Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach and Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach

   South of Bonn, between the Rhine and the Eifel foothills, the Kottenforst is a big forest that most people drive around and few really enter. For centuries it was a hunting forest of the Electors of Cologne, who ran straight rides through the trees for their parties, and some of those long avenues survive as forest tracks. Oak and beech dominate, with ponds and damp hollows where the Villiper Bach, a small stream, begins its journey toward the Rhine. In spring the floor is carpeted with wood anemones, and in autumn the leaf litter smells sharp and sweet.

   Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach is where the day begins. Next is Remagen.

2. 2. 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

   Remagen comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the.

3. 3. Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the

   Here is where the Upper German-Raetian Limes, the longest stretch of Roman frontier in Europe, begins. The Romans started the line at the Rhine near Rheinbrohl and ran it up over the hills of the Westerwald, then on through the Taunus and beyond for more than five hundred kilometres to the Danube. The section with watchtowers numbered WP 1/11 to 1/20 follows the first climb away from the river through the forests above Rheinbrohl, Hammerstein and Niederbreitbach. Most of the towers survive only as low mounds of stone in the woods, but the course of the frontier ditch and rampart can often be traced on foot, and there are information boards and a few reconstructions along the way.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the 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 Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the. Next is back through Remagen.

4. 4. 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, late in the day. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach.

5. 5. Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Kottenforst Süd | Villiper Bach. That is the ride.