Why this ride
From Elst it runs 226 km to Elst; allow about 3 h 23 of riding. The stops in between: Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg, Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan and back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Elst-Grote Kerk and Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 226 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 23
- 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
Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg → Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 62 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 55 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Elst-Grote Kerk
Elst is a commuter town in the Betuwe, the flat river island between the Rhine and the Waal, halfway between Arnhem and Nijmegen. At first glance there is nothing remarkable about its big brick church on the market square. The surprise lies underneath it. Excavations in the twentieth century found the remains of two Roman temples beneath the floor, built one after another on the same spot, dedicated to a local god adopted into the Roman world. The site belongs to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021, and the foundations can be seen in the church cellar when it is open.
Read the complete Elst-Grote Kerk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Elst-Grote Kerk is where the day begins. Next is Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg.
2. Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg
A modern fort and a Roman one stand within a couple of kilometres of each other here, and both exist because of the same river. Vechten, on the Kromme Rijn just east of Utrecht, was the Roman fort of Fectio, one of the best-known sites on the Lower Germanic frontier. It lay at a point where the Rhine split, with the branch that became the Vecht heading north, and that made it a perfect depot. Soldiers, grain, and building stone all went through here, and archaeologists have pulled a remarkable amount out of the ground, including altars, bronze statuettes and the debris of a busy harbour.
Read the complete Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg comes up about 58 km into the recorded legs. Next is Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan.
3. Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan
The Rhine ends in a whimper rather than a bang. After its long journey from the Alps, its old main branch, the Oude Rijn, winds quietly through the flat polders of South Holland past Leiden toward the North Sea, and for the Romans this sluggish waterway was the northern frontier of the empire. At Roomburg, on the edge of Leiden and Leiderdorp, stood the fort of Matilo, guarding the river and the canal that linked it with the Meuse, and today its site is part of the Roomburgerpark, a green space with information points and outlines marking where the fort stood. It belongs to the Lower Germanic Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 113 km into the recorded legs you reach Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan. Next is back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg.
4. back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg, late in the day. Next is Elst-Grote Kerk.
5. Elst-Grote Kerk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Elst-Grote Kerk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Elst-Grote Kerk. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Elst-Grote Kerk to Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg
Elst-Grote Kerk → Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg is 58 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg to Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan
Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg → Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan to back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg
Leiden-Roomburg | Besjeslaan → back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg to Elst-Grote Kerk
back through Bunnik-Vechten | Provincialeweg → Elst-Grote Kerk is 58 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.