Why this ride
From Alfter it runs 304 km to Alfter; allow about 4 h 44 of riding. It goes by way of Köln-Deutz, Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell, Duisburg-Werthausen and Xanten-Fürstenberg. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2 and Xanten-Fürstenberg
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 304 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 44
- 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
Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell → Duisburg-Werthausen
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 38 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 38 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2
Southwest of Bonn, an old forest runs for miles across a low plateau, a place of oak and hornbeam, beech and quiet paths. The Kottenforst is one of the few big woods in the Rhineland, and the area known as Durrenbruch, on the northern side, is typical: flat, damp, shady, with wide forest roads, ditches, small ponds and a thick floor of leaf litter. Its name means dry marsh, a typically contradictory piece of German, and the ground really does flip between puddle and dust depending on the season.
Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2 is where the day begins. Next is Köln-Deutz.
2. Köln-Deutz
Opposite the great cathedral of Cologne, on the right bank of the Rhine, stands Deutz, which began as a Roman fort named Divitia. Around the year 310 the emperor Constantine had a fortress built here, connected to Colonia Agrippinensis on the opposite bank by a stone bridge, one of the first permanent bridges across the Rhine. The fort was about a hundred and fifty metres square, with massive walls and towers, and it gave the Romans a bridgehead on the edge of the Germanic lands. Sections of the walls have been excavated and can be seen in the area, and the fort belongs to the Lower Germanic Limes.
Read the complete Köln-Deutz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Köln-Deutz comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell.
3. Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell
The Rhine was the northern frontier of the Roman Empire for centuries, and the string of forts, towers and camps along its western bank is now recognised as the Lower Germanic Limes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021.
Read the complete Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell. Next is Duisburg-Werthausen.
4. Duisburg-Werthausen
Werthausen sits on the left bank of the Rhine in Duisburg, across the river from the steelworks, harbour cranes and bridges of one of Europe's great industrial cities. It is an unexpected place to look for Rome, but the Lower Rhine was the frontier of the Roman Empire for centuries, and the line of forts, fortlets and watch posts along it is now inscribed on the UNESCO list as the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, the Lower German Limes. The site at Werthausen is one of these components, part of the chain of military posts that watched the river between the legionary bases at Neuss and Xanten.
Read the complete Duisburg-Werthausen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Duisburg-Werthausen, about halfway. Next is Xanten-Fürstenberg.
5. Xanten-Fürstenberg
The Fürstenberg is a low hill on the edge of the Lower Rhine plain, just south of Xanten, and two thousand years ago it was one of the most important military bases in the Roman Empire. Here the Romans built Vetera, a legionary fortress that housed up to two legions and served as a springboard for campaigns into Germania under Augustus. In AD 69 and 70, during the Batavian revolt, Vetera was besieged, starved into surrender and destroyed, and a new fortress was built nearby. The site on the Fürstenberg is part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine from the Alps to the North Sea, which was added to the World Heritage list in 2021. On the ground there is little to see, mostly fields and woods, but the elevated position, with views over the river plain, explains why the Romans chose it.
Read the complete Xanten-Fürstenberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Xanten-Fürstenberg sits at 152 km, about halfway. Next is back through Duisburg-Werthausen.
6. back through Duisburg-Werthausen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Duisburg-Werthausen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Duisburg-Werthausen comes up about 193 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell.
7. back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 231 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell. Next is back through Köln-Deutz.
8. back through Köln-Deutz
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Köln-Deutz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Köln-Deutz, late in the day. Next is Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2.
9. Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2 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 304 km.
Leg by leg
Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2 to Köln-Deutz
Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2 → Köln-Deutz is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Köln-Deutz to Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell
Köln-Deutz → Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell to Duisburg-Werthausen
Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell → Duisburg-Werthausen is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Duisburg-Werthausen to Xanten-Fürstenberg
Duisburg-Werthausen → Xanten-Fürstenberg is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Xanten-Fürstenberg to back through Duisburg-Werthausen
Xanten-Fürstenberg → back through Duisburg-Werthausen is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Duisburg-Werthausen to back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell
back through Duisburg-Werthausen → back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell to back through Köln-Deutz
back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell → back through Köln-Deutz is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Köln-Deutz to Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2
back through Köln-Deutz → Kottenforst Nord | Dürrenbruch 2 is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.