The label gives only a pair of watchtower numbers, and the place itself is a swathe of flat country between Hanau and the Kinzig, where the suburbs of Erlensee, Rodenbach and Langenselbold have grown together into a continuous belt of houses, orchards and sports fields. In the second century the Roman frontier ran along this side of the Main plain before it turned south to the river, and the small towers, spaced at easy shouting distance, were the first line of warning. Nothing much remains above ground, and the nearby fort at Rückingen is known mostly from excavation. This is a stop for imagination rather than sightseeing.
Hanau, a few kilometres away, is better known as the birthplace of the Brothers Grimm, Jacob in 1785 and Wilhelm a year later, whose collection of folk tales was assembled in Hesse. The town is also a centre of the German goldsmith trade, and the Wilhelmsbad park, a late eighteenth-century spa garden with a carousel and a ruined castle folly, is a charming relic of the age when German princes built fake ruins for their guests. The Grimm statue on the old market square is a handy meeting point, and the castle at Philippsruhe on the Main is a pleasant walk.
The riding here is uneventful, and it would be dishonest to dress it up. The roads between the towns are built for commuters and are often busy, with traffic lights and roundabouts and the occasional cyclist on a long shared path. It makes more sense as a gateway than a destination. Head east and the land rises into the Spessart or north into the Vogelsberg, where the roads turn quiet and twisty. The Kinzig valley offers gentle corners and pleasant villages with timber-framed houses.
Fuel and food are no problem whatsoever. Erlensee, Rodenbach and Langenselbold each have several petrol stations, supermarkets and bakeries, and Hanau has all the rest. Weekday mornings are slow with commuters, so mid-morning is the best time to pass through, and late afternoon on Fridays is best avoided altogether. Take your break in the Wilhelmsbad park, which is quiet and green and gives a reason to remember that a Roman frontier was here.