Why this ride
A 192 km round trip from Miehlen - roughly 3 h 29 in the saddle. The stops in between: Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92, Watchtower WP 1/61, Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems and Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort and Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 192 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 29
- 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 2/17 to 2/19 including fort
In the Taunus and Westerwald country of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Limes crosses hills so wooded that it is easy to miss. The numbering here records three watchtower positions and a fort, and from the start of the sequence you can follow the frontier as a line of mounds through forest and field.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92.
2. 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 comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 1/61.
3. Watchtower WP 1/61
Höhr-Grenzhausen is clay country, and that decides almost everything about this part of the Westerwald. The hills hold a thick seam of fine, high-quality stoneware clay, and for centuries the area has been known as the Kannenbäckerland, the land of the jug makers. Grey salt-glazed pottery with blue decoration, called Westerwald stoneware, was exported across Europe from here, and workshops and a ceramics museum still keep the trade alive. It is a surprising backdrop for a Roman watchtower, but the Romans were here first, and WP 1/61 is one of the numbered posts of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, which UNESCO listed in 2005.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/61 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 49 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 1/61. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems.
4. Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems
Rome built in stone here, and then the town grew on top of it. Bad Ems stands where the Lahn winds through a tight gorge, and the fort and the civil settlement beside it formed a small frontier community, with soldiers, traders and families living in the shadow of the Limes. The Roman fort is now buried beneath the modern town, so the site is more an idea than a sight, but the Limes trail in the woods above makes the story easy to follow, and the town museum helps with the details.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems 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 Bad Ems, about halfway. Next is Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a.
5. Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a
Höhr-Grenzhausen is a town that makes things out of mud. The Westerwald plateau here sits on one of Europe's finest deposits of stoneware clay, and for centuries potters have dug it, thrown it and fired it in salt-glaze kilns to make grey-and-blue jugs, tankards and storage jars. The area is called the Kannenbäckerland, the land of the jug bakers, and its pots were shipped down the Rhine and across the world. The Westerwald Ceramics Museum in Höhr-Grenzhausen tells the story, and several workshops in town still sell hand-made pieces. Take a mug home and you will be surprised how heavy it is.
Read the complete Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a sits at 66 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems.
6. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems 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 Bad Ems comes up about 115 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/61.
7. back through Watchtower WP 1/61
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/61 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 137 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtower WP 1/61. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92.
8. back through 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 through Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort.
9. Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 192 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort to Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92
Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort → Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 to Watchtower WP 1/61
Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 → Watchtower WP 1/61 is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/61 to Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems
Watchtower WP 1/61 → Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems to Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a
Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems → Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems
Limessection between watchtowers WP 1/60 a → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems to back through Watchtower WP 1/61
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems → back through Watchtower WP 1/61 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/61 to back through Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92
back through Watchtower WP 1/61 → back through Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 to Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort
back through Watchtowers WP 1/89 to 1/92 → Watchtowers WP 2/17 to 2/19 including fort is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi and Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se · 188 km
- Watchtowers WP 1/27 to 1/29 and Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se · 182 km
- Watchtowers WP 1/24 to 1/26 and Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se · 182 km
- Limessection between watchtowzers WP 1/30 and Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se · 190 km