Mark Wilhelm, head of Metzeler Motorcycle Tires North America (front row, left) gets ready to lead the Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties reps out for the spectacular two-day motorcycle trip through the Alps.	With the snow-capped peaks of the Alps in the background are (from left): Rick Pence, Ron Surgess, Robert “Elvis” Ledford, Bob Cashwell, Tedd Kuzelka, Rick Menapace (in front), Ron Bowen, Scott Walker and Hans Jorg Bauer (group guide) enjoy the moment.
Darrian Tefft (left) of Jolly Roger Customs in Milford, Michigan won a trip to the Munich show for himself and his custom bike after winning the “Best of Show” award at the Metzeler Custom Show in Sturgis last August. Rick Menapace of Metzeler’s ad agency Plummer Menapace helps Tefft show off the special poster of the stunning machine.	Let’s ride! The group gets ready to head out from the Edelweiss and Gurgl hotel.

etzeler Tires found a special way to say “thank you” recently to its top-selling Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties sales producers. Three special ways, in fact.
     The thirty top sales reps were treated to a week in Germany last September, highlighted by a two-day motorcycle tour through the German, Austrian and Italian Alps; a trip to the Intermot Show (the world’s largest motorcycle show) in Munich; and finishing off with a day at the annual Oktoberfest celebration. Along the way, there were excellent meals at a historic Cliffside restaurant, at the sky-high revolving restaurant atop Munich’s Olympic Tower, and a loud and happy “official” Bavarian dinner of “schweinhoxen mit pils” (crispy rotisserie pork shank with beer) in downtown Munich.
     The first night, after landing in Frankfurt, featured a special Metzeler awards dinner and guestrooms at a lakeside hotel near Pirelli-Metzeler’s Breuberg factory. It was followed by an in-depth factory tour the next morning that included a firsthand look at the revolutionary MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotics System) tire production line.
     At the Intermot Show, the group was the first to see the new 2005 motorcycle models in the elaborate OEM displays. Another special Intermot treat was seeing the Metzeler Sturgis Custom Bike Show’s “Best of Show” bike showcased in the Metzeler booth.
     It was not easy to pick just one favorite part of the Metzeler trip, but the consensus of the group seemed to be that they would have to go a long way to better the motorcycle ride through the Alps. The riders saw virtually every kind of weather and a full-scale sensory overload of sites and scenery, capped by a night at the 19th century picture postcard Edelweiss and Gurgl hotel in the Austrian Alps.
     After the motorcycles were parked and riders safely on foot, it was time to enjoy Oktoberfest. It was, well, everything you’d expect it to be. The smiles were contagious, and the Parts and Drag folks did their best to enjoy the experience.
     Oh, and the beer wasn’t bad, either.