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Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meetings

Sixth Deutschland Travellers Meeting

10-13 June, 2011

in cooperation with
Quality Touring equipment worldwide.
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Why Come to a Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers Meeting?

You can meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or Africa or across Asia, or even around the world! Admit it, all your 'normal' friends and most of your family fears for your sanity! So, this is your opportunity to meet the people who will encourage you in that craziness, share their experiences and advice on how to do it, and maybe you'll meet them again in Mongolia or Timbuktu!

Camping area.


How you can help - put up a few posters! NEW Poster available! Event poster available! Please post it everywhere!

Want to know what people thought of other HU Meetings? Is it worth coming to the Meeting?

"I'm so looking forward to another UK meet. My only problem is that I simply can't get to every talk I want, such is the amount of terrific presentations on offer. Each year I've been astonished at how articulate, intelligent, informative and entertaining the speakers are. I'm willing to help with anything that doesn't keep me from a talk - and my timetable will be full to bursting!" More comments here.

The Plan

The plan is simple. Show up on Friday or at the latest Saturday afternoon, meet people and setup. Travel Presentations and Tech seminars are planned throughout the meeting, starting Friday night. More Detailed Schedule here.

We can always use some help! If you want to assist, please sign up to volunteer to assist on the day or here for advance work or to ask questions. Thanks!

2011 Speakers and Tech Seminars (so far, more to come):

Presentations in English or German as possible.

  • eMMenreiter - A high adventure with low 20 PS
    • Michael Linke and Susanne Hein
      An unforgettable ride on two old MZ-Bikes from Germany into the Himalaya and back.
  • Africa
    • "Betrand"
      3 Humanitarian Missions to Orphanages in Mali
  • Packing right
    • David and Heidi Winters
      A gear whore's tale, Tips on how to do more with less and what you shouldn't leave home without
  • Brasil De Moto
    • Claudio Gnypek and Sonja Ritter, Pegasoreise
      A motorcycle journey through Brazil from the south to the north in 3 months.
  • Lone way round
  • The Frog Princess - Germany to Nepal
    • Ben Frank, Germany
      The story of a little green motorcycle on the way from Germany to Nepal - via Iran, Central Asia, China and Pakistan.
  • The world is not a straight road (Movie)
    • Frank and Artur, Germany
      Through Africa with an 8 year old passenger - Artur
  • The slow way down
    • Florian Rolke
      On a Simson Schwalbe (50ccm) from Hamburg to Capetown
  • On 50 Euros to the Mediterrean Coast
    • Jens Ruprecht, Germany
      Durchgebissen: Für 50 Euro ans Mittelmeer?
  • Patagonia
    • Jens Ruprecht, Germany
  • Women only
    • a very popular session - I'm told it's a must for the ladies, so be sure to plan on being there! A chance to talk to experienced travelling women without the men around!
    • Kay Forwood will lead the session, with an introduction into travelling as a woman.
  • Three great GPS Technical Seminars:
    • "Bertrand"
      1 - Adding Google Earth IMGs to GPS
      2 - Getting and adding maps from OpenSource
      3 - Creating Custom POI's
  • KTM LC4
    • Workshop, by Ben Frank
      Hugely popular last year!
  • BMW F650 Modifications
    • Workshop, by Bertrand
      Can't let those KTM guys have all the fun!
  • Fix that flat! How to change a tire anytime, anywhere
    • Workshop
      How to prevent flats in the first place, and fix them when you get one. The best tools and how to use them for tube and tubeless tires. Hand's on practical and tire changing contest for beginners to experts!

      Changing a tire.
      Tech session

  • How to write and publish your travel book!
    • Jens Ruprecht, Germany
      Want to get your story published and on Amazon? Jens did it, and here's how!
  • GPS Tech clinic
    • Matthias Zörcher, http://www.rswolf.de/ (30 minutes from the meeting if you need anything for GPS, Ducati or Suzuki)
      Saturday and Sunday presentations on using a GPS

      GPS Tech session

      Matthias at the GPS session

  • Experienced Travellers Panel - ask the experts anything you want!
  • and more to come as we get closer to the date.
  • How about you? We're all here to learn, and there's LOTS to learn! We want to do more presentations and seminars - but we need volunteers to give them! Any topic you can contribute having to do with motorcycle travel, maintenance, planning etc, lasting 20 minutes or more, would be great. Please contact me here to volunteer.
To give you an idea of what we plan to have for you, here's the seminars for last year's Meeting:
  • Every country in the world
    • Peter and Kay Forwood, Australia
      All 193 countries on a Harley in 13 years, the Challenges, Enjoyments and Logistics of Visiting Every Country
  • Sjaak Lucassen, Netherlands, RTW on an R1; will team up with Peter and Kay to present a unique take on travelling the world, on two very opposite - but highly successful - bikes.
  • Africa Solo: The Long Way Around
    • Werner Bausenhart, Canada (Germany) in English or German
      A Circumnavigation of Africa from London via Cape Town back to London. Werner will have some of his books too.
  • 15.000km Down Under with 3 Triumph Tigers
    • Wilco Vonk and Frank van Gerwen - TigerRaid
      A story and a double DVD movie about 3 guys and 1 girl doing 15.000km in 8 weeks through the Red Centre and the West coast of Australia
  • With Enfield Diesel to Lake Aral and back
    • Gerben from Holland
      nearly 20.000 km in 5 Weeks -Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
  • Vietnam and Laos
    • Peter Kongsbak, Denmark
      Riding around Vietnam and Laos on a Minsk Motorcycle
  • Offroad travelling and taking "Enduro" seriously
    • Stephan Eichenlaub
      From traveller to sport rider and back: The fascination of trying the "impossible": Riding the big KTM twin on a rally and on the Enduromania. Travel by bike, change tyres and be ready for action.
  • An Enfield in India
    • Jörn Buchleitner, Germany
      A quick 3 weeks on a rented Enfield through India, tips and tricks.
  • Morocco: safe, exciting and inexpensive
    • Tim Cullis, UK
      Overview and hidden/special places (NOTE: Saturday night only)
  • Panel - volunteers please!
    • How to get someone of the opposite sex to go travelling with you - panel and discussion. Why is it so hard? What are you doing wrong - or right? All viewpoints please!
  • Women only
    • a very popular session - I'm told it's a must for the ladies, so be sure to plan on being there! A chance to talk to experienced travelling women without the men around!
    • Doris Wiedemann will lead the session, with an introduction into travelling as a woman.
  • Fix that flat! How to change a tire anytime, anywhere
    • Workshop
      How to prevent flats in the first place, and fix them when you get one. The best tools and how to use them for tube and tubeless tires. Hand's on practical and tire changing contest for beginners to experts!
  • Diesel Bike Workshop
    • Peter Selzer, Germany
      Interested in better fuel mileage? Find out from an expert!
  • How to write and publish your travel book!
    • Jens Ruprecht, Germany
      Want to get your story published and on Amazon? Jens did it, and here's how!
  • Photo Composition for Travellers
    • Grant Johnson, Canada
      The one everyone SHOULD take, but no one does... We all want to take great photos of our trip - so why don't we? This easy clinic will transform your motorcycle travel photos from boring to fabulous! BRING your photos on a CD or Flash Drive, max 10, and we'll critique and discuss YOUR photos - what's good, and what's not - and how they could be improved.
  • GPS Tech clinic
    • Matthias Zörcher, http://www.rswolf.de/ (30 minutes from the meeting if you need anything for GPS, Ducati or Suzuki)
      Saturday and Sunday presentations on using a GPS
  • Experienced Travellers Panel - ask the experts anything you want!

There will be slide shows and talks Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, as well as all Sunday morning and afternoon, so come early and make it a great weekend! We recommend planning on riding Saturday and Monday, and leaving time for Seminars all day Sunday.

Rideouts

Rideouts are limited to 6 or 10 people per ride, no exceptions.

All rides will be back on site at or before 5.00pm

Road Rides - two planned, details to come.

Off-road - we could use some help - any ideas, locations, routes, off-road tracks?

The cost of going on any ride is included in the registration fee.

All rides are "register on the day." There will be signup sheets for each ride posted the evening before. First in best dressed.

Travel Equipment Vendors

We're looking for Travel Equipment vendors to come and display your products, and sell as well. Please contact Grant in London or Jens Ruprecht in Germany.

Kedo Performance Products "Heroes Legend Race to Dakar" support, travel goodies and more/
Petra Friedrich from OutdoorFieber will be there with motorcycle and outdoor products.

Charity

Last year we raised almost €2000 for Riders for Health or Motorcycle Outreach, through the sale of raffle tickets and the generous donation of prizes from all the vendors on site and from afar at our HU Meetings worldwide. Many thanks to everyone, let's hope we can raise even more this year. And if you'd like to donate a prize, please contact Grant or Jens in Germany.

Free stuff - A 'Scratch Patch'

We all know how expensive these overland travel dreams can be, but also how you often manage to accumulate travel equipment and bits and pieces that just end up gathering dust. That thingamabob that you have been meaning to give away for ages could be exactly what some broke newbie is in need of before a first trip.

The 'Scratch Patch' is a place where people can put those extra inner tubes for the bike that they already sold but forgot to give to the new owner (clearly labelled as to size of course ); that jerry can that you bought that doesn't fit your mountings; that Lonely Planet for Mongolia - anything that might be a big help to someone else.

(of course, anything that does not find a home by the end of the weekend will need to be reclaimed)"

Bring your left-over/unwanted junk - oops, I mean, Good Stuff! :)

Camping

Camping is INCLUDED in your registration fee. NO 4 wheeled vehicles in the main camping fields, there will be an area specifically for you.

Dogs - Noisy dogs will be ejected.

Books - get your signed copy direct from the Author!

Jens Ruprecht

anyone else?

Schedule will be posted here, with a print version as well, when it's ready...

...so check back and plan what you want to see. The schedule is subject to change, so don't hold our feet to the fire - stuff happens! But we will try very hard to ensure that it goes off as planned. Check the latest schedule to be posted at the meeting on the day.

All times - and everything - approximate!

An up-to-date schedule will be posted at the Meeting.

Friday morning

CHECK-IN and sign up! You MUST be registered to go on a ride or for entry to any events, seminars etc.

Saturday

08:00 - Breakfast, all morning, €5

CHECK-IN and sign up! You MUST be registered to go on a ride or entry to any events, seminars etc.

09:00 Ride briefing. Be gassed up and ready to ride if you're going.

Saturday night

21:00 Speakers presentations start sharp at 2100, so be sure you've eaten early!

Sunday morning

8:00 - Breakfast, all morning, €5

8:30 - 9:00 Late Check-in.

9:00 Ride briefing. Be fueled up and ready to ride if you're going.

Sunday Lunch

From 11:30, served all day. Payable to the venue on the day. Range of specials from the blackboard served all day, various excellent prices. Vegetarian meals available.

Sunday afternoon,

Rideouts - details here if you're riding on your own.

On road runs - we'll post a sheet of paper up for you to add your name to a destination, volunteers to lead appreciated!

Tech Seminar, details to come. If you want to volunteer to lead a seminar or breakout session, on any appropriate topic, please contact us. We have had lots of interest in seminars, ranging from 30 minutes to several hours, on subjects from GPS to packing lists to tire changing.

Sunday, dinner

See Sunday lunch above.

19:00 sharp:

Speakers presentations

21:00 (not sharp) - Door prizes - you have to be there to win!

Monday

Breakfast served from 8:00, €5

Miscellaneous notes:

Organizers will be there most of Friday, hopefully Thursday evening, if anyone wishes to arrive early and just hang out or go for a ride in the area. There is no problem arriving even a couple of days early, our hosts will be happy to see you and feed you, and camping is free. Please LET US KNOW you will be arriving early.

Pre-Register and save €10!

  1. Register and PAY before 1 June, entry fee is €35. Includes admission to all slide shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night and Monday am, and other events during the day Saturday and Sunday. Camping is also included in your entry fee for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. If you arrive early there is generally no problem finding a spot to camp, no charge. Just eat there and they're happy! Accommodation (other than camping), and meals are NOT included.
  2. At the door, admission is €45.

 

How to Pay

Payment and Registration Details AFTER 1 June

Too late - sorry, please register when you get there - there is plenty of room!


Membership - Show you're proud to be a Horizons Unlimited Traveller!

Just to clarify the membership situation: Currently there is no requirement to be a member to access the website, the HUBB or to receive the monthly e-zine. For now, what you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive.

We will also upgrade your status in the HUBB to Contributing or Gold Member. In addition to recognising your contribution through your status, this will allow you to upload a custom profile picture and custom avatar, store more private messages, upload more pictures, add events to the calendar and create polls.

If you wish to buy a t-shirt, mug, fleece jacket or other Horizons logo product from the Souk, you can purchase Member or Gold Member logo products at the basic price. Just let us know and we can arrange access to the Members Private Store.

Note that new Memberships with your Meeting Registration are applied as of the Meeting date or as soon as possible thereafter, not earlier, unless you make a special request in the Comments box when you register.

T-Shirt Deal

Cotton: Top quality heavy cotton t-shirts in black or grey.

Synthetic: (Dri-Fit) t-shirts are in a beautifully made wicking material, and make great travel / riding t-shirts as well as all-round wear t-shirts. Available in a variety of colours at most meetings, and always black or grey. The order section will list the colours available.

Note that we will have a very few t-shirts extra at each meeting, but very limited - we can't carry many! So please pre-order and pay in advance so you can be sure of getting what you want.

2012 Tshirt slogan "The open road is calling, and I have a world to ride!"

Back:

(large, full back)

The open road is calling, and I have a world to ride!

Front:

Front 'Pocket patch' logo on all tshirts

You can help!

If you have a few minutes, please download the poster (Adobe pdf format) and print off a few and hand them round your club or your local bike shop or anywhere seems like a good place.

(You may need to right click and choose "save target as...")

Poster in pdf format, English (300kb) full colour Event poster.

Poster in pdf format, Deutsche (300kb) full colour Event poster.

Thanks for the help!

The Meeting Location

Gasthaus „Zur Schneeburg“
69509 Ober-Liebersbach
(30 min. north of Heidelberg)

Getting There - GPS, Maps

GPS-Koordinaten „Zur Schneeburg“
N49 36.422
E8 42.421

Restaurant/Farm website, with details on getting there: www.zur-schneeburg.de

Map to the Meeting, click for more details.
Map to the Meeting - click for more details.

If you have any links or details for the area please let us know.

Other Accommodation Possibilities

If you have any information for the area please let us know.

Pretty nice hotel:

Der Watzenhof
69502 Hemsbach/
Balzenbach

Tel: 06201 70050
Fax: 06201 700520
Email Hotel:


Information about the area

The Odenwald Region, a little bit south of Frankfurt, east of the Rhine river is a very nice area for motorcyclists because of its pretty little hills, forests, romantic villages and perfect motorcycle roads! If you have never been here – you will love it! A ride in the morning – an afternoon coffee somewhere in an ancient castle and then back to our campground with all these beautiful people – what else do we need? We are only 15 min. away from the nice little towns of Heppenheim and Weinheim. Once you are here in the region – don't miss visiting the old town of Heidelberg.

If you have any links or details for the area please let us know.

Local Hosts

Jens Ruprecht is the lead organizer of this event. Thanks go to Jens for volunteering to bring Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meetings to Germany, and all his hard work!

If you have any questions, contact with rideout registration, vendor, venue and speakers questions.

See you at a meeting this year!

Grant and Susan

Editors note:
We accept no responsibility for any of the above information in any way whatsoever. You are reminded to do your own research. Any commentary is strictly a personal opinion of the person supplying the information and is not to be construed as an endorsement of any kind.
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All text and photographs are copyright © Grant and Susan Johnson, 1987-, or their respective authors. All Rights Reserved.