Timber is the economy of the forest villages of Sălaj, and the roads show it. Popeni, in the north-west of the county, is among the hills that supply beech, oak and spruce to sawmills in the valleys, and the lane to Dealul Racova, about three kilometres from Mirșid, is one of the routes along which logging trucks run. You will see stacks of cut trunks beside the road waiting for collection, with bark and sawdust smells and big tyre marks in the mud.
Forestry in Romania is a matter of national debate. The country holds some of the largest remaining areas of old-growth forest in Europe, in the Carpathians, and illegal logging has been a scandal for years, with activists and rangers attacked in some regions. Closer to home, in the low hills of Sălaj, the forests are mostly managed second-growth beech and oak, and the work is mostly ordinary, with local firms and small crews. Still, the roads carry the weight of heavy trucks, which break up the edges and leave deep ruts.
For the rider, that means caution. Logging roads may be very muddy after rain, and wet clay is as slippery as ice. Trucks come around blind bends in the middle of the road, so keep right and listen for engines. After a storm, branches and trunks sometimes lie across the lane. In the high season for cutting, which runs from autumn through winter, you may find roads partly blocked and flagged with branches. If you meet a loaded truck on a narrow stretch, pull over and let it pass, and give it a wave.
In summer, the forest road is a pleasure. The air under the beech canopy is cool and smells of leaf mould, the light is green, and the silence is broken only by birdsong and the distant whine of a saw. Mirșid, a village of a couple of thousand, has a shop and a bar, but fuel must come from larger towns, and Zalău has the best choice.
A weekend morning, when the trucks are idle and the roads are empty, is the best time to ride here.