Why this ride
A 144 km round trip from Düsseldorf - roughly 2 h 05 in the saddle. On the way it passes Krefeld-Gellep, Alpen-Drüpt and back through Krefeld-Gellep. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm and Alpen-Drüpt
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 144 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 05
- 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. Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm
Neuss has been a garrison town for two thousand years, and it still carries the Roman name in a shortened form: Novaesium, the legionary fortress that stood on the Rhine near the mouth of the Erft, was one of the oldest Roman military sites in Germany, founded in the days of Augustus. The Rhine was the frontier here, the Lower Germanic Limes, with no wall but a river, fortresses and watchtowers like the one at Reckberg, and the whole line was added to the UNESCO list in 2021.
Read the complete Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm is where the day begins. Next is Krefeld-Gellep.
2. 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 comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. 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
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Alpen-Drüpt. Next is back through Krefeld-Gellep.
4. back through 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
back through Krefeld-Gellep, late in the day. Next is Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm.
5. Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm to Krefeld-Gellep
Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm → Krefeld-Gellep is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Krefeld-Gellep to Alpen-Drüpt
Krefeld-Gellep → Alpen-Drüpt is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Alpen-Drüpt to back through Krefeld-Gellep
Alpen-Drüpt → back through Krefeld-Gellep is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Krefeld-Gellep to Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm
back through Krefeld-Gellep → Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.