Ciucea is the first place to know before you ride into Hurez, because the road from Cluj to Oradea passes through it and the poet Octavian Goga lived and died there. Goga, one of the voices of Transylvanian Romanian nationalism, served briefly as prime minister in 1937 and 1938, and the castle at Ciucea, where he spent his later years, is now a memorial museum. It sits in a small park above the road, with a view of the green hills of the Apuseni mountains, and Goga's grave is nearby.
Hurez and Poic are quieter, small farming places in the folds of the hills south and east of Ciucea, the sort of landscape where most of the human history lies in the soil. The pairing with Românași - Dealul Hențeșu suggests that these are points on the ancient defensive and settlement patterns that crossed the Meseș and Apuseni foothills, from Dacian and Roman times to the Middle Ages.
Ciucea has a few thousand people and some fuel and shops, while Poieni is a smaller village up in the hills. The wise rider tops up at Ciucea or in Huedin, a bigger town on the main road, and takes a snack and water. The main road, the DN1, is busy with trucks and cars, and its curves along the Crișul Repede valley are fast and tiring, so turning off onto the quieter side roads is a relief. These are narrow, with sharp bends, broken edges and gravel on corners, and cows and sheep wander freely, so keep your speed at village level.
Weather in the Apuseni can change in an hour, with mist, rain and cold even in summer. The loveliest months are May and early June, when the fields are bright, and September, when the leaves turn. The smell of woodsmoke, cut hay and wet grass hangs in the air, and at dusk the church bells carry across the valley from one village to the next.