Why this ride
From Bad Ems it runs 277 km to Bad Ems; allow about 4 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtower WP 3/38*, Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro and back through Watchtower WP 3/38*.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an and Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 277 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 02
- 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. Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an
Along this part of the Limes, between Arzbach, Dausenau and Kadenbach, the Roman frontier cuts across the hills above the Lahn valley, and the numbered watchtower positions, here around the 1/24 to 1/26 group, give the section its identity. A watchtower was small, a stone base with a timber upper room, and signalled by fire or horn to its neighbours. The point of it all was surveillance rather than defence; if trouble came, the troops in the forts behind would be told. Standing at one of these positions now, in forest rather than the open ground the Romans cleared, you have to remind yourself that the trees are a later gift.
Read the complete Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 3/38*.
2. Watchtower WP 3/38*
The Taunus is a range of wooded hills north-west of Frankfurt, rising to 878 metres at the Großer Feldberg, and it has long been the city's playground, with forests, spa towns and winding roads. Through these hills ran the Upper Germanic Limes, the Roman frontier that stretched for over five hundred kilometres across Germany, and one of its watchtowers, numbered WP 3/38, stood near the village of Glashütten, close to Waldems and Königstein im Taunus.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/38* comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro.
3. Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro
Großkrotzenburg sits at a turning point of the Roman frontier. Here, on the Main east of Frankfurt, the river border that ran north from Miltenberg came to an end, and the Limes turned away from the water to head north across the Wetterau toward the Taunus. A fort guarded the spot, with a civilian settlement, and parts of its walls and gate can still be traced in the old town, where the fort's outline is marked in the streets. The site belongs to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the local museum displays finds from the fort and the vicus.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 139 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/38*.
4. back through Watchtower WP 3/38*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtower WP 3/38*, late in the day. Next is Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an.
5. Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an to Watchtower WP 3/38*
Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an → Watchtower WP 3/38* is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/38* to Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro
Watchtower WP 3/38* → Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro to back through Watchtower WP 3/38*
Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro → back through Watchtower WP 3/38* is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/38* to Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an
back through Watchtower WP 3/38* → Limessection between watchtower WP 1/87 an is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.