All roads lead to Senigallia – Uli & Angela Konietzko, Germany

As H.O.G.^® members across Europe and beyond prepared to make their way to the 30^th European H.O.G. Rally, The Enthusiast^® met a few of them

Uli Konietzko is a Qigong teacher by profession. He helps people who come to his practice to regain their inner peace and strengthen their health with Chinese meditation, concentration and movement exercises. “Stress is the number one health killer,” says the therapist, who was born in Dortmund and now practices in Winterberg in the Sauerland region. He found a remedy for this killer 23 years ago when he bought his first Harley-Davidson^®, a Super Glide Sport: “It led me away from stress and towards unexpected joys and experiences. The most important thing was the permanent grounding as soon as I was on the road with the Dyna.”  

Since then, Uli has remained loyal to Harley-Davidson – in 2007 he bought a Road King^® Custom, and since last year he has been riding a black Road King Special. Uli’s wife Angela, with whom he has been together for 29 years, shares his enthusiasm for American iron and now rides a 2023 Sport Glide^® herself. “Both of our current Harleys were registered on the same day,” reports Uli. “We officially inaugurated them with a tour to Scotland.” Although the two live in the Hochsauerland region and use this locational advantage time and again for trips along the winding roads through the beautiful countryside, they also like to travel abroad on two wheels on vacation. “We’ve already been to France, England, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria and Switzerland,” Uli lists. “We have also attended many H.O.G. events such as those in Faak, Hamburg, Morzine, Lugano, St. Petersburg, Lido di Jesolo and Jurmala.” 

Uli and Angela have been H.O.G.^® members and members of the Westfalen-Mitte Chapter since 2002, and today Uli calls joining “one of the very best decisions” that they have never regretted. The two enjoy the feeling of a warm bond within the large H-D family and, in their own words, greatly appreciate “that the H.O.G. events are always organized in an exemplary manner”. So there is no question that they will also be at the 30th European H.O.G. Rally in Senigallia. They will be accompanied by their chapter friends Theo and Petra. Incidentally, Theo rides a Road King Special just like Uli, and Petra rides a Sport Glide just like Angela. If that’s not a coincidence! 

The four of them have come up with something very special for the trip to Senigallia. They want to follow the “Italian journey” that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe undertook in a horse-drawn carriage in 1786 – from Regensburg via Munich, Innsbruck, the Brenner Pass, Bolzano and Venice to Bologna. There, they will leave Goethe’s footsteps for the event in Senigallia to continue their Italian journey in the literary style after the end of the event. “We have planned a total of 21 days for this,” reveals Uli. “Our anticipation for the tour and the meeting is enormous!” The two couples are particularly looking forward to the Alps and the Italian Adriatic. “We’ve never been to Senigallia before and are therefore very excited,” says Uli. “Of course, we’re also looking forward to the good-humored people in this great environment. After all, we’ll be in Italy – for us a guarantee of joie de vivre and beautiful landscapes. Not forgetting the live music, where you can dance and party, the guided tours, where we hope to see a lot of the surroundings, the demo rides, where we want to get to know a few new models, and last but not least the Italian cuisine! There really is a lot on offer!” 

Thanks to their positive experiences with Harley-Davidson and the H.O.G., it seems that Uli and Angela have already infected the next generation of the Konietzko family with the Harley virus: their daughter Elaine. In 2004, the couple took the then nine-year-old girl on a motorcycle tour to the European Bike Week in Faak. “We decided on a rustic trip with a tent and sleeping bags,” says Uli. “We first went to Euro Disney near Paris and then across the Alps to Lake Faak. We were very happy there, also because Elaine liked it so much.” The three of them were on the road with their two Harleys for four weeks and covered 4,000 kilometers on the road. “We had a very happy and harmonious time,” confirms Angela. “It was perfect.” A happy time with consequences: Elaine is now planning to get her motorcycle license. “After that, there will be a revival tour to Faak,” she reveals. “Same route, same occasion, but this time three Harleys!”

The Enthusiast also followed the journeys of Evert Richter from The Netherlands, Bruno Picchianti and Sylvie Schmit from France, Emiliano Izquierdo del Barco from Spain, Valentina Giachino from Italy, and Knut-Bjarne Klaussen from Norway.

---

Tags: