Why this ride
A one-way ride of 238 km, Preetz to Rendsburg - roughly 4 h 15 in the saddle. It goes by way of Plön lake view, Bosau road, Preetz old town and Rendsburg canal.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kiel · Plön and Preetz Morning Lakes + Kiel · Husum North Sea Long Day
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 238 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 15
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
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
Preetz old town → Plön lake view
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 30 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go — slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
Bosau road → Back to Preetz old town
45 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 44 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Preetz old town
Preetz is a lake town in the green middle of Schleswig-Holstein, and its old town squeezes between the Schwentine river and a pair of small lakes. Kiel is just fifteen minutes away, but Preetz has its own pace.
Read the complete Preetz old town write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Preetz old town is where the day begins. Next is Plön lake view.
2. Plön lake view
The Great Lake of Plön is the biggest lake in Schleswig-Holstein, and from this spot at the edge of the town you can see how much water the last Ice Age left behind. The glaciers that retreated from here some twelve thousand years ago scraped out hollows, dumped hills of gravel and clay, and left behind a landscape of lakes and rolling ridges that locals call Holstein Switzerland. It is a bit of a joke to anyone who has seen the Alps, since the highest hills are barely above a hundred metres, but the name stuck, and the landscape has a gentle charm of its own.
Read the complete Plön lake view write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Plön lake view comes up 60 km in. Next is Bosau road.
3. Bosau road
The Bosau road runs out onto a narrow peninsula in the Great Plön Lake, the largest lake in Schleswig-Holstein, and it is the sort of road where the surface of the water appears on both sides at once. This is the Holstein Switzerland, a name that exaggerates the hills but not the beauty: a landscape left behind by the glaciers of the last ice age, with rounded hills, hollows filled by lakes, and woods of beech that come down to the shore. The lake has islands, reedy bays and swans.
Read the complete Bosau road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
119 km in you reach Bosau road. Next is Back to Preetz old town.
4. Back to Preetz old town
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Preetz old town write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Preetz old town closes the day. Next is Rendsburg canal.
5. Rendsburg canal
Rendsburg is a town made by a ditch, and what a ditch. The Kiel Canal, known in German as the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, was opened in 1895 as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal, cutting across the base of the Danish peninsula so that ships need not sail all the way around Skagen. It is still the busiest artificial seaway in the world by number of ships, and standing on the bank at Rendsburg you can watch container vessels, tankers and ferries glide past at what looks like walking pace, a few metres from the road. A quiet fact makes it more striking: the surrounding land is so flat and low, only a few metres above sea level, that the ships seem to be sailing through meadows.
Read the complete Rendsburg canal check write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rendsburg canal sits at 239 km, about halfway. Next is Friedrichstadt stop.
6. Friedrichstadt stop
Friedrichstadt feels as though a piece of Holland has been dropped on the flat marshes of North Frisia. The town was founded in 1621 by Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorf, who invited Dutch Remonstrants, a persecuted Protestant group, to settle on the banks of the Treene, and they brought their architecture with them: canals lined with stepped-gable brick houses, bridges, trees and little quays. The result is a miniature Amsterdam, complete with canal boats, and it is a delight to walk.
Read the complete Friedrichstadt stop write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Friedrichstadt stop comes up 299 km in. Next is Husum harbour.
7. Husum harbour
Husum calls itself the grey town by the sea, a phrase taken from the poem by the writer Theodor Storm, who was born here in 1817 and who made the town and its misty coast famous in his novellas. The grey is more affectionate than gloomy: the sky over the North Sea can be a pale silver, and the old harbour in the centre, with its brick warehouses and shrimp cutters bobbing at the quay, looks its best under a soft, cloudy light.
Read the complete Husum harbour write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
358 km in you reach Husum harbour. Next is Back to Rendsburg canal.
8. Back to Rendsburg canal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rendsburg canal check write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Rendsburg canal. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Preetz old town to Plön lake view
Preetz old town → Plön lake view is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Plön lake view to Bosau road
Plön lake view → Bosau road is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bosau road to Back to Preetz old town
Bosau road → Back to Preetz old town is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Preetz old town to Rendsburg canal
Back to Preetz old town → Rendsburg canal is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Rendsburg canal to Friedrichstadt stop
Rendsburg canal → Friedrichstadt stop is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Friedrichstadt stop to Husum harbour
Friedrichstadt stop → Husum harbour is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Husum harbour to Back to Rendsburg canal
Husum harbour → Back to Rendsburg canal is 103 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.