycled the last 45 kilometres back to the hotel – and made it just before the rain.
Andreas runs the business together with his brother Helmut. Although he also rides a motorbike from time to time, he is more passionate about music. He provides the right drive on bass in his band. So what could be more natural than to give him a taste of it in the evening and rock out like a biker? We sat together for a long time on this warm summer evening and agreed that everything was perfect at this THT. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly right from the start, the routes and rest areas were very well chosen, the food was impeccable and the evening programme was unobtrusively entertaining. Bravo, it couldn’t have gone better!
The participants
Achim: BMW R 1200 RS • Andrea: BMW R 1250 GS • Andreas**: BMW R 1300 GS • Bernd: BMW R 1200 GS Adventure • Frank: Triumph Tiger 900 • Gernot: Suzuki V-Strom • Harry: Kawasaki W650 • Heiner*: BMW R 1250 GS • Hermann: BMW R 1300 GS • Johannes*: BMW R 1200 GS • Manuela: Triumph Tiger 800 XLX • Markus B.: BMW R 1200 GS • Markus S.*: KTM 1290 Super Adventure • Martin K.: BMW R 1200 GS • Martin S.: Moto Guzzi V85 TT Travel • Pius and Anita: BMW R 1250 RT • Rainer: BMW R 1200 R • Robert: BMW R 1250 GS • Roland: MW R 1200 GS Adventure • Sandra: Yamaha Tracer 900 GT • Stephan: BMW F 900 R • Stiven: Triumph Street Triple • Toni: Yamaha Tracer 7 GT • Werner K.: Yamaha XS 2 • Werner M.: Honda XRV 750 AT • Werner and Eva: BMW R 1200 RT
* Tour guide ** TF-Host