Why this ride
A 300 km round trip from Adelsheim - roughly 4 h 53 in the saddle. The stops in between: Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th, Building remains of south of Pfahlheim and back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fortlet Lehnenwiesen and Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 300 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 53
- 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. Fortlet Lehnenwiesen
Götz von Berlichingen, the knight with the iron hand, was born in Jagsthausen around 1480, and he is remembered for a rude phrase he supposedly shouted at an enemy, made famous by Goethe in his play about the knight. Jagsthausen's castle, where Götz grew up, hosts an open-air theatre festival every summer, and the iron hand, a prosthesis he wore after losing his right hand in battle, is displayed there. A few kilometres away, in the fields near Widdern, the fortlet of Lehnenwiesen was a small Roman post on the Upper Germanic Limes, part of the chain of forts and watchtowers that ran through this landscape.
Read the complete Fortlet Lehnenwiesen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Lehnenwiesen is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th.
2. Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
There is a stretch of the Roman frontier in southern Germany that runs almost perfectly straight for about eighty kilometres, from Walldürn in the Odenwald to near Welzheim in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, ignoring hills and valleys alike, as if the surveyors had simply drawn a line on a map. The watchtowers numbered WP 9/101 to 9/131 stand near the southern end of that line, in the forests around Kaisersbach and Welzheim, where the Limes finally turns.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th comes up about 85 km into the recorded legs. Next is Building remains of south of Pfahlheim.
3. Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
The name of the village gives the game away. Pfahlheim, a part of Ellwangen in the Ostalb, takes its name from the Pfahl, the stake line, which is what generations of farmers called the Roman frontier that ran through their fields. Here, at the edge of what is now Baden-Württemberg, the Upper German Limes and the Raetian Limes met, and the building remains south of the village are one of many small components of the UNESCO-listed Upper German-Raetian Limes. The frontier ran almost dead straight across this country for long distances, ignoring hills and streams in a way that still baffles people. There is very little to see on the ground today, perhaps a low bank or a signboard, but the line can be traced by eye if you know where to look.
Read the complete Building remains of south of Pfahlheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 149 km into the recorded legs you reach Building remains of south of Pfahlheim. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th 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 9/101 to 9/131 including th, late in the day. Next is Fortlet Lehnenwiesen.
5. Fortlet Lehnenwiesen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Lehnenwiesen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fortlet Lehnenwiesen. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fortlet Lehnenwiesen to Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
Fortlet Lehnenwiesen → Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th is 85 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th to Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th → Building remains of south of Pfahlheim is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Building remains of south of Pfahlheim to back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
Building remains of south of Pfahlheim → back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th to Fortlet Lehnenwiesen
back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th → Fortlet Lehnenwiesen is 86 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.