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.
From Oosterbeek it runs 272 km to Oosterbeek; allow about 5 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Kleve-Reichswald | West, Xanten-CUT, Kleve-Reichswald | East and Xanten-Fürstenberg. It crosses from Netherlands into Germany - carry ID and check the toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
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 Kleve-Reichswald | West.
Kleve sits on the lower Rhine, a few kilometres from the Dutch border, in a landscape so flat that the one low hill outside the town counts as an event. West of it, the Reichswald is a big, dark forest of pine and beech, one of the largest wooded areas in this part of North Rhine-Westphalia, and for a rider coming from the Ruhr it feels like an exhale. The forest roads are straight and shaded, and the surrounding villages, Kranenburg among them, are neat, brick-built and utterly peaceful.
Read the complete Kleve-Reichswald | West write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kleve-Reichswald | West comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Xanten-CUT.
Xanten is an old Roman town that still behaves like a small, cosy market town on the Lower Rhine, and right next to it lies one of the largest archaeological parks in Germany. Colonia Ulpia Traiana, CUT for short, was founded around AD 100 under the emperor Trajan, who gave it the rank of a colonia and his family name. At its height it was a walled city of several thousand people, the second most important Roman city in the province of Lower Germany after Cologne.
Read the complete Xanten-CUT write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 68 km into the recorded legs you reach Xanten-CUT. Next is Kleve-Reichswald | East.
South of Kleve, near the Dutch border, the Reichswald is one of the largest forests in the Lower Rhine region, a mix of oak, beech and pine on a low ridge of sand and gravel left behind by the glaciers of the Ice Age. On its edge, the Romans built military installations as part of the Lower German Limes, the frontier along the Rhine, and the remains in the Reichswald, including traces of camps, are part of the World Heritage site listed by UNESCO in 2021. There is little to see above ground, but the forest itself is a quiet, beautiful place to walk.
Read the complete Kleve-Reichswald | East write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kleve-Reichswald | East, about halfway. Next is Xanten-Fürstenberg.
The Fürstenberg is a low hill on the edge of the Lower Rhine plain, just south of Xanten, and two thousand years ago it was one of the most important military bases in the Roman Empire. Here the Romans built Vetera, a legionary fortress that housed up to two legions and served as a springboard for campaigns into Germania under Augustus. In AD 69 and 70, during the Batavian revolt, Vetera was besieged, starved into surrender and destroyed, and a new fortress was built nearby. The site on the Fürstenberg is part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine from the Alps to the North Sea, which was added to the World Heritage list in 2021. On the ground there is little to see, mostly fields and woods, but the elevated position, with views over the river plain, explains why the Romans chose it.
Read the complete Xanten-Fürstenberg write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Xanten-Fürstenberg sits at 149 km, about halfway. Next is back through Kleve-Reichswald | East.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kleve-Reichswald | East write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Kleve-Reichswald | East comes up about 170 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Xanten-CUT.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Xanten-CUT write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 204 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Xanten-CUT. Next is back through Kleve-Reichswald | West.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kleve-Reichswald | West write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Kleve-Reichswald | West, late in the day. 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.
The route ends here after 272 km.
Arnhem-Meinerswijk → Kleve-Reichswald | West is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kleve-Reichswald | West → Xanten-CUT is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Xanten-CUT → Kleve-Reichswald | East is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kleve-Reichswald | East → Xanten-Fürstenberg is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Xanten-Fürstenberg → back through Kleve-Reichswald | East is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kleve-Reichswald | East → back through Xanten-CUT is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Xanten-CUT → back through Kleve-Reichswald | West is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kleve-Reichswald | West → Arnhem-Meinerswijk is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.