Why this ride
From Wittelshofen it runs 79 km to Wittelshofen; allow about 1 h 33 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 13/40, Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the and back through Watchtowers WP 13/40.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho and Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 79 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
There is nothing to climb at Ruffenhofen, and that is the clever part. The Roman fort here, on gently rising ground above the Wörnitz near Weiltingen and Wittelshofen, has never been rebuilt in stone. Instead, the outline of the walls, gates and the buildings of the settlement around it has been traced across the fields with hedges, trees and mown strips, so the whole place reads like a plan drawn in plants. From the little viewing hill you can see the shape of a garrison that has been underground for seventeen centuries.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho 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 Ruffenho is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 13/40.
2. Watchtowers WP 13/40
Arberg lies in the rolling country of Middle Franconia, where the Altmühl and Wörnitz rivers wander through meadows and the hills are crowned with small woods. The Roman Limes crossed this ground in the second century, and the towers numbered 13/40 belong to the Raetian section, close to the point where the frontier was a stone wall. Today the line is mostly hidden. Farmers have ploughed over it, and trees have grown on the old bank, and in a few places a wooden marker or a stone footing shows where a tower stood. The nearest big fort was at Unterschwaningen, a few kilometres away, and the garrison there sent patrols to the towers.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/40 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 13/40 comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Here the frontier changes character. West of the Franconian lakes the Romans built the Raetian Limes not as a palisade but, in its final form, as a stone wall, a metre or so thick and perhaps three high, running across Middle Franconia toward the Danube. Medieval villagers who found its rubble in their fields had no idea who had built it and called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, which tells you how thoroughly the empire had been forgotten. The watchtowers numbered in this section sat along that wall in the farmland around Pfofeld and Gunzenhausen, close to where the line crosses the Altmühl valley.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 38 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 13/40.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 13/40
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/40 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 13/40, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho.
5. Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho 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 Ruffenho. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho to Watchtowers WP 13/40
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho → Watchtowers WP 13/40 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 13/40 to Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Watchtowers WP 13/40 → Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the to back through Watchtowers WP 13/40
Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the → back through Watchtowers WP 13/40 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 13/40 to Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
back through Watchtowers WP 13/40 → Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.