At last, another handbike tour through South Tyrol

On the day of arrival, June 20, the participants were greeted by warm sunshine. The first destination was the Hotel Masatsch, which was once more the accommodation for 11 wheelchair users and their companions. The hotel is designed completely barrier-free and has already proven itself as ideal during previous handbike trips for multiple reasons.

The first evening together was spent getting to know each other. During a cozy get-together, Michael Kaltenecker from Y.E.S. Sportmarketing welcomed all participants and partners of the event. As the organizer of the trip, he gave a preview of the extensive program in the coming days. Gerda Pamler has accompanied each of the handbike trips so far, so the grouping for the upcoming tours and the answering of organizational questions was in the right hands with her. Teleflex Urology Care had something new with them: Manuela Tsiotidis-Melzer presented the catheter systems Liquick X-treme and Liquick X-treme Plus to the participants. There was the possibility to test the two catheter systems during the trip.

On June 21, the first tour started in the morning. Two groups rode the same route, but at different speeds, so that both fast and slower riders could maintain a comfortable pace. The tour guides were Gerda Pamler and Michael Kaltenecker, who each led a group. The tour first went to Kaltern through beautifully laid out vineyard routes, where a first break was taken at the market square – also in order to be able to take a look at the city center starting from the market square. The course then went over extensive apple orchards on the same level in the direction of Neumarkt, where lunch was spent together in the beautiful old town. Some of the participants also took the opportunity to stock up on regional products and delicacies at the local market. After the lunch break, the tour continued in the direction of Kalterer See, which was also the destination of this day’s tour. Once there, many took the opportunity to have a drink or ice cream in the cafes directly on the shore and to relax a little. The return trip to the Hotel Masatsch was with the bus company Oberlojer, which specializes in travel groups with wheelchair users using its barrier-free coaches with lifts.

The evening highlight was the visit to the St. Quirinus organic winery. The tour group enjoyed an individual guided tour, during which they not only learned a lot of interesting background information about organic viticulture and the different grape varieties, but were also given wine to taste afterwards. A rustic snack rounded off the wine tasting.

With good spirits but less good weather, the participants went by bus to Merano on June 22. The destination of the day was the Trautmannsdorff Castle with its wonderfully designed garden landscape, which is home to many different themes and plant species from all over the world. In an organized guided tour – divided into two groups – the participants learned interesting information about the castle, which was also the residence of Empress Sissi for some time, the history of the gardens and also about special topics – for example the current exhibition of carnivorous plants. Unfortunately, the tour had to be interrupted due to the worsening rain. However, there was some compensation for this in the castle restaurant, where everyone met for lunch. Afterwards, the tour continued by bus to the Hotel Masatsch, where everyone was treated to culinary specialties in the evening.

After the rather relaxing day in Trautmannsdorff, it was time to get back on the handbikes and bicycles on June 23. The goal of the day was the Mitterbergrunde – an easy tour downhill along the old railroad line to Bolzano. Via Sigmundskron, we went along the Adige river to Auer, where we stopped for lunch in a pizzeria. This helped everyone regain their strength for the second part of the tour, which finally led us back to Lake Kaltern. From there, part of the group was picked up by the bus. Some of the participants wanted to try overcoming the 280 meters of altitude back to Hotel Masatsch and took on the challenge with success.

Teleflex Urology Care would like to thank all participants of this year’s handbike trip, the organizer Michael Kaltenecker (Y.E.S. Sportmarketing), the great hosts at the Hotel Masatsch as well as Gerda Pamler, who accompanied the handbike trip with her warm and competent manner as in the previous years!

Image source: Teleflex