Why this ride
325 km from Hengstdal to Hengstdal, about 4 h 39 of riding. It goes by way of Kalkar-Kalkarberg, Moers-Asberg, Neuss-Koenenlager and Cologne Cathedral. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South and Cologne Cathedral
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 325 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 39
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
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
Neuss-Koenenlager → Cologne Cathedral
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 42 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 34 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South
The Netherlands is famous for having no hills, which makes the ridge at Berg en Dal a small, comic exception. East of Nijmegen, the land rises in a line of wooded heights, shaped by the Ice Age, when a great glacier pushed up a mound of sand and gravel, and the highest point barely reaches a hundred metres. It looks modest on paper, but after the flat polders it feels like an alpine foothill, with beech and pine woods, steep little lanes, villas among the trees and views across the Waal valley into Germany. The name Berg en Dal means hill and valley, and the Dutch mean it.
Read the complete Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South is where the day begins. Next is Kalkar-Kalkarberg.
2. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kalkar-Kalkarberg comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Moers-Asberg.
3. Moers-Asberg
Asberg is a quiet district on the southern edge of Moers, on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, and beneath its houses and fields lies the Roman fort of Asciburgium, one of the earliest military bases on the Rhine frontier. It was founded around the time of the emperor Augustus or soon after, garrisoned by cavalry and auxiliary troops, and abandoned toward the end of the first century, when the Rhine shifted its course and moved away from the fort. The site is now part of the Lower German Limes UNESCO site, and although there is little to see above ground, information boards and outlines help you imagine the scene.
Read the complete Moers-Asberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 88 km into the recorded legs you reach Moers-Asberg. Next is Neuss-Koenenlager.
4. Neuss-Koenenlager
On the southern edge of Neuss, in a residential area near the Rhine, lies one of the most important Roman military sites in Germany, though you would hardly know it from the surface. This was Novaesium, a legionary fortress that housed thousands of soldiers for much of the first century, and it is known as the Koenenlager after Constantin Koenen, the local archaeologist who excavated it systematically in the late nineteenth century. His work revealed the layout of an entire legionary camp, with headquarters, barracks, granaries and a hospital, and it became a model for Roman military archaeology. The site is part of the Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Neuss-Koenenlager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neuss-Koenenlager, about halfway. Next is Cologne Cathedral.
5. Cologne Cathedral
Six hundred and thirty-two years. That is how long it took to finish Cologne Cathedral, from the laying of the foundation stone in 1248 to the completion of the spires in 1880, and when you stand at its foot by the main station it feels as though the building is still growing. The twin towers climb to around 157 metres, black with soot and weather, and for a few years after completion they made it the tallest building in the world.
Read the complete Cologne Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cologne Cathedral sits at 173 km, about halfway. Next is back through Neuss-Koenenlager.
6. back through Neuss-Koenenlager
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Neuss-Koenenlager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Neuss-Koenenlager comes up about 201 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Moers-Asberg.
7. back through Moers-Asberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Moers-Asberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 239 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Moers-Asberg. Next is back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg.
8. back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kalkar-Kalkarberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg, late in the day. Next is Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South.
9. Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South 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 325 km.
Leg by leg
Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South to Kalkar-Kalkarberg
Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South → Kalkar-Kalkarberg is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kalkar-Kalkarberg to Moers-Asberg
Kalkar-Kalkarberg → Moers-Asberg is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Moers-Asberg to Neuss-Koenenlager
Moers-Asberg → Neuss-Koenenlager is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Neuss-Koenenlager to Cologne Cathedral
Neuss-Koenenlager → Cologne Cathedral is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cologne Cathedral to back through Neuss-Koenenlager
Cologne Cathedral → back through Neuss-Koenenlager is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Neuss-Koenenlager to back through Moers-Asberg
back through Neuss-Koenenlager → back through Moers-Asberg is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Moers-Asberg to back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg
back through Moers-Asberg → back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg to Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South
back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg → Berg en Dal-De Holdeurn | South is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.