Why this ride
From Kalkar it runs 251 km to Kalkar; allow about 3 h 14 of riding. The stops in between: Krefeld-Gellep, Cologne Cathedral and back through Krefeld-Gellep. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kalkar-Bornsches Feld and Cologne Cathedral
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 251 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 14
- 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
Krefeld-Gellep → Cologne Cathedral
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 64 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 61 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Kalkar-Bornsches Feld
Kalkar sits on a low terrace a few kilometres from the Rhine, close to the Dutch border, and everything about the landscape here is flat, wide and bright. The label points to the Bornsches Feld, a field on the edge of town that belongs to the Roman Lower Germanic Limes, the frontier that followed the Rhine itself rather than a wall or a palisade. UNESCO added the whole line to its list in 2021. Here, as elsewhere along the lower river, the Roman forts and camps stood on the river bank, the water served as the barrier, and what remains today is mostly in the ground and in the museums of Xanten, a little way up the Rhine.
Read the complete Kalkar-Bornsches Feld write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kalkar-Bornsches Feld is where the day begins. Next is Krefeld-Gellep.
2. Krefeld-Gellep
Most people pass Krefeld-Gellep without a second thought, because the view is dominated by the harbour of Uerdingen, chemical works and Rhine barges. Yet this is one of the most important Roman and early medieval sites on the Lower Rhine. The Roman fort here was called Gelduba, and it belongs to the Lower German Limes, the frontier along the river that UNESCO recognised in 2021. Tacitus mentions Gelduba in his account of the Batavian revolt of 69 and 70 AD, when legions and rebels fought around the camp, and archaeologists have found traces of that violence in the ground.
Read the complete Krefeld-Gellep write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Krefeld-Gellep comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cologne Cathedral.
3. Cologne Cathedral
Six hundred and thirty-two years. That is how long it took to finish Cologne Cathedral, from the laying of the foundation stone in 1248 to the completion of the spires in 1880, and when you stand at its foot by the main station it feels as though the building is still growing. The twin towers climb to around 157 metres, black with soot and weather, and for a few years after completion they made it the tallest building in the world.
Read the complete Cologne Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 126 km into the recorded legs you reach Cologne Cathedral. Next is back through Krefeld-Gellep.
4. back through Krefeld-Gellep
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Krefeld-Gellep write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Krefeld-Gellep, late in the day. Next is Kalkar-Bornsches Feld.
5. Kalkar-Bornsches Feld
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kalkar-Bornsches Feld write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Kalkar-Bornsches Feld. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Kalkar-Bornsches Feld to Krefeld-Gellep
Kalkar-Bornsches Feld → Krefeld-Gellep is 65 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Krefeld-Gellep to Cologne Cathedral
Krefeld-Gellep → Cologne Cathedral is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cologne Cathedral to back through Krefeld-Gellep
Cologne Cathedral → back through Krefeld-Gellep is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Krefeld-Gellep to Kalkar-Bornsches Feld
back through Krefeld-Gellep → Kalkar-Bornsches Feld is 64 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.