Piatra Prelucilor is the rock of the Preluci people, or the rock of the place called Preluci, and the Romanian word piatra tells you to expect an outcrop, a crag, or a stony brow above the village. The hills of Sălaj here are made of soft sedimentary rock, sandstones and clays, laid down in an old sea and then pushed up, and where a harder band shows through, it forms a ledge that locals have named. Preluci lies in the hills near Băbeni, in the country that drains towards the Someș and the small town of Jibou, and the label comes from an archaeological register rather than a monument.
Jibou is worth a stop on the way. It has a castle built by the Wesselényi family, a Hungarian noble house who held huge estates in the region, and its grounds contain a large botanical garden, laid out in the twentieth century on the old park, with greenhouses, rare trees and quiet paths. In a part of Romania where large attractions are few, the garden is a pleasant place for an hour in the afternoon.
The riding is gentle and enjoyable. The roads between Jibou, Băbeni and the villages run along ridges with views of orchards and meadows, then drop into valleys, with some tight bends and short climbs. Traffic is light, but the surface changes a lot, and in wet weather clay on the tarmac can be slippery. Summer evenings are warm, with the smell of cut hay, and the best time for riding is from May to October. In winter the lanes can be icy.
Fuel is available in Jibou, which is the sensible bet, since Băbeni and Lozna are small places. The town has supermarkets and a few restaurants, and local honey and plum products are sold in the market.
The pleasure of this sort of landscape is that nothing is in a hurry. A stop beside a field, a flask of coffee and a few minutes of watching the clouds make a good break.