Why this ride
A 260 km round trip from Sankt Goarshausen - roughly 4 h 02 in the saddle. It goes by way of Fortlet Rheinbohl, Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at and back through Fortlet Rheinbohl. It follows river valleys.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Upper Middle Rhine Valley and Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 260 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.
Scenic road chapters
Moselle Wine Route
For about 60 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 60 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Fortlet Rheinbohl → Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
62 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 70 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Upper Middle Rhine Valley
Between Bingen and Koblenz, the Rhine cuts a deep, winding gorge through the slate hills of the Rhenish Massif, and for centuries this has been one of the great landscapes of Europe: steep slopes covered with vineyards, castles on every crag, villages of half-timbered houses along the river, and barges gliding past. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley was listed by UNESCO in 2002, and Sankt Goarshausen sits at its heart, at the foot of the most famous rock on the river.
Read the complete Upper Middle Rhine Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Upper Middle Rhine Valley is where the day begins. Next is Fortlet Rheinbohl.
2. Fortlet Rheinbohl
Rheinbrohl is where Germany's longest Roman frontier begins. The Upper Germanic Limes, a line of watchtowers, palisades and forts, starts at the Rhine here and runs east and south for some five hundred kilometres across Germany. At the Rheinbohl fortlet you can see the lines of a small Roman post, a few dozen soldiers who watched the river approach and the crossing over to the left bank. It is a modest place in terms of stonework, but the idea is wonderfully clear: an empire decided that this is where it ended, and put a post on the end of it.
Read the complete Fortlet Rheinbohl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Rheinbohl comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at.
3. Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Clemens August of Bavaria, prince-elector and archbishop of Cologne in the eighteenth century, loved two things above all: hunting with falcons and building in the latest style. At Brühl, just south of Cologne, he created two of the finest rococo buildings in Germany. Augustusburg Palace, his summer residence, has a staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann that is one of the masterpieces of the period, a whirl of marble, stucco and frescoes, and a formal French garden that stretches toward the forest. Falkenlust, a smaller hunting lodge at the end of a long avenue, was built for falconry, with a delightful interior decorated with tiles and lacquerwork. The two castles were listed by UNESCO in 1984.
Read the complete Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 130 km into the recorded legs you reach Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at. Next is back through Fortlet Rheinbohl.
4. back through Fortlet Rheinbohl
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Rheinbohl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fortlet Rheinbohl, late in the day. Next is Upper Middle Rhine Valley.
5. Upper Middle Rhine Valley
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Upper Middle Rhine Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Upper Middle Rhine Valley. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Upper Middle Rhine Valley to Fortlet Rheinbohl
Upper Middle Rhine Valley → Fortlet Rheinbohl is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Rheinbohl to Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Fortlet Rheinbohl → Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at to back through Fortlet Rheinbohl
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at → back through Fortlet Rheinbohl is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Rheinbohl to Upper Middle Rhine Valley
back through Fortlet Rheinbohl → Upper Middle Rhine Valley is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.