Why this ride
99 km from Pfedelbach to Pfedelbach, about 1 h 48 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13, Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30 and back through Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 and Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 99 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 48
- 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 9/36 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 Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13.
2. Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13
Götz von Berlichingen, the knight with the iron hand, was born at Jagsthausen castle in about 1480, and he would probably be amused to know that he is best remembered today for a rude phrase. In Goethe's play about him, Götz tells an imperial messenger exactly what the emperor can do, a line that every German knows. The castle still stands in the village, now a hotel, and in summer the Burgfestspiele, an open-air theatre festival, stages the play in the castle courtyard. Long before Götz, the Romans were here too: a fort stood at Jagsthausen on the line of the Upper Germanic Limes, and in the hills around, a series of watchtowers, numbered by archaeologists as WP 9/2 to 9/13, kept watch along the frontier.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30.
3. Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30
Osterburken is the place on the German Limes where you really can see the Romans in the town. The fort here sat on the frontier in the Bauland, a hilly farming district between the Odenwald and the Neckar, and the museum in the town houses the remains of the fort baths and a rare relief of the god Mithras, an eastern cult favoured by soldiers, whose followers met in small, dark temples to share a sacred meal. The watchtowers 8/29 and 8/30 stand out in the fields a short distance away, part of the line that ran straight over the hills.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 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 9/2* to 9/13, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68.
5. 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
Back at Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 to Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13
Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 → Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 to Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30
Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 → Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30 is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30 to back through Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13
Watchtowers WP 8/29 to 8/30 → back through Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 to Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68
back through Watchtowers WP 9/2* to 9/13 → Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.