Why this ride
From Bad Nauheim it runs 345 km to Bad Nauheim; allow about 4 h 28 of riding. The stops in between: Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci, Watchtower WP 1/61 and back through Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Signaltower Johannisberg and Watchtower WP 1/61
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 345 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 28
- 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. Signaltower Johannisberg
On a hill above Bad Nauheim, the Johannisberg, the Romans built a signal tower that could communicate with the frontier forts of the Wetterau, the fertile plain that bulges north of Frankfurt and was protected by a long loop of the Limes. The site, with a later medieval chapel and a modern observation tower, gives wide views over the plain and the Taunus hills, and it is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing. On a clear day you can see the towers of Frankfurt on the horizon.
Read the complete Signaltower Johannisberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Signaltower Johannisberg is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci.
2. Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci
The Taunus is the green upland that keeps Frankfurt's weekend riders sane, and running right across it is the line of the Roman frontier. The stretch of watchtowers numbered 3/1 to 3/14 lies near Taunusstein, north of Wiesbaden, where the Upper Germanic Limes crossed the ridge, and it includes the remains of forts and their civilian settlements. One of the best known nearby is the fort of Zugmantel, near the hamlet of Orlen, where the outline of the fort, the palisade line and reconstructed watchtowers give a real sense of the frontier. The whole line is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci comes up about 93 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 1/61.
3. Watchtower WP 1/61
Höhr-Grenzhausen is clay country, and that decides almost everything about this part of the Westerwald. The hills hold a thick seam of fine, high-quality stoneware clay, and for centuries the area has been known as the Kannenbäckerland, the land of the jug makers. Grey salt-glazed pottery with blue decoration, called Westerwald stoneware, was exported across Europe from here, and workshops and a ceramics museum still keep the trade alive. It is a surprising backdrop for a Roman watchtower, but the Romans were here first, and WP 1/61 is one of the numbered posts of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, which UNESCO listed in 2005.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/61 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 163 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 1/61. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci.
4. back through Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci 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 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci, late in the day. Next is Signaltower Johannisberg.
5. Signaltower Johannisberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Signaltower Johannisberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Signaltower Johannisberg. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Signaltower Johannisberg to Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci
Signaltower Johannisberg → Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci is 93 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci to Watchtower WP 1/61
Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci → Watchtower WP 1/61 is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/61 to back through Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci
Watchtower WP 1/61 → back through Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci to Signaltower Johannisberg
back through Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci → Signaltower Johannisberg is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.