Why this ride
167 km from Mainhardt to Mainhardt, about 3 h 03 of riding. The stops in between: Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th, Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch, Watchtowers WP 12/39 and Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the and Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 167 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 03
- 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 9/70 to 9/99a including the
Mainhardt sits on a ridge in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, and the Roman frontier ran right through it, on its way south in one of the longest straight lines ever drawn across European landscape. Here, the Upper Germanic Limes runs for some eighty kilometres from Walldürn to near Welzheim almost perfectly straight, ignoring hills and valleys, as if surveyors had laid a ruler on the map. The watchtowers numbered in this section stood along that line in the forest, and Mainhardt had a fort, whose site is marked in the village, with a small museum.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th.
2. Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
There is a stretch of the Roman frontier in southern Germany that runs almost perfectly straight for about eighty kilometres, from Walldürn in the Odenwald to near Welzheim in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, ignoring hills and valleys alike, as if the surveyors had simply drawn a line on a map. The watchtowers numbered WP 9/101 to 9/131 stand near the southern end of that line, in the forests around Kaisersbach and Welzheim, where the Limes finally turns.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch.
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 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/39.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68.
5. 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
Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 sits at 79 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 12/39.
6. 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 comes up about 103 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch.
7. 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
about 122 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th.
8. back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th 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 9/101 to 9/131 including th, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the.
9. Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 167 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the to Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the → Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th to Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch
Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th → Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch to Watchtowers WP 12/39
Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch → 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 back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch
back through Watchtowers WP 12/39 → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch is 19 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 Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Lorsch → back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th to Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the
back through Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th → Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.