Why this ride
From Neuwied it runs 100 km to Neuwied; allow about 1 h 47 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtower WP 1/65, Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4 and back through Watchtower WP 1/65. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 and Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 100 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 47
- 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 28 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38
Two numbered watchtower sites on the Roman frontier sit here in the Westerwald countryside above the Rhine, near the villages of Melsbach and Rengsdorf. The paired label is archaeologists' shorthand, because the Upper Germanic Limes was a chain of towers placed within sight of one another, a few hundred metres apart. These two were part of the line that ran from the Rhine near Rheinbrohl across the hills of Rhineland-Palatinate and on towards the Taunus, and the whole frontier is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2005 as part of the larger Roman Limes complex.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 1/65.
2. Watchtower WP 1/65
Höhr-Grenzhausen is the capital of the Kannenbäckerland, the jug-bakers' land, a corner of the Westerwald where the clay is so good that people have been making pots from it for five hundred years. The grey stoneware, fired at high temperature and decorated in cobalt blue, was exported across Europe in the form of jugs, tankards and bottles, and the workshops and kilns still fill the town. The German Ceramics Museum in Höhr-Grenzhausen is one of the best of its kind, with objects from medieval jugs to modern art.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/65 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 1/65 comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4.
3. Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4
Bad Ems sits in a narrow bend of the Lahn river, and the hills above it are steep, wooded and cut by short valleys. The watchtowers listed here, from WP 2/2 to 2/4, belong to the second section of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, the Roman frontier that UNESCO added to its list in 2005. In this stretch the line climbed away from the Rhine and cut over the high ground of the Taunus and Westerwald fringes, and the Romans placed their towers where the view was best. What you see now are mostly foundations and low mounds, with a few reconstructed pieces nearby, so bring imagination and leave the high expectations at home.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/65.
4. back through Watchtower WP 1/65
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/65 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 1/65, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38.
5. Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 to Watchtower WP 1/65
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 → Watchtower WP 1/65 is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/65 to Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4
Watchtower WP 1/65 → Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4 is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4 to back through Watchtower WP 1/65
Watchtowers WP 2/2 to 2/4 → back through Watchtower WP 1/65 is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/65 to Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38
back through Watchtower WP 1/65 → Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.