CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
279 km from Ródos to Ródos, about 4 h 49 of riding. The stops in between: Letoon, Xanthos bis outlier, Xanthos and Xanthos-Letoon. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Greece into Türkiye - carry ID and check the toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 5 km this is Turkey Lycian Coast D400, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rhodes is an island that has been fought over for three thousand years, and the walls of its old town still carry the marks. In 1309 the Knights of St John, a crusading order driven from the Holy Land, took the island and spent two centuries turning its capital into one of the strongest fortresses in the Mediterranean. They built the Palace of the Grand Master, a vast castle of pale stone, and the Street of the Knights, a long cobbled lane lined with the headquarters of the order's language groups. In 1522 the Ottoman sultan Suleiman besieged the city with a great army and, after six months, forced the knights to leave.
Read the complete Rhodes write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Rhodes is where the day begins. Next is Letoon.
Letoon is a sanctuary in a flat green plain, and what you find is mostly water and frogs. The ruins of three temples, dedicated to Leto and her children Apollo and Artemis, stand in the valley of the Eşen river, near the coast of ancient Lycia, and in wet seasons the foundations are flooded, so that the old columns stand in pools full of croaking frogs. According to the story, Leto came here with her twins, thirsty and hunted by Hera, and when local shepherds refused her water, she turned them into frogs.
Read the complete Letoon write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Letoon comes up about 131 km into the recorded legs. Next is Xanthos bis outlier.
The Eşen valley has long been a farming country, and the landscape around the ruins of Xanthos is one of green fields, red earth and bare limestone hills. This stop lies close to the main ruins, among villages and orchards, and the rock tombs and carved pillars of the Lycians stand on the slopes above the road. Lycian tomb builders liked a view: they cut their graves in the cliffs, often in the form of wooden houses, and raised tall pillar tombs, topped with burial chambers, near the city.
Read the complete Xanthos bis outlier write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
At least about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Xanthos bis outlier. Next is Xanthos.
Xanthos was the greatest city of ancient Lycia, and its story is one of defiance. In 540 BC the Persian general Harpagus attacked it, and according to the historian Herodotus the Xanthians fought to the last, setting fire to their own homes and perishing together rather than surrender. Centuries later, in 42 BC, Brutus besieged the city during the Roman civil wars, and again the people chose destruction over capture. It is a grim record, and the city remains the symbol of Lycian stubbornness.
Read the complete Xanthos write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Xanthos, about halfway. Next is Xanthos-Letoon.
Xanthos-Letoon sits at 140 km, about halfway. Next is back through Xanthos.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Xanthos write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Xanthos comes up about 142 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Xanthos bis outlier.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Xanthos bis outlier write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 142 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Xanthos bis outlier. Next is back through Letoon.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Letoon write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Letoon, late in the day. Next is Rhodes.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rhodes write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 279 km.
Rhodes → Letoon is 131 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Letoon → Xanthos bis outlier is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Xanthos → Xanthos-Letoon is 3 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Xanthos-Letoon → back through Xanthos is 3 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Xanthos bis outlier → back through Letoon is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Letoon → Rhodes is 131 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.