Why this ride
82 km from Gunzenhausen to Gunzenhausen, about 2 h 05 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo, Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12 and back through Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtower WP 13/54 and Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 82 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.
Scenic road chapters
Romantic Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 24 km this is Romantic Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 24 km
- Named road
- Romantic Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtower WP 13/54
Gunzenhausen is a small town in Middle Franconia, on the Altmühl river, and the Roman frontier ran right through it. Watchtower WP 13/54 stood within what is now the town, and the course of the frontier is traced through the streets. It is unusual to find the Roman frontier in an urban setting, and it is a nice surprise as you wander the streets.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 13/54 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 13/54 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo.
2. Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo
The Raetian Limes ran across southern Franconia as a stone wall, and between Wassertrüdingen and Gunzenhausen it climbed over low hills and crossed the valleys of small rivers, with watchtowers at regular intervals. The group from WP 13/16 to 13/36 includes the sites of several towers and a fortlet, now visible as low mounds and foundations, sometimes with reconstructions, and they are part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing. In the woods and fields, a line of stones or a slight bank may mark the course of the wall.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12.
3. Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12
Along the Wörnitz valley in western Middle Franconia, near the village of Weiltingen, the line of the Raetian Limes cuts across the countryside, and the places where Roman watchtowers once stood are numbered by archaeologists in a dry sequence: WP 13/6, 13/7, and so on. In Raetia, the frontier was not a palisade, as in Upper Germany, but a stone wall about three metres high, and local people called its remains the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, believing that only the devil could have built something so long and straight. Today, you may see a low bank in a field or a line of trees following the old route, and in some places the foundations of towers have been marked or reconstructed.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo 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 13/16 to 13/36 including fo, late in the day. Next is Watchtower WP 13/54.
5. Watchtower WP 13/54
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 13/54 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Watchtower WP 13/54. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtower WP 13/54 to Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo
Watchtower WP 13/54 → Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo to Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12
Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo → Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12 to back through Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo
Watchtowers WP 13/6 to 13/12 → back through Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo to Watchtower WP 13/54
back through Watchtowers WP 13/16 to 13/36 including fo → Watchtower WP 13/54 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.