Why this ride
199 km from Alfter to Alfter, about 3 h 53 of riding. It goes by way of Iversheim, Remagen, Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24 and back through Remagen. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 and Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 199 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 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. Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5
Between Bonn and the Eifel lies the Kottenforst, a broad, flat forest of oak, beech and hornbeam on the plateau of the Ville, once a hunting ground of the Electors of Cologne, who laid out long straight rides through the trees for their stag hunts. Hidden in the woods are the faint outlines of Roman camps, earthworks left by soldiers who trained or camped here when Bonn, then called Bonna, was the base of a Roman legion on the Rhine frontier. The site at Domhecken, in the northern part of the forest, is one of the components of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021. Like many such sites, it is subtle, a low bank and ditch among the trees, but it adds a layer of history to a walk or a ride through the forest.
Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 is where the day begins. Next is Iversheim.
2. Iversheim
Iversheim is a village in the valley of the Erft, at the northern edge of the Eifel, just downstream from the old spa town of Bad Münstereifel. It is known for one thing: a Roman lime-burning works, one of the best preserved in Europe. The Romans built a series of kilns here to burn limestone from the surrounding hills into quicklime, which was used to make mortar for the forts, towns and roads of the province of Lower Germany. The kilns were worked by detachments of soldiers from the Rhine legions, as inscriptions found on the site show.
Read the complete Iversheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Iversheim comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Remagen.
3. Remagen
On 7 March 1945, soldiers of the US 9th Armored Division reached Remagen and found the Ludendorff railway bridge across the Rhine still standing, despite German attempts to blow it. They rushed across, and for the first time the Allies had a foothold on the far bank of the great river. Ten days later the damaged bridge collapsed, but by then pontoons had been built and the war in the west had entered its last chapter. What remains today are the black stone towers on both banks, and those on the Remagen side house a small peace museum telling the story with honesty and without glorification.
Read the complete Remagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Remagen. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24.
4. Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24
The Upper German-Raetian Limes began at the Rhine, at Rheinbrohl, and climbed into the hills on the east bank, and towers WP 1/23 and 1/24, near the wine village of Leutesdorf, are among the first along its route. They are now marked by foundations or mounds in the forest above the river, and they are part of the World Heritage listing. From here the frontier ran for more than five hundred kilometres to the Danube, and it is fascinating to stand at the very beginning of such an enormous undertaking.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24, about halfway. Next is back through Remagen.
5. back through Remagen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Remagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Remagen sits at 126 km, about halfway. Next is back through Iversheim.
6. back through Iversheim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Iversheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Iversheim comes up about 175 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5.
7. Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 to Iversheim
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 → Iversheim is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Iversheim to Remagen
Iversheim → Remagen is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Remagen to Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24
Remagen → Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24 to back through Remagen
Watchtowers WP 1/23 to 1/24 → back through Remagen is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Remagen to back through Iversheim
back through Remagen → back through Iversheim is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Iversheim to Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5
back through Iversheim → Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.