Why this ride
A 246 km round trip from Greding - roughly 4 h 05 in the saddle. The stops in between: fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh, Building remains of south of Pfahlheim and back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10 and Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 246 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 05
- 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 15/8 to 15/10
The Raetian Limes, the eastern stretch of Rome's frontier in Germany, was built differently from its western counterpart. Instead of a wooden palisade, the Romans eventually raised a stone wall here, running for over a hundred and sixty kilometres across what is now Bavaria, towards the Danube. Locals later called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, convinced that only a demon could have built something so long. Watchtowers stood along it every few hundred metres, and the group between WP 15/8 and 15/10, in the hills between Greding and Dietfurt, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire. In places, low remains of the wall and towers can be traced in the forest and fields.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10 is where the day begins. Next is fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh.
2. fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh
The Romans called it Iciniacum, and for a century and a half it was home to a cavalry unit guarding the Raetian frontier in what is now Middle Franconia. The fort at Theilenhofen, near Gunzenhausen in Bavaria, lay just behind the Limes, the frontier wall that here was built of stone, running across the landscape from the Danube toward the Main. Today there is little above ground, but information panels by the site and the line of the fort traced in the fields help visitors picture it. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2005.
Read the complete fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Building remains of south of Pfahlheim.
3. Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
The name of the village gives the game away. Pfahlheim, a part of Ellwangen in the Ostalb, takes its name from the Pfahl, the stake line, which is what generations of farmers called the Roman frontier that ran through their fields. Here, at the edge of what is now Baden-Württemberg, the Upper German Limes and the Raetian Limes met, and the building remains south of the village are one of many small components of the UNESCO-listed Upper German-Raetian Limes. The frontier ran almost dead straight across this country for long distances, ignoring hills and streams in a way that still baffles people. There is very little to see on the ground today, perhaps a low bank or a signboard, but the line can be traced by eye if you know where to look.
Read the complete Building remains of south of Pfahlheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 125 km into the recorded legs you reach Building remains of south of Pfahlheim. Next is back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh.
4. back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10.
5. Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10 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 15/8 to 15/10. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10 to fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh
Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10 → fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh to Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh → Building remains of south of Pfahlheim is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Building remains of south of Pfahlheim to back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh
Building remains of south of Pfahlheim → back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh to Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10
back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh → Watchtowers WP 15/8 to 15/10 is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.