Adventure Bike Rider Forum

dragonwheels wrote:I went to the Black Forest Twice, was guided by locals with great road knowledge so we did the BEST roads and about 15km of trails - highly recommended area to ride. Luckily I worked for Touratech so had colleagues as guides. Local knowledge can make a good tour/ride great..d.i.y is fun too, but if you enjoy a craic, group dynamics (and group drinking) can be a blast.
An experience shared is one of life's great joys..don't rule out contacting a German Tour specialist - they all speak excellent English - or go to Enzian Hotel and Crazy Klaus will sort you with maps and routes through the Alps.

Klaus is one of the maddest people I've met on a bike and the speeds be rides a naked BMW at need to be seen to be believed!

Our last night at the Enzian was spent drinking home made schnappes with the staff (free of charge) while we watched videos of an earlier ride. Klaus had already decided that he needed to destroy the evidence after we watched the video because it was enough to put people in jail :laugh:

There is so much tosh spoken about guided tours and who goes on them. On my Alaska and TAT trips which I organise and guide, I take some very serious riders who may have done some hardcore "adventure" (don't you just hate that term?) rides. They come with me because of my experience in the area's and I take all the hard work and hassle out of getting them and their bikes to the destination.

Also, a lot of people just don't have the time to do the groundwork so are happy enough the let someone else take the strain whether it's a trip to Wales, Germany Morocco or indeed Alaska. If it wasn't for these guided trips, some people would never do it so it's great people have an opportunity.

We are all individual and thank goodness we have a choice.

Organising any tour is time consuming, hard work and for little or no financial gain as any one who does it will tell you. The best part is the "thankyou" at the end of the trip which is fantastic.

If you want any tips and advice LV, give me a shout.

Sgt Bilco wrote:There is so much tosh spoken about guided tours
I agree
They come with me because of my experience in the area's and I take all the hard work and hassle out of getting them and their bikes to the destination.

Yes that's a fact.

Also, a lot of people just don't have the time to do the groundwork so are happy enough the let someone else take the strain.

So true

If it wasn't for these guided trips, some people would never do it.
Yes.

We are all individual and thank goodness we have a choice.
I fully agree

Good post!

Thank you for your offer. I shall take you up on that if you don't mind.
Pete

Shotgun wrote:

Lord Vader wrote: How much would you be prepared to pay for a guided tour.
So what you think?

F**ck all. And what I think is if you take a paying tour you are a tourist. If you are a real biker you plan it yourslf, and do it yourself, so you don't need to feel ashamed. If you want to pay, take a bus tour.

Can you forget WWII when you go to Germany? It was more than half a century ago.

" Real biker"?

Utter drivel, It's up to the indivual how they plan a trip, guided
, solo or two-up.

Treadtrader wrote:

Shotgun wrote:

Lord Vader wrote: How much would you be prepared to pay for a guided tour.
So what you think?

F**ck all. And what I think is if you take a paying tour you are a tourist. If you are a real biker you plan it yourslf, and do it yourself, so you don't need to feel ashamed. If you want to pay, take a bus tour.

Can you forget WWII when you go to Germany? It was more than half a century ago.

" Real biker"?

Utter drivel, It's up to the indivual how they plan a trip, guided
, solo or two-up.

The what makes a real biker debate would probably run longer than the what makes an adventure bike(r) and almost certainly be just as boring.

I'm not going to sleep tonight because I'm not sure if I'm a biker, a motorcycle enthusiast or just someone who rides a bike because I can.

Lord Vader wrote:Just been sitting here and watching a tv program on bike tours in Germany. What a load of Shi*t.
The guy was so boring but deb just loved the area he went through. So we started talking bike tours and if there would be any interest in guided tours to Germany.
7-10 days, different areas, different interests
Of my head I would say
Elephant rally
Rhine/Mosel valleys plus Johannes fest in Mainz
Castle and romantic route down to the alps
Maybe northern Germany, with a WW2 theme incorporating Berlin(Wall, check point Charlie, Sachsenhausen concentration camp...)
Southern Germany Germany(Black Forest....)
That would be tours from as little as 5 days to maybe 2 weeks.
None of the above as high mileage days. Lots of sightseeing, coffee stops, food sampling and the odd beer or two.
I was thinking more the lower budget option with mostly camping and the odd youth hostel thrown in.
So what you guys think. Would there be a market for that? How much would you be prepared to pay for a guided tour. You pay all your own expenses.
So what you think?

I suppose it depends on your Intrests a guy in RBLR with me does owns Dambusters Tours, web site same name he only does a tour round that region & Normandy, some ppl prefer piece of mind knowing there is a hotel others do it on a whim & some like me & GF camp but do plan a head, most of the time, although on our return from Millau I was looking in my ACSI book the day before & we where having a gentle ride back I would phone in advance day before, all of them could squeeze in a Motorbike & Tent.

IMHO the main problem with guided or accompanied tours is getting the repeat business. With a lot of people, once you have done it, you want to do something different next time. For the Touring Virgins, once they see how easy it is to Tour in Europe, they will do their own thing the next time. The Internet hasn't helped as it makes researching so much easier. So you will constantly be trying to attract new clients. Tours are very good for introducing people to an area but most who take a shine to it will do their own thing the next time, probably using much of the route and resources you have shown them.

My wife had never been near a motorcycle when she met me, doesn't do camping and likes a bit of comfort in her life. She took to biking quite quickly but for her first trip to Europe (within the first year), she insisted on an organised tour. We paid a fortune, met some good friends, had a fantastic time and went on to tour independently several times a year thereafter including organising (non profit making) tours of our own for a club we ran. Unfortunately the Tour Company we used on that first occasion went bust a couple of years later.

Anyway, She loved it so much we moved to Austria, set up our own B&B and do Accompanied Day Trips in our area.

We are SE of Munich "Jimmyshin"

Klaus at The Enzian has a very good set up but he has worked at it for many years to get where he is. Most of his guides are unpaid but get their board and lodgings plus the use of a bike or if he is desperate he cons me in to helping him. ... and yes, he is mad as a fish!!!

I personally would pay for a guided tour(depending on cost).I agree that getting on the bike and riding off with just a map and provisions is in itself a great "adventure" however sometimes you just can't beat local knowledge or somebody with knowledge of the best roads and best places to stay etc. I would rather get straight to somewhere and experience great roads than have to spend a couple of days riding there and wasting valuble holiday time.
When it comes to how much it would be worth, I would put a figure around £250(ish) per person for a 5-7 day tour (not including food & accommodation). At the end of the day the tour guide would be making money and doing something they love (riding bikes).

Selous wrote:

Lord Vader wrote:

I suppose it depends on your Intrests a guy in RBLR with me does owns Dambusters Tours,

Sounds...interesting. Do you think there could be some interest from Germany in a guided tour of 'The Coventry Blitz' - much the same thing, a tour of war sites. Might suit. But in modern Europe, which we're in, these kind of trips can be seen as insulting.