Why this ride
A 304 km round trip from Lich - roughly 4 h 02 in the saddle. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP, Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em and back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 and Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 304 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 02
- 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 4/53 to 4/57
The Wetterau is the broad, fertile plain north of Frankfurt, between the Taunus and the Vogelsberg, and the Romans considered it so valuable that they bent their frontier around it to include it in the empire. The Limes ran along the northern edge of the plain, and the watchtowers numbered WP 4/53 to 4/57, near the town of Lich, stood on this section, part of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes listed by UNESCO in 2005. Like most watchtowers, they survive only as mounds or traces in the fields and forest, but the line of the frontier can be followed on foot or by bicycle.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
2. Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
On the western side of the Taunus, the hills are lower and the forest gives way more often to farmland, with villages in the folds of the valleys. Idstein, a small town with a remarkable old centre, sits on this side, with Waldems and Glashütten nearby. Through the woods above them ran the Roman frontier, and the stretch of watchtowers numbered WP 3/24 to 3/40 followed the ridges here, part of the Upper Germanic Limes and of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire site.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em.
3. Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em
Bad Ems has been a spa town since the Romans noticed the springs, and today it is a handsome, slightly faded place squeezed into the narrow Lahn valley between wooded hills. The town and its surroundings sit on the line of the Upper Germanic Limes, which the Roman Empire pushed through here to protect the valley and its minerals. A fortlet and a watchtower were built on the heights above the river, and the remains give the numbered label its meaning. Walk a short way up and you can see why the soldiers picked the spot: the slopes drop sharply to the water, and the view along the valley is long.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 151 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP 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 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57.
5. Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 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 4/53 to 4/57. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 to Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 → Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em to back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em → back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 82 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57
back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.