Why this ride
364 km from Bad Ems to Bad Ems, about 6 h 18 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26, Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof, Iversheim and Köln-Praetorium. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtower WP 1/87 and Köln-Praetorium
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 364 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 18
- 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
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 50 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 50 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtower WP 1/87
The Limes crosses the Lahn at Bad Ems, and this stretch of the Rhineland-Palatinate hills is where the Roman frontier meets one of Germany's prettiest river valleys. The Lahn runs through a deep, wooded gorge here, with vineyards and steep slopes, and old spa towns along the banks. Dausenau is a small medieval town of half-timbered houses that still has its town wall, and a church tower that leans, a result of an unstable foundation. Arzbach lies on the high ground to the north, known for pottery.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/87 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 1/87 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26.
2. Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26
The Wied is a small river with a big job, because it marks the point where the Romans' Rhine frontier turned inland. A short ride from the water, between Melsbach and Neuwied, stands a cluster of watchtowers numbered 1/24 to 1/26, with a small fortlet called Lochmühle nearby. The towers belong to the Upper Germanic Limes, which was listed as part of the Roman Frontiers World Heritage Site in 2005, and these sit near its southern start by the Rhine.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof.
3. Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
There is very little to see at first glance here, which is exactly what makes the place oddly moving. South of Bonn, in the edge of the Kottenforst near the Heiderhof quarter of Bad Godesberg and the town of Wachtberg, the forest floor hides the faint outlines of Roman practice camps. Legionaries stationed at the fortress of Bonna on the Rhine marched out here to train at the hard, boring work that won the empire its wars: digging ditches, throwing up earth ramparts and laying out a camp to the standard plan in a few hours. A handful of these training camps in the Kottenforst are part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine recognised by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 94 km into the recorded legs you reach Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof. Next is Iversheim.
4. Iversheim
Iversheim is a village in the valley of the Erft, at the northern edge of the Eifel, just downstream from the old spa town of Bad Münstereifel. It is known for one thing: a Roman lime-burning works, one of the best preserved in Europe. The Romans built a series of kilns here to burn limestone from the surrounding hills into quicklime, which was used to make mortar for the forts, towns and roads of the province of Lower Germany. The kilns were worked by detachments of soldiers from the Rhine legions, as inscriptions found on the site show.
Read the complete Iversheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Iversheim, about halfway. Next is Köln-Praetorium.
5. Köln-Praetorium
Under Cologne's town hall there is a Roman palace, and you can walk through it. The Praetorium was the residence of the governor of the province of Lower Germany, a large building complex on the edge of the Rhine that dates from the first century and grew over the next few hundred years. The city, called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, was founded in the first century AD and named for Agrippina, the mother of the emperor Nero, who was born in a camp nearby. The remains of the palace were found during rebuilding after the Second World War, and the cellars and corridors are now open as an archaeological site.
Read the complete Köln-Praetorium write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Köln-Praetorium sits at 167 km, about halfway. Next is back through Iversheim.
6. back through Iversheim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Iversheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Iversheim comes up about 235 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof.
7. back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 272 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26.
8. back through Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26, late in the day. Next is Watchtower WP 1/87.
9. Watchtower WP 1/87
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/87 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 364 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtower WP 1/87 to Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26
Watchtower WP 1/87 → Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 to Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 → Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof to Iversheim
Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof → Iversheim is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Iversheim to Köln-Praetorium
Iversheim → Köln-Praetorium is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Köln-Praetorium to back through Iversheim
Köln-Praetorium → back through Iversheim is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Iversheim to back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
back through Iversheim → back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof to back through Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26
back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof → back through Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 to Watchtower WP 1/87
back through Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 → Watchtower WP 1/87 is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.