Why this ride
From Muiden it runs 236 km to Muiden; allow about 3 h 33 of riding. The stops in between: Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower, Utrecht-Domplein and back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort along the Pampus and Utrecht-Domplein
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 236 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 33
- 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
Dutch Flower Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 55 km this is Dutch Flower Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 55 km
- Named road
- Dutch Flower Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort along the Pampus
Out in the open water of the IJmeer, a few kilometres off the old fortified town of Muiden, a low circular fortress sits on an artificial island. This is Pampus, one of more than forty forts that make up the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a ring of fortifications built around the city in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The idea was simple and very Dutch: in case of attack, large areas of land around the city would be flooded to a depth that was too shallow for boats and too deep for soldiers to wade, and the forts would guard the roads, railways and dykes that crossed the flooded zone. Pampus guarded the approach to Amsterdam by water. The line was listed by UNESCO in 1996.
Read the complete Fort along the Pampus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort along the Pampus is where the day begins. Next is Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower.
2. Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Where the old Rhine reached the North Sea, near the modern town of Katwijk, the Romans built a string of forts, and Valkenburg was one of them. The Dutch Valkenburg, a village near Leiden, not to be confused with its namesake in Limburg, was the site of a fort and harbour called Praetorium Agrippinae, a base on the northern frontier of the empire that stood on the south bank of the river. Along this stretch the Rhine formed the border of the Roman province of Lower Germany, and the line of forts, watchtowers and roads along it is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage listing.
Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Utrecht-Domplein.
3. Utrecht-Domplein
Dig under the Domplein in Utrecht and you hit a Roman fort. That is not a figure of speech: when the city was rebuilt after the great storm that brought down the nave of the cathedral in 1674, the foundations were already sitting on the foundations of something much older. The Romans built a fort here around the middle of the first century, on a low sandy rise beside the Rhine, and called it Traiectum, the crossing. When the legions left, the name stuck, and a thousand years of sound changes turned it into Utrecht.
Read the complete Utrecht-Domplein write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 117 km into the recorded legs you reach Utrecht-Domplein. Next is back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower.
4. back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower, late in the day. Next is Fort along the Pampus.
5. Fort along the Pampus
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort along the Pampus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort along the Pampus. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort along the Pampus to Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Fort along the Pampus → Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower to Utrecht-Domplein
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower → Utrecht-Domplein is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Utrecht-Domplein to back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Utrecht-Domplein → back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower to Fort along the Pampus
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower → Fort along the Pampus is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.