Why this ride
A 325 km round trip from Vallendar - roughly 5 h 42 in the saddle. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10, Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach, Köln-Alteburg and Monheim-Haus Bürgel. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe and Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 325 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 42
- 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
Moselle Wine Route
For about 36 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach → Köln-Alteburg
38 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
On the heights above the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Koblenz, the suburb of Niederberg sits on top of a Roman fort. It is one of the forts of the Upper Germanic Limes, which ran through the hills here a few kilometres back from the river, and the label refers to the fort site and the civilian settlement that grew up around it, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Not much is visible today, as the area is built over, but the location explains a great deal.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10.
2. Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10
Rheinbrohl is where the Roman frontier of Upper Germany began. Here, on the east bank of the Rhine between Bonn and Koblenz, the Limes left the river and struck off inland, running across hills and valleys for more than five hundred kilometres to the Danube near Regensburg. The first watchtowers, numbered 1/1 onwards, stood in the hills above the town, and the stretch from 1/3 to 1/10 climbs from the Rhine valley into the forests of the Westerwald. The Römerwelt museum in Rheinbrohl, at the start of the Limes, brings Roman frontier life to life with reconstructions, hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed watchtower nearby.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach.
3. Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach
South of Bonn, between the Rhine and the Eifel foothills, the Kottenforst is a big forest that most people drive around and few really enter. For centuries it was a hunting forest of the Electors of Cologne, who ran straight rides through the trees for their parties, and some of those long avenues survive as forest tracks. Oak and beech dominate, with ponds and damp hollows where the Villiper Bach, a small stream, begins its journey toward the Rhine. In spring the floor is carpeted with wood anemones, and in autumn the leaf litter smells sharp and sweet.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 86 km into the recorded legs you reach Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach. Next is Köln-Alteburg.
4. Köln-Alteburg
The Roman navy is not the first thing most people associate with Cologne, but for almost two centuries the Rhine fleet, the Classis Germanica, had its main base here at Alteburg, just south of the Roman city. The fort sat on a terrace above the river in what is now the leafy district of Marienburg, near Bayenthal, and from here warships patrolled the Rhine, carried supplies and soldiers, and kept watch on the frontier. The site belongs to the Lower Germanic Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021, though today it lies mostly under villas, streets and gardens, with only traces and information boards to show where it stood.
Read the complete Köln-Alteburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Köln-Alteburg, about halfway. Next is Monheim-Haus Bürgel.
5. Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Haus Bürgel is a manor farm that sits on top of a Roman fort, quite literally. The walls of a late Roman fortification, built in the fourth century to guard the Rhine frontier, form part of the foundations and outer walls of the medieval and later farm buildings, and the site is part of the Lower German Limes World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2021. Between Monheim and Düsseldorf-Urdenbach, it lies in a broad meadow landscape on the right bank of the Rhine.
Read the complete Monheim-Haus Bürgel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monheim-Haus Bürgel sits at 141 km, about halfway. Next is back through Köln-Alteburg.
6. back through Köln-Alteburg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Köln-Alteburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Köln-Alteburg comes up about 207 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach.
7. back through Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 240 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10.
8. back through Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe.
9. Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe 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
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe to Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe → Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 to Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach
Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 → Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach to Köln-Alteburg
Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach → Köln-Alteburg is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Köln-Alteburg to Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Köln-Alteburg → Monheim-Haus Bürgel is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monheim-Haus Bürgel to back through Köln-Alteburg
Monheim-Haus Bürgel → back through Köln-Alteburg is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Köln-Alteburg to back through Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach
back through Köln-Alteburg → back through Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach to back through Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10
back through Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach → back through Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 to Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
back through Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 → Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.