Why this ride
From Bayenthal it runs 328 km to Bayenthal; allow about 4 h 59 of riding. On the way it passes Monheim-Haus Bürgel, Krefeld-Gellep, Alpen-Drüpt and Till. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Köln-Alteburg and Till
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 328 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 59
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
Köln-Alteburg → Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 35 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 46 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Köln-Alteburg
The Roman navy is not the first thing most people associate with Cologne, but for almost two centuries the Rhine fleet, the Classis Germanica, had its main base here at Alteburg, just south of the Roman city. The fort sat on a terrace above the river in what is now the leafy district of Marienburg, near Bayenthal, and from here warships patrolled the Rhine, carried supplies and soldiers, and kept watch on the frontier. The site belongs to the Lower Germanic Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021, though today it lies mostly under villas, streets and gardens, with only traces and information boards to show where it stood.
Read the complete Köln-Alteburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Köln-Alteburg is where the day begins. Next is Monheim-Haus Bürgel.
2. Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Haus Bürgel is a manor farm that sits on top of a Roman fort, quite literally. The walls of a late Roman fortification, built in the fourth century to guard the Rhine frontier, form part of the foundations and outer walls of the medieval and later farm buildings, and the site is part of the Lower German Limes World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2021. Between Monheim and Düsseldorf-Urdenbach, it lies in a broad meadow landscape on the right bank of the Rhine.
Read the complete Monheim-Haus Bürgel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monheim-Haus Bürgel comes up 38 km in. Next is Krefeld-Gellep.
3. 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
76 km in you reach Krefeld-Gellep. Next is Alpen-Drüpt.
4. Alpen-Drüpt
On the flat farmland of the Lower Rhine, between Alpen and Rheinberg, there is little to catch the eye: fields of maize and potatoes, poplars along ditches, brick farmhouses and the occasional windmill. Yet this was once the edge of the Roman world. The Rhine formed the frontier of the empire, and along its banks the Romans built legionary fortresses, forts, watchtowers and temporary camps. Alpen-Drüpt is one of the sites included in the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021; like many on the list, it survives mainly below ground, known from aerial photographs and excavations rather than standing ruins.
Read the complete Alpen-Drüpt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Alpen-Drüpt, about halfway. Next is Till.
5. Till
The Lower Rhine around Kalkar and Kleve is wide, flat country: green polders, willows along drainage ditches, brick farmhouses and church spires visible for miles. Till is a small village here, part of Bedburg-Hau, just off the Rhine embankments between Kalkar and Kleve, with Emmerich across the river. It lies close to the line of the Roman frontier, the Lower German Limes, which followed the Rhine to the North Sea.
Read the complete Till write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Till sits at 151 km, about halfway. Next is back through Alpen-Drüpt.
6. back through Alpen-Drüpt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alpen-Drüpt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Alpen-Drüpt comes up 189 km in. Next is back through Krefeld-Gellep.
7. 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
227 km in you reach back through Krefeld-Gellep. Next is back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel.
8. back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monheim-Haus Bürgel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel, late in the day. Next is Köln-Alteburg.
9. Köln-Alteburg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Köln-Alteburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 328 km.
Leg by leg
Köln-Alteburg to Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Köln-Alteburg → Monheim-Haus Bürgel is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monheim-Haus Bürgel to Krefeld-Gellep
Monheim-Haus Bürgel → Krefeld-Gellep is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Krefeld-Gellep to Alpen-Drüpt
Krefeld-Gellep → Alpen-Drüpt is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Alpen-Drüpt to Till
Alpen-Drüpt → Till is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Till to back through Alpen-Drüpt
Till → back through Alpen-Drüpt is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Alpen-Drüpt to back through Krefeld-Gellep
back through Alpen-Drüpt → back through Krefeld-Gellep is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Krefeld-Gellep to back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel
back through Krefeld-Gellep → back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel to Köln-Alteburg
back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel → Köln-Alteburg is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.