CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 465 km round trip from Baru - roughly 12 h 47 in the saddle. On the way it passes Vârful lui Pătru, Capâlna, Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 and Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,600 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 38 km this is Romania Transalpina, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
The Dacians, before the Romans conquered them, built a ring of fortresses in the mountains around their capital Sarmizegetusa Regia, and Banița is one of them, perched on a limestone peak, Piatra Cetii, above the village of the same name. It guarded the southern approach to the Dacian heartland, controlling the route from the Jiu valley, and it was taken by the Romans during Trajan's wars at the beginning of the second century. The Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains, including Banița, were inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1999.
Read the complete Banita write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Banița is where the day begins. Next is Vârful lui Pătru.
Roman soldiers rarely chose to live above two thousand metres, but on Vârful lui Pătru, a broad grassy summit of the Șureanu mountains in southern Transylvania, they did. A small fortification on the top, part of the network that watched over the passes after Trajan conquered Dacia, is often described as one of the highest Roman military posts anywhere, and it now belongs to the World Heritage listing of the Dacian frontier. Imagine a winter up here in a wool cloak, with the wind coming straight off the Carpathians, and the posting suddenly sounds like a punishment.
Read the complete Vârful lui Pătru write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Vârful lui Pătru comes up 39 km in. Next is Capâlna.
The Dacians liked their fortresses high, hidden and hard to reach, which is why the Roman legions of Trajan took two bloody wars at the start of the second century to conquer them. Căpâlna stands on a steep wooded hill above the Sebeș valley, a Dacian citadel with stone walls built in the distinctive murus dacicus technique, blocks of cut stone tied together with timber beams, and a tower that served as the last refuge. It is one of the six Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains listed by UNESCO in 1999, along with the capital Sarmizegetusa Regia, and it is one of the easier ones to reach, with a path climbing through the forest from the valley road.
Read the complete Capâlna write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
78 km in you reach Capâlna. Next is Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1.
Alba Iulia wears its history in layers, and the bottom layer is Roman. The Legio XIII Gemina, the legion that held the heart of Dacia, was based here for over a century and a half, and around its fortress grew Apulum, one of the largest cities of the province. Excavations inside the modern citadel have revealed parts of the legionary fortress, and a Roman house, a domus, with its foundations, rooms and heating system, has been uncovered nearby, showing how the wealthier inhabitants lived. Together with the rest of the Dacian limes, these remains are now on the World Heritage list.
Read the complete Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1, about halfway. Next is Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor.
The Romans loved hot water, and at Geoagiu-Băi, in the hills above the Mureș valley, they found it: thermal springs that fed baths at the settlement of Germisara, where soldiers and officials came to bathe and dedicated altars to the nymphs and gods of the waters. The Roman pools carved into the travertine are still visible, and the modern spa uses the same springs. Drumul Romanilor, the Romans' road, recalls the routes that linked the forts and towns of Dacia, and the area is part of the World Heritage listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia.
Read the complete Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor sits at 155 km, about halfway. Next is back through Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 comes up 194 km in. Next is back through Capâlna.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Capâlna write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
233 km in you reach back through Capâlna. Next is back through Vârful lui Pătru.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vârful lui Pătru write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Vârful lui Pătru, late in the day. Next is Banita.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Banita write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 465 km.
Banița → Vârful lui Pătru is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vârful lui Pătru → Capâlna is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Capâlna → Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 → Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor → back through Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Alba Iulia - Apulum / Domus 1 → back through Capâlna is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Capâlna → back through Vârful lui Pătru is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vârful lui Pătru → Banita is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.