Why this ride
A natural corridor of river bends, cliffs and historic settlements. It also links naturally to Upper German-Raetian Limes.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Lahn Valley and Taunus Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 152 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 18
- 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.
Access context
Check motorcycle weekend restrictions and noise-control closures on specific roads. Specific flag: traffic.
Seasonal context
Apr-Oct
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a spa town that kept its manners. Its hot springs, around two dozen of them, rise at the foot of the Taunus and were prized by the Romans, who called the settlement Aquae Mattiacorum. In the nineteenth century the dukes of Nassau and then the Prussians made it one of Europe's fashionable bathing resorts, and the grand white facades and the stately Kurhaus, with its colonnade and casino, still hint at the days when Dostoevsky lost his money here at roulette.
Read the complete Wiesbaden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wiesbaden sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Bad Ems.
2. Bad Ems
The most consequential telegram in German history was sent from a spa town on the Lahn. In July 1870, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was taking the waters at Bad Ems when the French ambassador came to ask him to promise that no Hohenzollern prince would ever take the Spanish throne. The king refused politely, and sent a report to Bismarck in Berlin, who edited the text to make it sound like a snub, and published it. The Ems Dispatch, as it is known, helped to provoke France to declare war, and the Franco-Prussian War led to the creation of the German Empire in 1871.
Read the complete Bad Ems write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bad Ems comes up 35 km in. Next is Idstein.
3. Idstein
Planning note
At least 89 km in you reach Idstein. Next is Wiesbaden.
4. Wiesbaden
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wiesbaden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wiesbaden, late in the day.