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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 and Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
304 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 35
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.

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Why this ride

304 km from Idstein to Idstein, about 4 h 35 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the, Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof and back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the. The line favours views over speed.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22

    The Taunus is the low, wooded range north of Frankfurt, and the Romans chose it as the place to draw their line. The Limes crossed the ridge at a height that gave good views over both sides, and watchtowers placed close together made it possible to send signals by fire and smoke from tower to tower. The numbers, such as WP 3/20, are from the survey carried out by German archaeologists at the end of the nineteenth century, and they refer to the third section of the line. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes was listed by UNESCO in 2005.

    Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the.

  2. 2. Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the

    Roman soldiers on this part of the frontier spent most of their time watching, and the towers that you can trace in the woods near Hillscheid are the evidence. Four tower positions follow one another here, each within sight of the next so that a fire or a flag could pass a message along the line in minutes, and a fortlet and the remains of a fort and civil settlement lie nearby, forming a small military zone around the Limes. This was the first stretch of the Upper Germanic frontier after it left the Rhine, so every day brought traders, patrols and tax collectors through the gap.

    Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the comes up about 70 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof.

  3. 3. Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof

    There is very little to see at first glance here, which is exactly what makes the place oddly moving. South of Bonn, in the edge of the Kottenforst near the Heiderhof quarter of Bad Godesberg and the town of Wachtberg, the forest floor hides the faint outlines of Roman practice camps. Legionaries stationed at the fortress of Bonna on the Rhine marched out here to train at the hard, boring work that won the empire its wars: digging ditches, throwing up earth ramparts and laying out a camp to the standard plan in a few hours. A handful of these training camps in the Kottenforst are part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine recognised by UNESCO in 2021.

    Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 152 km into the recorded legs you reach Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the.

  4. 4. back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the 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 1/69 to 1/72 including the, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22.

  5. 5. Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 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 3/20 to 3/22. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 to Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the

Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 → Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the to Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof

Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the → Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof to back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the

Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof → back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the to Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22

back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the → Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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