Why this ride
262 km one way from Großgoltern - plan on about 3 h 28 of riding. It goes by way of Bückeburg and Bad Iburg forest. The climbs: Externsteine rock sight and Detmold ridge road. Much of it runs through woodland.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Teutoburg and Externsteine Long Sweep · short arc
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 262 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 28
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
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
Hannover west escape → Bückeburg fuel gate
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 49 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 43 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hannover west escape
Hannover has a reputation for being flat, grey and efficient, which is mostly unfair, though to be honest the first twenty kilometres west of town will not change your mind. The starting point here sits on the Calenberg lowland, a farming plain of big fields, hedgerows and straight roads, just outside the built-up edge and close to the villages of Großgoltern and Egestorf. The Deister ridge lies not far to the south-west, and that low range of wooded hills is the first real promise of curves for anyone leaving the city in that direction.
Read the complete Hannover west escape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hannover west escape is where the day begins. Next is Bückeburg.
2. Bückeburg fuel gate
Fuel is available here and in the neighbouring villages, and the main street has bakeries and cafes. The country around it is flat and fertile, with the Weser some kilometres to the west and the low ridge of the Bückeberge to the south.
Read the complete Bückeburg fuel gate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bückeburg is the fuel stop for this leg. Next is Bad Iburg forest return.
3. Bad Iburg forest return
The hills here are not high, no more than three hundred metres or so, but they are steep, well wooded and cut with small valleys, and the road in from the plain climbs through beech forest with a satisfying series of bends. The town has fuel, bakeries and several inns, and it is a pleasant place for a late lunch.
Read the complete Bad Iburg forest return write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A break here. Next is Externsteine rock sight.
4. Externsteine rock sight
The Externsteine are a row of sandstone towers that rise from the Teutoburg Forest like fingers, some nearly forty metres high, weathered into strange shapes and standing apart from the surrounding hills. They are among the most famous natural monuments in Germany, and a place where history, legend and politics have mingled for centuries.
Read the complete Externsteine rock sight write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The high point of this section. Next is Detmold ridge road.
5. Detmold ridge road
Detmold has a giant looking over its shoulder. On a hill in the Teutoburg Forest above the city stands the Hermannsdenkmal, a copper statue of the Germanic chieftain Arminius, who defeated three Roman legions in the year 9 AD, raised on a stone base and holding a sword to the sky. It was completed in 1875 after decades of work, in the first flush of German national feeling, and at about fifty metres is among the tallest statues in the country. The exact site of the battle is still debated, and most scholars think it took place farther north, at Kalkriese.
Read the complete Detmold ridge road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Detmold ridge road tops the climb. Next is Lemgo old-town stop.
6. Lemgo old-town stop
Lemgo is one of those German towns where the old centre survived intact, a mass of half-timbered and stone gabled houses in the Weser Renaissance style, grouped around a market place and a clutch of churches. The town of about forty-two thousand people lies in the Lippe region in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, on the edge of the Teutoburg Forest, and was once a member of the Hanseatic League, which explains the wealth of building from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Read the complete Lemgo old-town stop 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 262 km.
Leg by leg
Hannover west escape to Bückeburg fuel gate
Hannover west escape → Bückeburg fuel gate is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bückeburg fuel gate to Bad Iburg forest return
Bückeburg fuel gate → Bad Iburg forest return is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bad Iburg forest return to Externsteine rock sight
Bad Iburg forest return → Externsteine rock sight is 101 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Externsteine rock sight to Detmold ridge road
Externsteine rock sight → Detmold ridge road is 11 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Detmold ridge road to Lemgo old-town stop
Detmold ridge road → Lemgo old-town stop is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.