Why this ride
241 km from Taunusstein to Taunusstein, about 4 h 28 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16, Watchtower WP 1/52, Remagen and back through Watchtower WP 1/52. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci and Remagen
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 241 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.
Scenic road chapters
Moselle Wine Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 38 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 38 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16.
2. Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Imagine standing in a small timber or stone tower on a cold winter night, looking out over the dark forest for signs of movement, with a fire ready to signal to the next tower along the line. That was the life of the soldiers who manned the watchtowers of the Roman frontier, and the remains of three of them, numbered 2/14 to 2/16 by archaeologists, lie in the woods between Singhofen and Miehlen, on the plateau above the Rhine and the Lahn. Their foundations survive as low mounds and traces in the ground, and the line of the frontier, the ditch and bank, can be followed between them. They are part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, one of the components of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 1/52.
3. Watchtower WP 1/52
The Roman frontier in Germany began on the Rhine at Rheinbrohl, a few kilometres downstream from Koblenz, where the first watchtower of the Upper Germanic Limes, WP 1/1, stood on the riverbank. From there, the frontier ran south-east through the Westerwald and the Taunus, and the watchtower WP 1/52, near Bendorf, stood on this early section, close to the Rhine and the confluence of the Moselle at Koblenz. The tower is long gone, but its site is part of the UNESCO listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the Roemerwelt museum at Rheinbrohl brings the life of the frontier soldiers vividly to life with reconstructions and hands-on exhibits.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/52 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 77 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 1/52. Next is Remagen.
4. Remagen
On 7 March 1945, soldiers of the US 9th Armored Division reached Remagen and found the Ludendorff railway bridge across the Rhine still standing, despite German attempts to blow it. They rushed across, and for the first time the Allies had a foothold on the far bank of the great river. Ten days later the damaged bridge collapsed, but by then pontoons had been built and the war in the west had entered its last chapter. What remains today are the black stone towers on both banks, and those on the Remagen side house a small peace museum telling the story with honesty and without glorification.
Read the complete Remagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Remagen, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/52.
5. back through Watchtower WP 1/52
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/52 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 1/52 sits at 145 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16.
6. back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 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 2/14 to 2/16 comes up about 201 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci.
7. 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
Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci to Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci → Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 to Watchtower WP 1/52
Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 → Watchtower WP 1/52 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/52 to Remagen
Watchtower WP 1/52 → Remagen is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Remagen to back through Watchtower WP 1/52
Remagen → back through Watchtower WP 1/52 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/52 to back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
back through Watchtower WP 1/52 → back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 to Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci
back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 → Watchtower WP 3/1 to 3/14 including the ci is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.