A ridge called Dealul Hoancelor does not make it onto many maps, and the place is better understood from the landscape around it. This is the country of the Someș river in the north of Transylvania, between the Meseș mountains in the west and the hills of the Transylvanian plain to the east, and the valleys are broad, green and thickly farmed. The nearest places on our list are tiny villages, Lozna and Letca, and the closest town, Jibou, is about twenty kilometres away.
Jibou is the more interesting place to stop. Its castle, once the seat of the Wesselényi family, a Hungarian noble house, stands in a large landscaped park that has become a botanical garden, with old trees, glasshouses and quiet paths, and it is a surprise to find in a small Romanian town. The garden dates back to the late eighteenth century, when the Wesselényis laid out a park in the fashionable English style, and the castle houses a small museum. The Someș river, which runs nearby, is wide and slow, and herons and storks hunt along its banks.
The riding is quiet and mild. Roads over the low ridges give lovely views over fields and woodland, with gentle gradients and easy bends, but the surface can be rough, with patches, potholes and loose gravel at the edges, and village streets are shared with chickens, dogs and the occasional goat. There are few cars, which makes it a pleasant ride for a slow and curious day, rather than a fast one. May and June are green and fresh, September has warm, golden light, and winter can be icy.
Fuel and food are best found at Jibou, where there are stations and shops, and the larger city of Zalău is within reach. In the villages you will find a shop and a bar that serves coffee and perhaps a plate of fried eggs and sausage. Drinking water and a rain jacket are sensible companions, since summer thunderstorms build quickly over the hills.