Why this ride
From Pfofeld it runs 80 km to Pfofeld; allow about 1 h 39 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45, Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho and back through Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh and Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 80 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 39
- 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 Theilenh
The Romans called it Iciniacum, and for a century and a half it was home to a cavalry unit guarding the Raetian frontier in what is now Middle Franconia. The fort at Theilenhofen, near Gunzenhausen in Bavaria, lay just behind the Limes, the frontier wall that here was built of stone, running across the landscape from the Danube toward the Main. Today there is little above ground, but information panels by the site and the line of the fort traced in the fields help visitors picture it. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2005.
Read the complete fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh 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 Theilenh is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45.
2. Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45
South of Gunzenhausen the old frontier of the Roman Empire ran across the countryside in a ruler-straight line, and the numbered watchtowers are the markers for that line. This is the Raetian Limes, the stretch that, from the second century onward, was built from timber and then stone to protect the province of Raetia from the Germanic tribes to the north. The numbers 13/41 to 13/45 simply describe a cluster of tower sites on the surveyor's map. Most of them have been reduced by farming and time to low mounds and gentle banks in the fields, so what you actually find is landscape rather than masonry.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho.
3. 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
about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 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 13/41 to 13/45, late in the day. Next is fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh.
5. fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh 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 Theilenh. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh to Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45
fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh → Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 to Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho
Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 → Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho to back through Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45
Fort site and civil settlement of Ruffenho → back through Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 to fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh
back through Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 → fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.