Why this ride
From Bad Ems it runs 282 km to Bad Ems; allow about 4 h 09 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtower WP 3/38*, Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro and back through Watchtower WP 3/38*.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 and Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 282 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 09
- 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. Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92
Bad Ems is the sort of town that makes you straighten your collar. It lies in the narrow, wooded valley of the Lahn river, where hot springs have been used since Roman times, and in the nineteenth century it became one of the great spa towns of Europe. Kings, tsars and writers came to take the waters, among them Kaiser Wilhelm I, who was at Ems in July 1870 when a diplomatic telegram was edited by Bismarck and helped trigger the Franco-Prussian War. The Kurhaus, the colonnades and the grand hotels along the river still show what the town was like in those days.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 3/38*.
2. Watchtower WP 3/38*
The Taunus is a range of wooded hills north-west of Frankfurt, rising to 878 metres at the Großer Feldberg, and it has long been the city's playground, with forests, spa towns and winding roads. Through these hills ran the Upper Germanic Limes, the Roman frontier that stretched for over five hundred kilometres across Germany, and one of its watchtowers, numbered WP 3/38, stood near the village of Glashütten, close to Waldems and Königstein im Taunus.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/38* comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro.
3. Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro
Großkrotzenburg sits at a turning point of the Roman frontier. Here, on the Main east of Frankfurt, the river border that ran north from Miltenberg came to an end, and the Limes turned away from the water to head north across the Wetterau toward the Taunus. A fort guarded the spot, with a civilian settlement, and parts of its walls and gate can still be traced in the old town, where the fort's outline is marked in the streets. The site belongs to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the local museum displays finds from the fort and the vicus.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 142 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/38*.
4. back through Watchtower WP 3/38*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* 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 3/38*, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92.
5. Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 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 1/89 to 1/92. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 to Watchtower WP 3/38*
Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 → Watchtower WP 3/38* is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/38* to Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro
Watchtower WP 3/38* → Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro to back through Watchtower WP 3/38*
Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro → back through Watchtower WP 3/38* is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/38* to Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92
back through Watchtower WP 3/38* → Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.