Why this ride
From Lorch it runs 78 km to Lorch; allow about 1 h 16 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP 12/39, Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 and back through Watchtowers WP 12/39.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo and Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 78 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 16
- 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 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 12/39.
2. Watchtowers WP 12/39
Iggingen is a small village on the plateau above the Rems valley, a few kilometres east of Schwäbisch Gmünd, and like many villages in this part of Württemberg it has a Roman frontier running through its fields. The site labelled Watchtower WP 12/39 sits on the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the edge of Roman Raetia, and from here the line runs eastwards towards Aalen, the largest Roman cavalry fort north of the Alps, now home to an excellent Limes museum.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/39 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 12/39 comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68.
3. Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68
The Roman frontier wall known as the Limes ran for more than five hundred kilometres across what is now southern Germany, from the Rhine to the Danube, and near Aalen it passed through the Kocher valley and over the hills of the Ostalb. Along its length, watchtowers were built at regular intervals, numbered by archaeologists in sequence: WP 12/60 to 12/68 are a group of tower sites near Hüttlingen, mostly now visible as low mounds or reconstructed foundations. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes was inscribed by UNESCO in 2005 as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 12/39.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 12/39
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 12/39 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 12/39, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo.
5. 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
Back at Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo to Watchtowers WP 12/39
Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo → Watchtowers WP 12/39 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 12/39 to Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68
Watchtowers WP 12/39 → Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 to back through Watchtowers WP 12/39
Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 → back through Watchtowers WP 12/39 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 12/39 to Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo
back through Watchtowers WP 12/39 → Watchtowers WP 9/132 to 12/38 including fo is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.