East of Frankfurt, on the low ground where the Kinzig valley opens toward Hanau, the Romans pushed their frontier forward in the late first century AD. Rückingen, today a part of Erlensee, was the site of a fort with a civil settlement around it, part of the Wetterau section of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Limes here ran south toward the Main, and the forts guarded crossings and roads leading into the Roman province. As with most of the frontier in this area, there is little to see above ground, but the line of the Limes is marked and explained along cycle and walking routes.
The area is suburban and busy, crossed by motorways, railway lines and the flight paths of Frankfurt airport. It is not a place for scenic riding, but it is a good starting point for some excellent roads. To the north, the Vogelsberg, an old volcanic massif, offers winding roads through forests and meadows, and to the east, the Spessart is a large, quiet forest with twisting roads and small villages. The Saalburg, a reconstructed Roman fort in the Taunus, is the obvious next stop for anyone interested in the Limes, with a museum and reconstructed buildings.
Hanau, a few kilometres away, is the birthplace of the Brothers Grimm, and the German Fairy Tale Route begins there. A statue of the brothers stands in the market square. Its goldsmithing tradition is also old, and the town still has a school and museum devoted to the craft. The town was badly damaged in the Second World War, but the Philippsruhe palace and the old town of Steinheim survived.
Erlensee has fuel, shops and services. The Wetterau and Main-Kinzig area is known for apple wine, Ebbelwoi, served in ribbed glasses with hearty food like Handkäs mit Musik, a sour milk cheese with onions. Traffic is heavy around Hanau and Frankfurt, so ride early or at weekends, and expect speed cameras.