The Wied is a small river with a big job, because it marks the point where the Romans' Rhine frontier turned inland. A short ride from the water, between Melsbach and Neuwied, stands a cluster of watchtowers numbered 1/24 to 1/26, with a small fortlet called Lochmühle nearby. The towers belong to the Upper Germanic Limes, which was listed as part of the Roman Frontiers World Heritage Site in 2005, and these sit near its southern start by the Rhine.
Riding here means threading between the Rhine and the Westerwald. Down in the basin the roads are flat and busy, connecting Neuwied to the neighbouring villages through light industry and orchards, but a few turns later you are in woodland and rolling pasture where the traffic thins. The Wied valley lanes are the best of it, with sheltered curves along the stream, old mills and the occasional wooden footbridge. It is not a big-hills kind of ride, but it has a pleasant continuity, and early in the day, when the mist burns off the fields, the light is lovely.
Neuwied is under four kilometres away and big enough that fuel is no worry and food is plentiful. The Rhine promenade is a good place for a break, and the zoo on the edge of town is popular with families. A short way inland sat the large Roman fort at Niederbieber, home to a unit of the frontier army, and finds from it are kept in local museums.
Think of this stretch as a quiet hinge, the place where the Limes begins. Soldiers here lived between two worlds, the busy river and the silent forest, and that duality lingers in the landscape. In spring the orchard blossom adds a soft white edge to the lanes, and in autumn the vines on the Rhine slopes turn the hillsides to rust. Pull over when you see a gap in the trees, let the engine tick, and look north.