Why this ride
From Vallendar it runs 323 km to Vallendar; allow about 3 h 51 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtower SP 3/5*, Watchtower WP 4/39* and back through Watchtower SP 3/5*.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe and Watchtower WP 4/39*
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 323 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 51
- 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.
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 Watchtower SP 3/5*.
2. Watchtower SP 3/5*
Taunusstein did not exist as a town until 1971, when ten villages on the high plateau north of Wiesbaden were merged into one municipality, and so it has no old centre, just a cluster of former villages, each with its church, its half-timbered houses and its fields. One of them, Wehen, gave its name to the football club SV Wehen Wiesbaden, which started here before moving to the city. The Roman frontier ran along the edge of this plateau, and watchtower SP 3/5, close to the line, is one of the many small sites that mark it in the forest between Taunusstein and Idstein.
Read the complete Watchtower SP 3/5* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower SP 3/5* comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 4/39*.
3. Watchtower WP 4/39*
The Wetterau is one of the richest farming plains in Germany, a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt where loess soil lies deep over old river gravel, and wheat and sugar beet grow in enormous fields. At its edge the Taunus hills rise to the south and west, and the Roman Limes ran along their northern slope, taking in the whole plain as a deliberately protected frontier region. Watchtower 4/39 stands in this open country near Butzbach, and the number marks one of the many posts that kept watch over fields that were, even then, valuable enough to defend.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/39* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 164 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 4/39*. Next is back through Watchtower SP 3/5*.
4. back through Watchtower SP 3/5*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower SP 3/5* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtower SP 3/5*, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe.
5. 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
Back at Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe to Watchtower SP 3/5*
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe → Watchtower SP 3/5* is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower SP 3/5* to Watchtower WP 4/39*
Watchtower SP 3/5* → Watchtower WP 4/39* is 91 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 4/39* to back through Watchtower SP 3/5*
Watchtower WP 4/39* → back through Watchtower SP 3/5* is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower SP 3/5* to Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
back through Watchtower SP 3/5* → Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.