Why this ride
An 81 km round trip from Ober-Mörlen - roughly 1 h 32 in the saddle. The stops in between: Watchtower WP 4/37*, Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the and back through Watchtower WP 4/37*.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtower WP 4/17* and Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 81 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 32
- 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. Watchtower WP 4/17*
The Limes crosses the Wetterau, the fertile plain north of Frankfurt, in a long arc, and Watchtower 4/17 is one small point in it. The Wetterau is loess farmland, rich and flat, with wide fields of wheat and sugar beet, and the Romans valued it as an agricultural region, planting farms and estates beside the frontier. The tower itself, as at most of these sites, is represented today by a low mound or a marker, and a short walk will let you see the line of the frontier running across the fields.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/17* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 4/17* is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 4/37*.
2. Watchtower WP 4/37*
Two names appear for this spot, and both belong to the same stretch of frontier that crosses the Wetterau near Butzbach. A watchtower numbered 4/37 stood here in the second century, one in a chain of tall lookouts built just behind the Limes palisade, with a view along the line to the neighbouring towers and out across the forest to the north, the land of the Chatti. Little remains today, a low platform of earth and some fallen stones, perhaps with a marker, but towers like this were the eyes of the Roman army, and their quiet watching was the daily business of the frontier.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/37* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 4/37* comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
The Wetterau is a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt, one of the best farming landscapes in Hesse, and the Romans fenced it with a frontier that ran in a wide arc through the grain fields. This group of watchtowers, with its numbers running from 4/59 to 4/71, lies near Hungen and Lich on the eastern side, where the plain begins to rise toward the Vogelsberg. Close by stands the Eichkopf fortlet, and a few kilometres to the north the ruins of the big fort at Arnsburg lie beside the remains of a Cistercian abbey, a double dose of history under tall trees.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 38 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the. Next is back through Watchtower WP 4/37*.
4. back through Watchtower WP 4/37*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/37* 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 4/37*, late in the day. Next is Watchtower WP 4/17*.
5. Watchtower WP 4/17*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/17* 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 4/17*. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtower WP 4/17* to Watchtower WP 4/37*
Watchtower WP 4/17* → Watchtower WP 4/37* is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 4/37* to Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Watchtower WP 4/37* → Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the to back through Watchtower WP 4/37*
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the → back through Watchtower WP 4/37* is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 4/37* to Watchtower WP 4/17*
back through Watchtower WP 4/37* → Watchtower WP 4/17* is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.