Why this ride
310 km from Heubach to Heubach, about 3 h 49 of riding. It goes by way of Ehrenstein, Olzreute-Enzisholz and back through Ehrenstein. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 12/39 and Olzreute-Enzisholz
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 310 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 49
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 12/39
Iggingen is a small village on the plateau above the Rems valley, a few kilometres east of Schwäbisch Gmünd, and like many villages in this part of Württemberg it has a Roman frontier running through its fields. The site labelled Watchtower WP 12/39 sits on the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the edge of Roman Raetia, and from here the line runs eastwards towards Aalen, the largest Roman cavalry fort north of the Alps, now home to an excellent Limes museum.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/39 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 12/39 is where the day begins. Next is Ehrenstein.
2. Ehrenstein
Ehrenstein is a small district on the western edge of Ulm, in the Blau valley, where the little Blau river flows from its spring at Blaubeuren towards the Danube. In the 1950s and 60s, archaeologists found here the remains of a Neolithic village, built on the damp ground of the valley floor around six thousand years ago, with wooden houses, hearths and remarkably well-preserved organic material. The site is part of the World Heritage list of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, though there is nothing to see above ground today.
Read the complete Ehrenstein write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ehrenstein comes up 64 km in. Next is Olzreute-Enzisholz.
3. Olzreute-Enzisholz
Some five thousand years ago, someone in Upper Swabia built a wheel out of a single maple plank, mounted it on an axle and used it to move loads across the soft ground near what is now Bad Schussenried. The wheel turned up during excavations at the moor settlement of Olzreute-Enzisholz and is among the oldest wheels ever found in Central Europe, dated to around 2900 BC. The settlement, a group of pile dwellings on the edge of a former lake, is one of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps listed by UNESCO in 2011, a transnational site across six countries.
Read the complete Olzreute-Enzisholz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
128 km in you reach Olzreute-Enzisholz. Next is back through Ehrenstein.
4. back through Ehrenstein
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ehrenstein write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ehrenstein, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/39.
5. Watchtowers WP 12/39
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/39 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 12/39. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 12/39 to Ehrenstein
Watchtowers WP 12/39 → Ehrenstein is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ehrenstein to Olzreute-Enzisholz
Ehrenstein → Olzreute-Enzisholz is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Olzreute-Enzisholz to back through Ehrenstein
Olzreute-Enzisholz → back through Ehrenstein is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Ehrenstein to Watchtowers WP 12/39
back through Ehrenstein → Watchtowers WP 12/39 is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.