Why this ride
From Düsseldorf it runs 292 km to Düsseldorf; allow about 4 h 05 of riding. On the way it passes Dormagen, Duisburg-Werthausen, Moers-Asberg and Cologne Cathedral. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Düsseldorf afternoon · Cologne Cathedral
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 292 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 05
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
Dormagen → Duisburg-Werthausen
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 51 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 51 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf has two reputations that do not always sit comfortably together: fashion and beer. The Königsallee, a wide boulevard with a tree-lined canal down the middle, is lined with expensive shops, and the city is a hub for advertising, trade fairs and business. Yet the old town, the Altstadt, is crammed with traditional brewery pubs serving Altbier, a dark copper top-fermented beer poured fresh from the barrel into small glasses by waiters called Köbes. The stretch is often called the longest bar in the world, and on a Friday night it seems like it.
Read the complete Dusseldorf write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Düsseldorf is where the day begins. Next is Dormagen.
2. Dormagen
Dormagen is not the sort of place that ends up on postcards, and it does not try to be. It is a working town of some sixty thousand on the left bank of the Rhine between Cologne and Düsseldorf, dominated on its northern side by a huge chemical park whose pipes and stacks glow at night. Yet the name itself comes from Roman times: Durnomagus was a fort on the Lower German Limes, the Rhine frontier that UNESCO listed in 2021, and a cavalry unit was stationed here to patrol the river and the road along it.
Read the complete Dormagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dormagen comes up 39 km in. Next is Duisburg-Werthausen.
3. Duisburg-Werthausen
Werthausen sits on the left bank of the Rhine in Duisburg, across the river from the steelworks, harbour cranes and bridges of one of Europe's great industrial cities. It is an unexpected place to look for Rome, but the Lower Rhine was the frontier of the Roman Empire for centuries, and the line of forts, fortlets and watch posts along it is now inscribed on the UNESCO list as the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, the Lower German Limes. The site at Werthausen is one of these components, part of the chain of military posts that watched the river between the legionary bases at Neuss and Xanten.
Read the complete Duisburg-Werthausen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
78 km in you reach Duisburg-Werthausen. Next is Moers-Asberg.
4. Moers-Asberg
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.
Read the complete Moers-Asberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Moers-Asberg, about halfway. Next is Cologne Cathedral.
5. Cologne Cathedral
Six hundred and thirty-two years. That is how long it took to finish Cologne Cathedral, from the laying of the foundation stone in 1248 to the completion of the spires in 1880, and when you stand at its foot by the main station it feels as though the building is still growing. The twin towers climb to around 157 metres, black with soot and weather, and for a few years after completion they made it the tallest building in the world.
Read the complete Cologne Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cologne Cathedral sits at 155 km, about halfway. Next is back through Moers-Asberg.
6. back through Moers-Asberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Moers-Asberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Moers-Asberg comes up 194 km in. Next is back through Duisburg-Werthausen.
7. back through Duisburg-Werthausen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Duisburg-Werthausen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
233 km in you reach back through Duisburg-Werthausen. Next is back through Dormagen.
8. back through Dormagen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dormagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dormagen, late in the day. Next is Dusseldorf.
9. Düsseldorf
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dusseldorf 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 292 km.
Leg by leg
Düsseldorf to Dormagen
Düsseldorf → Dormagen is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dormagen to Duisburg-Werthausen
Dormagen → Duisburg-Werthausen is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Duisburg-Werthausen to Moers-Asberg
Duisburg-Werthausen → Moers-Asberg is 4 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Moers-Asberg to Cologne Cathedral
Moers-Asberg → Cologne Cathedral is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cologne Cathedral to back through Moers-Asberg
Cologne Cathedral → back through Moers-Asberg is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Moers-Asberg to back through Duisburg-Werthausen
back through Moers-Asberg → back through Duisburg-Werthausen is 4 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Duisburg-Werthausen to back through Dormagen
back through Duisburg-Werthausen → back through Dormagen is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dormagen to Dusseldorf
back through Dormagen → Dusseldorf is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.