Why this ride
324 km from Wachtberg to Wachtberg, about 5 h 10 of riding. The stops in between: Iversheim, Köln-Praetorium, Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell and Duisburg-Werthausen. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee and Duisburg-Werthausen
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 324 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 10
- 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
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 Süd | Bellerbuschallee
The Kottenforst is a big, flat, rather mysterious forest on the plateau south-west of Bonn, crossed by long, dead-straight avenues laid out by the Electors of Cologne in the eighteenth century as hunting rides. The Bellerbuschallee is one of them, and walking or riding along it you pass oak and beech, wet hollows and the occasional deer. Under the trees, though, lie traces much older than the Electors: the low ramparts of Roman practice camps, where legionaries from Bonn learned to dig defences quickly. These camps form part of the Lower German Limes World Heritage listing inscribed in 2021.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee 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 42 km in. Next is Köln-Praetorium.
3. Köln-Praetorium
Under Cologne's town hall there is a Roman palace, and you can walk through it. The Praetorium was the residence of the governor of the province of Lower Germany, a large building complex on the edge of the Rhine that dates from the first century and grew over the next few hundred years. The city, called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, was founded in the first century AD and named for Agrippina, the mother of the emperor Nero, who was born in a camp nearby. The remains of the palace were found during rebuilding after the Second World War, and the cellars and corridors are now open as an archaeological site.
Read the complete Köln-Praetorium write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
84 km in you reach Köln-Praetorium. Next is Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell.
4. 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
Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell, about halfway. Next is Duisburg-Werthausen.
5. 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 sits at 168 km, about halfway. Next is back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell.
6. 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
back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell comes up 209 km in. Next is back through Köln-Praetorium.
7. back through Köln-Praetorium
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Köln-Praetorium write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
251 km in you reach back through Köln-Praetorium. Next is back through Iversheim.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee.
9. Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee 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 324 km.
Leg by leg
Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee to Iversheim
Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee → Iversheim is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Iversheim to Köln-Praetorium
Iversheim → Köln-Praetorium is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Köln-Praetorium to Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell
Köln-Praetorium → 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 back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell
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-Praetorium
back through Neuss-Reckberg | Kleinkastell → back through Köln-Praetorium is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Köln-Praetorium to back through Iversheim
back through Köln-Praetorium → back through Iversheim is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Iversheim to Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee
back through Iversheim → Kottenforst Süd | Bellerbuschallee is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.