Why this ride
From Bad Ems it runs 85 km to Bad Ems; allow about 1 h 46 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtower WP 1/73, Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the and back through Watchtower WP 1/73.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 and Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 85 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 46
- 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 19 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 19 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6
WP 2/5 and 2/6 sound like spare parts, but they are the numbers archaeologists gave to two watchtower positions on the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, the fortified frontier Rome drew across southern Germany. Here, in the hills above the Lahn near Bad Ems, the line ran up from the Rhine and over the high ground, and every few hundred metres a tower stood with a view to the next. Today most of what survives are low mounds, traces of the bank and ditch, and in some places a reconstructed tower to give you scale. The whole frontier became part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire in 2005.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 1/73.
2. Watchtower WP 1/73
The Roman frontier in Germany starts at the Rhine near Rheinbrohl and climbs into the hills of the Westerwald, and Watchtower WP 1/73, near Hillscheid, belongs to that first stretch. The numbers tell you where you are: section one, tower seventy-three. All that survives is a low mound in the woods, but in the second and third centuries it was a stone tower with a view over the frontier line and, behind it, the palisade and ditch that ran across the landscape. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes has been part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire since 2005, and this is where it all begins.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/73 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 1/73 comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the
The Upper Germanic Limes begins a few kilometres from here, at Rheinbrohl on the Rhine, and in its first miles it climbs straight up into the Westerwald. Watchtowers numbered WP 1/41 to 1/50 mark a short run of that frontier in the wooded hills behind Neuwied and Bendorf, near the villages of Stromberg, Anhausen and Heimbach-Weis. Do not expect towers. What remains is a low bank, a ditch you can trace through the beech trunks, and here and there the outline of a tower base marked by archaeologists.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/73.
4. back through Watchtower WP 1/73
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/73 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 1/73, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6.
5. Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 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 2/5 to 2/6. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 to Watchtower WP 1/73
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 → Watchtower WP 1/73 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/73 to Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the
Watchtower WP 1/73 → Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the to back through Watchtower WP 1/73
Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the → back through Watchtower WP 1/73 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/73 to Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6
back through Watchtower WP 1/73 → Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.