Between Ingolstadt and Kelheim, the Danube flows through a broad, flat valley in Bavaria, with hop gardens, fields of maize and asparagus beds on its banks. Pförring is a small market town on the north bank, with Neustadt an der Donau and Vohburg on the other side. In Roman times, this was the frontier: the Raetian Limes ended at the Danube just downstream, and the Romans built a fort here, known as Celeusum, with a civil settlement outside its walls.
The fort at Pförring housed a cavalry unit and guarded a crossing of the Danube and the road along the river. The surrounding settlement, where traders, craftsmen and soldiers' families lived, grew up next to it. Today, the site is mostly fields, and the outline of the fort can be seen in places as slight earthworks, with information boards explaining what stood there. The fort is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire site. A few kilometres downstream, at Eining, the fort of Abusina has well-preserved stone foundations and is one of the most visited Roman sites in Bavaria.
This stretch of the Danube is also known for the Hallertau, the world's largest hop-growing region, which lies just to the south. In late summer, the hop gardens, with their tall poles and wires, are full of green cones, and the smell of hops hangs in the air. Neustadt an der Donau has a spa, Bad Gögging, with thermal baths that the Romans also used.
The riding here is flat and pleasant, along the Danube and through the farmland, with gentle curves and little traffic on the smaller roads. For more interesting riding, head north into the Altmühl valley and the Franconian Jura, with its limestone cliffs, castles and winding roads, or south into the rolling hills of the Hallertau. The surfaces are generally excellent.
Neustadt an der Donau, about seven kilometres away, has fuel and all services, as does Vohburg. Local food includes the white asparagus of Abensberg in spring, Bavarian roast pork, and the beer of the region, brewed with the local hops. Spring and late summer, when the hops are ready for harvest, are the best times to visit.