Brand
Ambassadors
HARALD MERKL
GERMANY
Harald was born in 1950 in Nürnberg in Germany, he moved for a while in the Philippines and now he lives in Putbus on the island of Rügen in Germany. Beside his impressive motorcycling background, he also is a very experienced travel professional, attending travelers since decades, by running the hotel operations, as a Hotel Manager at various 4* hotels or 5* river cruise ships.
The first experiences Harald had on 2 wheels, where at the age of 16 with a Honda C110 and a Honda SS50. After he got 18, followed a Honda CB72, different 250s & 450s from Yamaha, Kawasaki, or Honda. A Honda 750 and a Honda CBX 1000 where also some of the favorite motorbikes Harald owned.
In 1970 Harald started to ride motorcycles as a professional motorcycle GP rider and very soon he managed to become German Champion at the 250cc Juniors class. He continued to race in the License Class, in which he became German Master Champion already in 1975. Starting 1980, he attended Moto GP competitions all over the world including Daytona USA, the Venezuela GP, the Macau GP, and many others.
Riding motorcycles remained for Harald, his biggest passion, even after his competitional career ended. During the last years, Harald toured Europe around on a Honda Africa Twin, which he recently replaced with a Yamaha Tracer GT 9.
Being a 2 Wheels Adventures Brand Ambassador, is for Harald an excellent opportunity to inspire and enhance the experience of the groups joining our 2 Wheels Adventures with a mélange between his life passion, motorcycling, his competitional background and his impressive travel professional experience.
HARALD’S 2 WHEELS ADVENTURE – TBA
Ricardo Figueiredo
PORTUGAL
Ricardo was born in 1976 and is of Portuguese nationality. He resides in Portugal in the city of Gaia.
He is an enthusiastic motorcyclist and travel professional with a remarkable experience as Cruise Manager on 5*+ river cruise ships sailing on European rivers. He is also a licensed Portuguese tour guide and entrepreneur.
Ricardo got on 2 wheels at the age of 14, when his father gave him his first motorbike – a purple Honda Wallaroo. His first “big one” was a Yamaha DTR followed by a Yamaha 600, Yamaha Super Tenere 1200, BMW R1200 RT, BMW R1200 GSA and finally, now he is riding a BMW R1250 GSA.
Riding a motorcycle, whether for commuting daily or on a trip, gives Ricardo the pleasure of enjoying greater independence and freedom. It gives him the possibility to access places where he would certainly never go by car. Motorcycling gives him the pleasure of meeting new people and feeling that he is part of a group that shares the same feelings.
Over the years, Ricardo had the opportunity to discover and explore many places while riding his motorcycles. He already had the opportunity to ride across a good part of continental Europe, Morocco, Australia, and the United States. Despite this, he continues to be enthusiastic about riding in his country – Portugal. The diversity of landscapes and terrains, the mix between the winding and very scenic mountain roads, and the scenic roads along the coast, as well as the mix between the cities and the countryside, makes Portugal one of the best places to enjoy the scenery on a motorbike.
Ricardo became a 2 Wheels Adventures Ambassador because he believes in the concept and the people involved in the project and because he considers the 2 Wheels Adventures a differentiated product on the current market. Finally, as a 2 Wheels Adventures Ambassador, Ricardo takes advantage of the possibility to show to other motorcycle riders, the best riding tracks in his country and Europe.
RICARDO’S 2 WHEELS ADVENTURE – TBA
DETLEF SCHOLZ
SLOVAKIA
Detlef was born on the isle of Rügen in Germany in July 1970. Now, his home is in Slovakia.
His entire professional life revolves around hotel business, which is his passion. Over the years, he enriched his travel professional experience in positions ranging from Mâitre de Hotel and F&B Manager to Hotel Manager of 4* Hotels or 5* river cruise ships and free lance Cruise Manager on 5* & 6* river cruise ships, sailing on the European rivers.
For Detlef, riding a motorcycle means adventure, means embracing the pure soul of movement, it means to discover and explore. All started, at the age of 16 with an MZ 150ES. It followed a HONDA CX 500E. And he was the happy owner also of a wonderful HONDA VFR 750. Now, he is just waiting to get his brand-new YAMAHA Tenere 700 being delivered.
Over the years, his motorcycle trips took him through Germany, the Alsace in France, Norway and some parts of Denmark and Sweden. Now, he is very egger to explore and discover the rest of Europe on his YAMAHA Tenere.
Detlef accepted the invitation to become a 2 Wheels Ambassador, because he believes that discovering regions and countries on 2 wheels is the ultimate way of getting in touch with the surrounding and the people living there. He is looking forward to advertise the 2 Wheels Adventures and join from time to time our groups on the adventures.