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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 and Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
174 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 07
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

A 174 km round trip from Pfedelbach - roughly 3 h 07 in the saddle. The stops in between: Murrhardt civil settlement northern part, Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch, Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 and back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68

    Between Öhringen and Mainhardt, the Upper German Limes does something a Roman engineer must have been proud of: it runs dead straight for many kilometres, up hill and down dale, ignoring the terrain as if drawn with a ruler on a map. The watchtower sites numbered along this section lie on that line, in the Hohenlohe country of northern Württemberg, between the open farmland around Pfedelbach and the dark wooded hills of the Swabian-Franconian Forest.

    Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 is where the day begins. Next is Murrhardt civil settlement northern part.

  2. 2. Murrhardt civil settlement northern part

    Murrhardt lies in the valley of the Murr, deep in the Swabian-Franconian Forest northeast of Stuttgart, a hilly, densely wooded region of streams, mills and small villages that feels a long way from the industrial heartland just to the west. The Romans built a fort here on the Limes, the frontier that ran through these forests from north to south, and a civil settlement grew up around it. The northern part of that settlement lies under parts of the modern town, and while there is little to see, the town's museum displays Roman finds, and the frontier through these woods is protected by its World Heritage status.

    Read the complete Murrhardt civil settlement northern part write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Murrhardt civil settlement northern part comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch.

  3. 3. Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch

    Lorch, in the Rems valley east of Stuttgart, sits on a historic seam. Just outside town, the Upper German Limes, which ran as a palisade and ditch from the Rhine, met the Raetian Limes, the stone wall running east to the Danube, and the Romans built a fort here to watch over that junction and the valley road. The fort lay beneath what is now the old town centre, and its outline, together with traces of the civilian settlement that grew around it, is marked in places in the streets. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, and a reconstructed watchtower stands on a hill nearby.

    Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59.

  4. 4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch.

  5. 5. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch sits at 107 km, about halfway. Next is back through Murrhardt civil settlement northern part.

  6. 6. back through Murrhardt civil settlement northern part

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Murrhardt civil settlement northern part write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Murrhardt civil settlement northern part comes up about 146 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68.

  7. 7. Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 closes the day.

Leg by leg

Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 to Murrhardt civil settlement northern part

Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 → Murrhardt civil settlement northern part is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Murrhardt civil settlement northern part to Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch

Murrhardt civil settlement northern part → Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch to Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59

Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch → Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch

Watchtowers WP 12/40 to 12/59 → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch to back through Murrhardt civil settlement northern part

back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch → back through Murrhardt civil settlement northern part is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Murrhardt civil settlement northern part to Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68

back through Murrhardt civil settlement northern part → Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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