Why this ride
186 km from Düsseldorf to Düsseldorf, about 2 h 49 of riding. It goes by way of Krefeld-Gellep, Alpen-Drüpt, Kalkar-Bornsches Feld and back through Alpen-Drüpt. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm and Kalkar-Bornsches Feld
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 186 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 49
- 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.
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 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 Krefeld-Gellep.
6. 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 comes up 156 km in. Next is Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm.
7. 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
Neuss-Reckberg | Wachtturm closes the day.
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 40 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 Krefeld-Gellep
back through 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.