Why this ride
164 km from Copenhagen to Copenhagen, about 2 h 54 of riding. It goes by way of Store Dyrehave, The par force hunting landscape in North Z, Path and Roskilde Cathedral.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Copenhagen afternoon · Roskilde Cathedral
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 164 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 54
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Path → Roskilde Cathedral
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 48 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 42 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Copenhagen
Copenhagen is a city that runs on bicycles, and a motorcyclist arriving here should take the hint and ride softly. Cycle lanes carry thousands of commuters at rush hour, and a car door or a turning van can ruin everybody's day, so patience and constant mirror checks are the rule. In return, the city is compact, handsome and unhurried, with copper-green spires, canals and handsome old warehouses along the harbour, where the bright houses of Nyhavn, once home to Hans Christian Andersen, are crowded with tourists on summer evenings. A short stroll away, Tivoli Gardens, opened in 1843, remains one of the oldest amusement parks in the world and glows with lights after dark.
Read the complete Copenhagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Copenhagen is where the day begins. Next is Store Dyrehave.
2. Store Dyrehave
North of Copenhagen the royal family once hunted on a scale that reshaped the landscape, and Store Dyrehave, the Great Deer Park, near Hillerød, is a piece of that design. The forest is cut by straight rides, long avenues that radiate like the spokes of a wheel, so that horsemen and hounds could follow a stag at speed without losing sight of it. This kind of hunting, called par force, was fashionable at European courts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the Danish kings built an entire landscape for it, now recognised by UNESCO as the Par Force Hunting Landscape in North Zealand.
Read the complete Store Dyrehave write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Store Dyrehave comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is The par force hunting landscape in North Z.
3. The par force hunting landscape in North Z
Par force hunting sounds like a French affectation, and it was. The kings of Denmark in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries imported the style from the French court, in which riders on horseback and packs of hounds chased a stag until it was exhausted. To make it work, they needed a landscape designed for speed, and in North Zealand the royal foresters cut long, straight rides through the woods, many of them meeting at star-shaped crossings, so that the hunters could see the quarry and keep control of the chase. The pattern is still visible in the forests of Gribskov and Store Dyrehave, and UNESCO listed the landscape in 2015.
Read the complete The par force hunting landscape in North Z write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 37 km into the recorded legs you reach The par force hunting landscape in North Z. Next is Path.
4. Path
Hillerod is a town north-west of Copenhagen with a palace that looks as if it were built for a fairy tale. Frederiksborg Castle sits on three small islands in a lake, a red-brick Renaissance building with copper-green spires, towers and gables, reflected in the water. It was built for King Christian IV in the early seventeenth century and became the site where Danish kings were crowned for generations. Today it houses the Museum of National History, with portraits and rooms full of Danish history.
Read the complete Path write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Path, about halfway. Next is Roskilde Cathedral.
5. Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral is where Denmark keeps its kings. Since the fifteenth century, almost every Danish monarch has been buried here, and the chapels and crypts hold around forty kings and queens, from medieval stone tombs to ornate baroque sarcophagi and modern designs. The cathedral itself, begun in the late twelfth century under Bishop Absalon, the warrior-churchman who also founded Copenhagen, was one of the first big brick Gothic churches in Scandinavia, and it set the style for church building across the region. UNESCO listed it in 1995. Inside, look for the clock with the figure of St George slaying the dragon, which strikes the hour, and the pillar where royal visitors have marked their height.
Read the complete Roskilde Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roskilde Cathedral sits at 91 km, about halfway. Next is back through Path.
6. back through Path
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Path write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Path comes up about 124 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through The par force hunting landscape in North Z.
7. back through The par force hunting landscape in North Z
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The par force hunting landscape in North Z write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 128 km into the recorded legs you reach back through The par force hunting landscape in North Z. Next is back through Store Dyrehave.
8. back through Store Dyrehave
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Store Dyrehave write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Store Dyrehave, late in the day. Next is Copenhagen.
9. Copenhagen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Copenhagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 164 km.
Leg by leg
Copenhagen to Store Dyrehave
Copenhagen → Store Dyrehave is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Path to Roskilde Cathedral
Path → Roskilde Cathedral is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roskilde Cathedral to back through Path
Roskilde Cathedral → back through Path is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Store Dyrehave to Copenhagen
back through Store Dyrehave → Copenhagen is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.