Asberg is a quiet district on the southern edge of Moers, on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, and beneath its houses and fields lies the Roman fort of Asciburgium, one of the earliest military bases on the Rhine frontier. It was founded around the time of the emperor Augustus or soon after, garrisoned by cavalry and auxiliary troops, and abandoned toward the end of the first century, when the Rhine shifted its course and moved away from the fort. The site is now part of the Lower German Limes UNESCO site, and although there is little to see above ground, information boards and outlines help you imagine the scene.
The Grafschafter Museum in Moers castle, a moated castle in the town park, has finds from Asciburgium and tells the story of the region from the Romans to the present. The castle itself is lovely, surrounded by water and gardens, and Moers has a pleasant old town with half-timbered houses and a lively square. The town is known for its jazz festival, held every year at Pentecost since the early 1970s, which attracts adventurous musicians from around the world.
The riding around Moers is typical of the Lower Rhine: flat, with straight roads through farmland, villages and industrial areas, and the occasional dike or windmill. The Ruhr area begins just across the Rhine in Duisburg, with its huge harbour, steelworks and motorways, and traffic can be heavy. Head northwest, however, and the landscape opens up, with quieter roads leading toward Kamp-Lintfort, home to the Cistercian monastery of Kamp with its terraced gardens, and on to Xanten, with its Roman archaeological park. The wind from the west can be strong, and the weather changes quickly.
Moers, about three and a half kilometres away, has fuel, shops, restaurants and cafés. Local food includes hearty dishes like Himmel und Erde, mashed potatoes with apple sauce and black pudding, and the local beer, Altbier, is a dark top-fermented brew popular along the Lower Rhine. For a break with a view, cross the river to Duisburg and visit the Landschaftspark, a former steelworks transformed into a park, with climbing walls, gardens and a lookout at the top of a blast furnace.