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: 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.
A 185 km round trip from Oosterbeek - roughly 3 h 14 in the saddle. It goes by way of Herwen-De Bijland, Kalkar-Kalkarberg, Wesel-Flüren | Flürener Feld 1 and back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg. It crosses from Netherlands into Germany - carry ID and check the toll rules. The line favours views over speed.
The Rhine has always been a frontier here. In Roman times, the Lower Rhine marked the northern edge of the empire, and the Romans built a chain of forts, watchtowers and roads along its banks to guard it. At Meinerswijk, on the southern bank of the river opposite Arnhem, the remains of one of those forts lie buried in the floodplain. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021. There is little to see on the surface, but the floodplain itself, a wide expanse of meadows, ponds and willows, is a pleasant place to walk, and markers explain the history.
Read the complete Arnhem-Meinerswijk write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Arnhem-Meinerswijk is where the day begins. Next is Herwen-De Bijland.
At Lobith, a few kilometres east of here, the Rhine enters the Netherlands from Germany, and you can feel the river changing its mind about what it is. Within a short distance it splits into branches, the Waal, the Nederrijn and the IJssel, and spreads across a wide floodplain, the Bijland, of meadows, willow thickets and old river arms. In Roman times this was the frontier, and a fort at Herwen, called Carvium, guarded the river crossing with a garrison and a small settlement. The Roman road ran along the dike, and ships tied up at its harbour.
Read the complete Herwen-De Bijland write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Herwen-De Bijland comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kalkar-Kalkarberg.
Near the Dutch border, where the Rhine flows through wide meadows and dyked farmland, the small town of Kalkar holds a surprising amount of history. The Kalkarberg is a low rise near Altkalkar, and on it stood the Roman fort of Burginatium, one of the posts along the Lower German Limes, now part of the UNESCO-listed Frontiers of the Roman Empire. The rise would have given a valuable view over the river plain, and the fort controlled the road between Xanten and Nijmegen. Today it is fields and trees, but the shape of the land still hints at the old fortification.
Read the complete Kalkar-Kalkarberg write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Kalkar-Kalkarberg. Next is Wesel-Flüren | Flürener Feld 1.
The Rhine at Wesel is broad and powerful, the main artery of northwestern Europe, and in Roman times it was the frontier of the empire. The Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021, ran along the river from the Alps to the North Sea, with forts, camps and watchtowers guarding the crossings. At Flüren, on the edge of Wesel, archaeologists have found traces of Roman activity on the Flürener Feld, probably a temporary camp or military installation linked to campaigns across the river into Germania. Nothing is visible on the surface, but the site sits on the edge of the Rhine plain, with the river and its floodplain stretching away to the horizon.
Read the complete Wesel-Flüren | Flürener Feld 1 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Wesel-Flüren | Flürener Feld 1, about halfway. Next is back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kalkar-Kalkarberg write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg sits at 107 km, about halfway. Next is back through Herwen-De Bijland.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Herwen-De Bijland write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Herwen-De Bijland comes up about 158 km into the recorded legs. Next is Arnhem-Meinerswijk.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Arnhem-Meinerswijk write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Arnhem-Meinerswijk closes the day.
Arnhem-Meinerswijk → Herwen-De Bijland is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Herwen-De Bijland → Kalkar-Kalkarberg is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kalkar-Kalkarberg → Wesel-Flüren | Flürener Feld 1 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wesel-Flüren | Flürener Feld 1 → back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg → back through Herwen-De Bijland is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Herwen-De Bijland → Arnhem-Meinerswijk is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.