West of Cluj, the valley of the Crișul Repede cuts through the hills toward the Hungarian plain, and the main road between Transylvania and the west follows it. The village of Poieni and the hill of Râmbușoi lie in this valley, between Huedin and Ciucea, with the forested slopes of the Vlădeasa massif, part of the Apuseni mountains, rising to the south. In Roman times, the frontier of Dacia ran through the hills to the north, along the Meseș mountains, and this corridor was a natural route to watch; hilltop positions in the area formed part of the defensive network, and the larger fort at Bologa guarded the valley nearby.
Ciucea, six kilometres away, is worth a stop. The poet and politician Octavian Goga bought a mansion here in the early twentieth century, which had previously belonged to the Hungarian poet Endre Ady, and it is now a memorial museum with gardens and a mausoleum. Goga was one of the leading voices for the union of Transylvania with Romania in 1918, and his house is a quiet place to learn a little about the region's complicated past.
The main road, the DN1 and E60, is one of the busiest in Romania, carrying heavy truck traffic between Oradea and Cluj, and it is not a pleasant ride. Overtaking is frequent and sometimes reckless, and the surface can be worn. The joy lies in the side roads: south from Huedin, the road climbs into the Apuseni through the Drăgan valley and toward the Vlădeasa, with tight curves, forests and a reservoir, and beyond lie the karst plateaus, caves and gorges of the Apuseni Natural Park, some of the best riding in Romania. North from the valley, smaller roads wind through the hills of Sălaj toward the Meseș.
Huedin, around fourteen kilometres away, is the nearest town with a good range of fuel stations, shops and restaurants, and the region is known for its pottery, especially in the village of Izvoru Crișului, along the main road east toward Cluj. Many villages here have a mixed Romanian and Hungarian population, and you will hear both languages.
Spring and autumn are the best times to ride. In the Apuseni, try a bowl of balmoș, polenta cooked with cheese and butter, or a plate of grilled trout, and look out for the wooden churches that dot the hills.