Afrimești - Urluieni and Roșiorii de Vede - Valea Urlui

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Afrimești - Urluieni

   Flat. That is the first impression of this part of southern Romania, in Argeș county, where the land stretches away towards the Danube in wide fields of maize and sunflowers, broken only by lines of trees and small villages. But across this plain, in the second century AD, the Romans built a frontier: the Limes Transalutanus, a line of earthworks and forts running north to south east of the Olt river, protecting the province of Dacia. At Urluieni, near the village of Afrimești, stood one of its forts.

   Read the complete Afrimești - Urluieni write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Afrimești - Urluieni is where the day begins. Next is Reșca - Romula / Cetate.

2. 2. Reșca - Romula / Cetate

   Romula was once among the more important towns in Roman Dacia, and the ground at Reșca, in Olt county, is where it stood. The settlement grew near the river Olt on the road between the Danube frontier and the interior, and it rose to the rank of a colony in the later empire; the later name, Romula Malvensis, ties it to the province of Dacia Malvensis that was formed in the third century. Today you see fields, a few low mounds, and the faint outline of an old fortification, with finds from the site kept in nearby museums rather than at the roadside.

   Read the complete Reșca - Romula / Cetate write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Reșca - Romula / Cetate comes up about 74 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roșiorii de Vede - Valea Urlui.

3. 3. Roșiorii de Vede - Valea Urlui

   Southern Romania is as flat as a table, and the Teleorman plain, through which the river Vedea flows towards the Danube, is wheat and sunflower country as far as the eye can see. The Romans pushed their frontier across this plain in the second century, building a long earthen rampart known as the Limes Transalutanus, east of the Olt river, with a ditch and a line of forts and towers behind it. Near Roșiorii de Vede, at Valea Urlui, one of these sites is part of the Roman frontier of Dacia listed by UNESCO. The rampart can still be traced in places as a low bank running through the fields, and on the ground you need a good eye, or a guide, to spot it. From the air it is much clearer.

   Read the complete Roșiorii de Vede - Valea Urlui write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 139 km into the recorded legs you reach Roșiorii de Vede - Valea Urlui. Next is back through Reșca - Romula / Cetate.

4. 4. back through Reșca - Romula / Cetate

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Reșca - Romula / Cetate write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Reșca - Romula / Cetate, late in the day. Next is Afrimești - Urluieni.

5. 5. Afrimești - Urluieni

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Afrimești - Urluieni write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Afrimești - Urluieni. That is the ride.