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 197 km round trip from Mainhardt - roughly 3 h 28 in the saddle. The stops in between: Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par, Watchtowers WP 12/39, Fort site and civil settlement of Welzheim and back through Watchtowers WP 12/39.
Mainhardt sits on a plateau in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, a wooded upland east of Heilbronn, and in the second century, a Roman army unit was stationed here. The fort was built around the middle of the second century, as part of the forward movement of the frontier, to guard the Limes that ran just to the east. It held a unit of around five hundred soldiers, and a civil settlement grew up beside it, with houses, workshops, baths and inns, where families, craftsmen and traders lived.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Mainhard write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Fort site and civil settlement of Mainhard is where the day begins. Next is Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par.
In the Swabian Forest east of Stuttgart, the Roman frontier ran as straight as a ruler for some eighty kilometres, ignoring hills and valleys in a way that still puzzles historians. Welzheim lies on this straight stretch of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, and the town had two Roman forts, the west and east forts, with a civil settlement around them. The northern part of the settlement near the east fort is one of the components of the Limes World Heritage Site, and the Ostkastell has been turned into an archaeological park with a reconstructed gate.
Read the complete Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/39.
Iggingen is a small village on the plateau above the Rems valley, a few kilometres east of Schwäbisch Gmünd, and like many villages in this part of Württemberg it has a Roman frontier running through its fields. The site labelled Watchtower WP 12/39 sits on the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the edge of Roman Raetia, and from here the line runs eastwards towards Aalen, the largest Roman cavalry fort north of the Alps, now home to an excellent Limes museum.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/39 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 12/39. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Welzheim.
Welzheim had not one but two Roman forts, and that alone tells you how seriously the frontier was taken in the Swabian Forest. The larger west fort held a cavalry unit, while the smaller east fort, now an archaeological park on the edge of town, housed an auxiliary infantry detachment. At the east fort the west gate has been rebuilt to its full height, and standing in front of it you get a rare sense of scale that low foundations never give. Around both forts lay the civil settlement, the vicus, with workshops, taverns and homes.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Welzheim write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Fort site and civil settlement of Welzheim, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 12/39.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/39 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Watchtowers WP 12/39 sits at 111 km, about halfway. Next is back through Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par comes up about 160 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Mainhard.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Mainhard write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Fort site and civil settlement of Mainhard closes the day.
Fort site and civil settlement of Mainhard → Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par → Watchtowers WP 12/39 is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 12/39 → Fort site and civil settlement of Welzheim is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Welzheim → back through Watchtowers WP 12/39 is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 12/39 → back through Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par → Fort site and civil settlement of Mainhard is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.