Why this ride
168 km from Lorch to Lorch, about 2 h 51 of riding. The stops in between: Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59, Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85, Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a and back through Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo and Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a starting at Lorch
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 168 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 51
- 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
Romantic Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 29 km this is Romantic Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
- Named road
- Romantic Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo
Lorch is where two Roman frontiers shook hands. The Upper Germanic Limes, a line of wooden palisade and watchtowers running down from the Rhine, met the Raetian Limes, a stone wall stretching east towards the Danube, in the hills near this small town in the Rems valley. The watchtower numbers jump here from series 9, the end of the Upper Germanic stretch, to 12, the start of the Raetian, and the whole system is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59.
2. Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59
The Romans called it the edge of the world they cared about, and in the Rems valley east of Schwäbisch Gmünd you can still trace where they drew the line. A string of watchtower sites, numbered by archaeologists along the stretch between Mögglingen, Heuchlingen and Böbingen, marks the course of the Raetian Limes, the frontier that guarded the province of Raetia in the second and third centuries. Here the frontier was a stone wall, which later locals, puzzled by the long ruined bank, called the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85.
3. Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85
In the forests near Ellwangen the Roman frontier changes character. Here the Upper Germanic Limes, with its timber palisade and ditch, meets the Raetian Limes, which the Romans eventually built as a stone wall, and the stretch of watchtowers numbered 12/69 to 12/85 runs through the farmland and woods east of the Jagst. Archaeologists number the towers with slashes and digits, which makes them sound like spare parts, but each one was a small stone or timber post with a few soldiers watching the border, passing signals along the line. Together they form part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85. Next is Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a.
4. Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a
In the fields near Wilburgstetten, in the west of Franconia, a low ridge runs across the landscape, overgrown with grass and bushes. It looks like nothing much, but it is the remains of the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the frontier of the Roman province of Raetia in the second and third centuries. Unlike the Upper German Limes to the north west, which was mostly a palisade and ditch, the Raetian section was eventually built as a continuous stone wall, more than a hundred and sixty kilometres long. Local people later called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, believing it could only have been built by supernatural forces. The section between watchtowers here is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 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 13/5 a, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85.
5. back through Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 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 12/69 to 12/85 sits at 102 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59.
6. back through Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 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 12/40 to 12/59 comes up about 143 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo.
7. Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo to Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo → Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 to Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85
Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 → Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 to Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a
Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 → Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a to back through Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85
Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a → back through Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 to back through Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59
back through Watchtowers WP 12/69 to 12/85 → back through Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 to Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo
back through Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 → Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.