Why this ride
A 103 km round trip from Höhr-Grenzhausen - roughly 2 h 15 in the saddle. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86, Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 and back through Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59 and Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 103 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 15
- 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 30 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 30 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59
The Upper German-Raetian Limes began its long march across Germany on the banks of the Rhine at Rheinbrohl, and climbed from there into the hills of the Westerwald. The stretch between Watchtowers 1/58 and 1/59, near Höhr-Grenzhausen, is part of this first section, where the frontier ran through forests and over hills above the Rhine valley. Remains are scarce here, perhaps a mound or a line in the forest floor, but the Limes path follows the route, and information boards explain the history.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86.
2. Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86
The Limes was a long wall, in effect, that stretched for about 550 kilometres across Germany, from the Rhine near Koblenz to the Danube near Regensburg. It was built in stages from the first century AD, starting as a line of wooden watchtowers and a cleared strip through the forest, and then gaining a ditch, a palisade and, in places, a wall. The watchtowers were numbered by the German scholars who surveyed the line in the late nineteenth century, hence the codes such as WP 1/83, which mean watchpost number 83 in section 1. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes was listed by UNESCO in 2005.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16.
3. 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
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 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 1/83 to 1/86, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59.
5. Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59 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 1/58 to 1/59. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59 to Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86
Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59 → Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 to Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 → Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 to back through Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86
Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 → back through Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 to Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59
back through Watchtowers WP 1/83 to 1/86 → Watchtowers WP 1/58 to 1/59 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.