I named this section after the Left Lane M/C, a BMWMOA/BMWRA chartered Club I used to ride with in Europe most of the time. They were - and they still are - a great bunch of people I always had great times with. There were about a dozen rallies per year going on all over Europe, and my wife and I usually tried to attend as many as possible.

One of the regular events was the "Annual Gourmet and Wine Fest", held at a small vineyard at the Mosel River in Germany. The goumet part of the rally consisted of "the most fancy dish to possibly carry on a motorcycle" that every participant had to take. The combination of all kinds of salads and cakes, in conjunction with the grilled steaks, made this really a one of a kind event. The wine part of the rally comprised a tasting of the host's own wines, which usually ended up in his wine-cellar, sipping wine directly from the big barrels down there. Unfortunately, our host recently died, and so this event is not the same any more.

Speaking of wine: Another regular event was the Bad Dürkheim Weinfest. At this "Ultimate Unorganized Rally" the partipants gathered at a local campground and spent a weekend at the "Biggest Winefest in the World". This fest boasts to be the Octoberfest of Wine, which does not seem to be too far from the truth. During daytime, though, most of us chose to ride our beemers over the beautiful roads of the region.

The Left Lane always had good relations to the other two BMWMOA-chartered clubs in Europe, the Abteilung Deutschland-Schweiz (AD) and the French Connection (FC). So we regularly attended AD-events, too, such as the Annual Äppelwoi-Treffen. This rally is a very family-oriented event held in an old quarry. There was always a large number of kids around, even celebrating one little boys birthday with a Mexican-style Piñata. Drink of the event was the locally made, rather sour apple-wine. But since humans can get used to almost anything, the stuff really started to taste good after a while.

The Annual French Connection rally was held in different parts of France. This usually meant a long ride to get there, but it was always worth it. This event featured a guided tour (sometimes using interesting roadways, as you see on the left) and even a meeting with the local town brass, with the mayor addressing the particpants and champagne being served. Depending on the part of the country we were in, there was always a possiblity to visit different sights, such as this unfinished German V2-launch site from WWII.

But, as you all know, it is not just the destination that counts. We therefore spent a great deal of time just touring. Most of the times we stayed away from the famous German Autobahns and chose some nice roads with interesting sights to stop at. And we took our time to visit these beautiful places, such as the castle over Würzburg you see in this picture.

Germany offers all kinds of interesting places. One of them is certainly the 20-mile-long test-track of the electro-magnetic railway "Transrapid" in the North. This high-speed train (about 300 mph cruising speed) does not have wheels, instead it hovers on a magnetic field while in motion. There are public rides available, but you have to apply months in advance, so it was not for me. After almost 20 years of development, the project is presently finally being implemented, connecting Berlin and Hamburg.

In 1998, our time in Germany came to an end. We relocated back to El Paso, Texas, to attend the local university. And to ride through the United States again, of course.