Why this ride
352 km from Krefeld to Krefeld, about 6 h 14 of riding. It goes by way of Monheim-Haus Bürgel, Köln-Alteburg, Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 and Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Krefeld-Gellep and Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 352 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 14
- 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
Monheim-Haus Bürgel → Köln-Alteburg
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
- 43 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Krefeld-Gellep 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 about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Köln-Alteburg.
3. 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
about 94 km into the recorded legs you reach Köln-Alteburg. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2.
4. Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2
Kottenforst is the name of a forest, but on the ride it is a long, patient place to be. This is the southern end of that great woodland ridge above Bonn, and the Wattendorfer Allee is one of the straight, wide avenues driven through it in the eighteenth century for the Electors of Cologne. The avenues radiate from older hunting points, and they still run dead straight for kilometres, so that from the right spot you can look down a green corridor that ends in a pinprick of light.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2, about halfway. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the.
5. 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
Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the sits at 147 km, about halfway. Next is back through Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2.
6. back through Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 comes up about 215 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Köln-Alteburg.
7. back through 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
about 258 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Köln-Alteburg. 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 Krefeld-Gellep.
9. 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
The route ends here after 352 km.
Leg by leg
Krefeld-Gellep to Monheim-Haus Bürgel
Krefeld-Gellep → Monheim-Haus Bürgel is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monheim-Haus Bürgel to Köln-Alteburg
Monheim-Haus Bürgel → Köln-Alteburg is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Köln-Alteburg to Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2
Köln-Alteburg → Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 to Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the
Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 → Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the to back through Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2
Watchtowers WP 1/11 to 1/20 including the → back through Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 to back through Köln-Alteburg
back through Kottenforst Süd | Wattendorfer Allee 2 → back through Köln-Alteburg is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Köln-Alteburg to back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel
back through Köln-Alteburg → back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel to Krefeld-Gellep
back through Monheim-Haus Bürgel → Krefeld-Gellep is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.