Beiuș is a modest market town on the western side of the Apuseni, sitting in a wide basin on the Crișul Negru with the mountains forming a curved wall to the east. It is the first place of any size you reach after coming down off the Vârtop pass and through Ștei, and it feels like a different world from the high Moți villages: flatter, warmer and more open, with orchards, maize fields and long straight village streets. The town has around ten thousand people and the slightly sleepy charm of a place that has been an administrative centre for a long time without ever becoming big.
Beiuș has a long tradition as a seat of learning. In the nineteenth century, the Greek-Catholic bishop Samuil Vulcan founded a Romanian high school here, which became one of the most important schools for Romanians in the region at a time when education in their own language was hard to come by. The handsome old school buildings are still at the heart of the town, alongside churches of several denominations that reflect the mix of Romanians, Hungarians and others who have lived in this part of Bihor.
The surrounding area is full of caves. The Bear Cave at Chișcău, about half an hour to the east, is famous for its stalactites and the bones of cave bears found inside, and Meziad cave, to the north, is another big one. The Pădurea Craiului hills to the north have karst gorges and little roads that are fun to explore. Heading west from Beiuș, the roads toward Oradea run through rolling country with villages and fields, with nothing very dramatic but plenty of gentle curves and long views back to the mountains.
On the bike, the roads around Beiuș are fairly straightforward, but you will share them with horse carts, tractors and local drivers who know every bend. The basin is hot in summer, and the afternoons can be heavy, with storms building over the mountains to the east. Spring, when the orchards are in blossom, and autumn are lovely.
Beiuș has fuel, supermarkets and several cafes and restaurants around the centre, so it is the natural place to refuel and rest before heading into the mountains or after coming down. It is also a reasonable place to stay overnight if you want to explore the caves and valleys of the western Apuseni.