Why this ride
A 96 km round trip from Kalkar - roughly 1 h 56 in the saddle. It goes by way of Xanten-CUT, Kleve-Reichswald | West and back through Xanten-CUT. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kalkar-Kalkarberg and Kleve-Reichswald | West
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 96 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 56
- 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. Kalkar-Kalkarberg
Near the Dutch border, where the Rhine flows through wide meadows and dyked farmland, the small town of Kalkar holds a surprising amount of history. The Kalkarberg is a low rise near Altkalkar, and on it stood the Roman fort of Burginatium, one of the posts along the Lower German Limes, now part of the UNESCO-listed Frontiers of the Roman Empire. The rise would have given a valuable view over the river plain, and the fort controlled the road between Xanten and Nijmegen. Today it is fields and trees, but the shape of the land still hints at the old fortification.
Read the complete Kalkar-Kalkarberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kalkar-Kalkarberg is where the day begins. Next is Xanten-CUT.
2. Xanten-CUT
Xanten is an old Roman town that still behaves like a small, cosy market town on the Lower Rhine, and right next to it lies one of the largest archaeological parks in Germany. Colonia Ulpia Traiana, CUT for short, was founded around AD 100 under the emperor Trajan, who gave it the rank of a colonia and his family name. At its height it was a walled city of several thousand people, the second most important Roman city in the province of Lower Germany after Cologne.
Read the complete Xanten-CUT write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Xanten-CUT comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kleve-Reichswald | West.
3. Kleve-Reichswald | West
Kleve sits on the lower Rhine, a few kilometres from the Dutch border, in a landscape so flat that the one low hill outside the town counts as an event. West of it, the Reichswald is a big, dark forest of pine and beech, one of the largest wooded areas in this part of North Rhine-Westphalia, and for a rider coming from the Ruhr it feels like an exhale. The forest roads are straight and shaded, and the surrounding villages, Kranenburg among them, are neat, brick-built and utterly peaceful.
Read the complete Kleve-Reichswald | West write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 48 km into the recorded legs you reach Kleve-Reichswald | West. Next is back through Xanten-CUT.
4. back through Xanten-CUT
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Xanten-CUT write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Xanten-CUT, late in the day. Next is Kalkar-Kalkarberg.
5. Kalkar-Kalkarberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kalkar-Kalkarberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Kalkar-Kalkarberg. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Kalkar-Kalkarberg to Xanten-CUT
Kalkar-Kalkarberg → Xanten-CUT is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Xanten-CUT to Kleve-Reichswald | West
Xanten-CUT → Kleve-Reichswald | West is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kleve-Reichswald | West to back through Xanten-CUT
Kleve-Reichswald | West → back through Xanten-CUT is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Xanten-CUT to Kalkar-Kalkarberg
back through Xanten-CUT → Kalkar-Kalkarberg is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Xanten-CUT and Kleve-Reichswald | East · 68 km
- Till and Moers-Asberg · 251 km
- Moers-Asberg and Tiel Inundation Canal · 271 km