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The Ride In: A Pilgrimage on Two Wheels For thousands of riders, the journey to Garmisch was half the experience. Riding parties rolled in from across Europe, groups from Spain, France, the UK, and Scandinavia sharing fuel stops and border crossings as if they were old friends. Riders with dust on their panniers and bugs on their windshields spoke of crossing mountain passes like the Stelvio, camping wild in Switzerland, and dodging summer showers in the Tyrol.
Bikes of every kind lined the roads into town, vintage airheads buzzing beside pristine R 1300 GSs, electric CE 04 scooters slipping silently past leather-clad café racers. Some arrived solo, others in convoys of 20 or more. Flags waved from luggage racks. Tank bags overflowed with trail maps, fresh strudel, and GoPros still warm from alpine vistas.
A Festival Village in Full Throttle The grounds near the Hausbergbahn cable car station transformed into a sprawling motorcycle village, alive with colour, sound, and scent. It was equal parts expo, carnival, and alpine beer garden, where families, seasoned riders, first-timers, and curious locals mingled under flapping Bavarian flags.
At the heart was the BMW World of Experience tent— a cathedral to the marque, where current models gleamed under stage lighting and future concepts sparked quiet awe. Crowds circled the new R 1300 GS Adventure, while whispers hinted at electric prototypes tucked behind velvet ropes. Enthusiasts compared notes. Retired engineers explained suspension tweaks with sketches on napkins. Children climbed into mock-up sidecars grinning from ear to ear.
TRAVERSE 106