TRAVEL SCENE | DIETER SCHNEIDER – LOOKING BACK ON FELLOWS RIDE 2024

The third Fellows Ride season 2024 came to a successful end. Almost 3,000 bikers demonstrated for depression support and mental health at 26 locations.

Under the motto ‘Ride a motorbike and do good’, the impressive sum of 100,000 euros in donations was collected at Fellows Rides in Germany, Austria, Romania, Portugal, Switzerland and Wisconsin/USA in the 2024 season. The money is donated to local associations, institutions, clinics or self-help groups that are committed to helping people with depression. Over 100 men and women volunteer their time to plan and organise the local Fellows Rides.

The Fellows Ride Black Forest in July was successfully organised by the Touratech marketing team in Niedereschach with great dedication and commitment. Touratech was also instrumental in organising the first Fellows Ride in Switzerland. Dörthe Winkel and her team from Touratech Switzerland made sure that there was an unforgettable tour through a spectacular landscape and that the impressive sum of 3,000 euros could be donated to an organisation that helps people with depression.

The Fellows Rides in Vienna and Berlin had a slightly different character. In Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate served as the backdrop for the mid-term rally, while in Vienna the final event took place on Heldenplatz.

Even though the focus is on raising awareness and collecting donations for a good cause, the Fellows Rides also have pleasant side effects: You get to know new routes, new landscapes and cities. You meet like-minded people and quickly socialise, exchange addresses and, in some cases, make new friends. And best of all, at the end you go home with the feeling that you have done something good.

The highlight of the 2024 Fellows Ride season was the appointment of Ted Simon as an Honorary Fellow - the man who inspired the global motorbike travel scene with his book ‘Jupiter's Ride’.

The next Fellows Ride Black Forest on 19 July 2025 will again be supported by Touratech. Anyone who would like to organise a Fellows Ride in their city or region is welcome to contact Dieter Schneider, the initiator of the movement.

More information at www.fellowsride.de

Fellows Ride has founded the „First Aid Course Mental Health (EMG)”. Through this programme, those interested can gain the qualification to help people in situations of crisis. www.emg-werden.de