Why this ride
A 187 km round trip from Neuss - roughly 2 h 47 in the saddle. On the way it passes Duisburg-Werthausen, Alpen-Drüpt, Kalkar-Bornsches Feld and back through Alpen-Drüpt. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Neuss-Koenenlager and Kalkar-Bornsches Feld
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 187 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 47
- 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-Koenenlager → Duisburg-Werthausen
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 36 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 39 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Neuss-Koenenlager
On the southern edge of Neuss, in a residential area near the Rhine, lies one of the most important Roman military sites in Germany, though you would hardly know it from the surface. This was Novaesium, a legionary fortress that housed thousands of soldiers for much of the first century, and it is known as the Koenenlager after Constantin Koenen, the local archaeologist who excavated it systematically in the late nineteenth century. His work revealed the layout of an entire legionary camp, with headquarters, barracks, granaries and a hospital, and it became a model for Roman military archaeology. The site is part of the Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Neuss-Koenenlager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neuss-Koenenlager is where the day begins. Next is Duisburg-Werthausen.
2. 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 comes up 31 km in. Next is Alpen-Drüpt.
3. Alpen-Drüpt
On the flat farmland of the Lower Rhine, between Alpen and Rheinberg, there is little to catch the eye: fields of maize and potatoes, poplars along ditches, brick farmhouses and the occasional windmill. Yet this was once the edge of the Roman world. The Rhine formed the frontier of the empire, and along its banks the Romans built legionary fortresses, forts, watchtowers and temporary camps. Alpen-Drüpt is one of the sites included in the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021; like many on the list, it survives mainly below ground, known from aerial photographs and excavations rather than standing ruins.
Read the complete Alpen-Drüpt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
62 km in you reach Alpen-Drüpt. Next is Kalkar-Bornsches Feld.
4. Kalkar-Bornsches Feld
Kalkar sits on a low terrace a few kilometres from the Rhine, close to the Dutch border, and everything about the landscape here is flat, wide and bright. The label points to the Bornsches Feld, a field on the edge of town that belongs to the Roman Lower Germanic Limes, the frontier that followed the Rhine itself rather than a wall or a palisade. UNESCO added the whole line to its list in 2021. Here, as elsewhere along the lower river, the Roman forts and camps stood on the river bank, the water served as the barrier, and what remains today is mostly in the ground and in the museums of Xanten, a little way up the Rhine.
Read the complete Kalkar-Bornsches Feld write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kalkar-Bornsches Feld, about halfway. Next is back through Alpen-Drüpt.
5. back through Alpen-Drüpt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alpen-Drüpt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Alpen-Drüpt sits at 125 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 156 km in. Next is Neuss-Koenenlager.
7. Neuss-Koenenlager
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Neuss-Koenenlager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neuss-Koenenlager closes the day.
Leg by leg
Neuss-Koenenlager to Duisburg-Werthausen
Neuss-Koenenlager → Duisburg-Werthausen is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Duisburg-Werthausen to Alpen-Drüpt
Duisburg-Werthausen → Alpen-Drüpt is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Alpen-Drüpt to Kalkar-Bornsches Feld
Alpen-Drüpt → Kalkar-Bornsches Feld is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kalkar-Bornsches Feld to back through Alpen-Drüpt
Kalkar-Bornsches Feld → back through Alpen-Drüpt is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Alpen-Drüpt to back through Duisburg-Werthausen
back through Alpen-Drüpt → back through Duisburg-Werthausen is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Duisburg-Werthausen to Neuss-Koenenlager
back through Duisburg-Werthausen → Neuss-Koenenlager is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.