Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 395 km round trip from Petrila - roughly 7 h 24 in the saddle. The stops in between: Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor, Voislova - Gara CFR and back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bănița - Jigoru Mare
High on a limestone outcrop above the village of Bănița, in the hills of south-western Transylvania, stand the ruins of a Dacian fortress. Bănița is one of the six Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains listed by UNESCO in 1999, part of the defensive system built around the capital of the Dacian kingdom, Sarmizegetusa Regia, in the first century BC and the first century AD. The kingdom's last great ruler, Decebalus, held out against Rome in two hard wars before Trajan's legions finally conquered Dacia in 106, an event recorded in stone on Trajan's Column in Rome.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bănița - Jigoru Mare is where the day begins. Next is Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor comes up about 99 km into the recorded legs. Next is Voislova - Gara CFR.
3. Voislova - Gara CFR
The Bistra valley is a natural corridor, and armies have known it for millennia. Running east from Caransebeș toward the Iron Gate of Transylvania and the Hațeg basin, it was the route by which Trajan's legions advanced on the Dacian heartland in the wars of AD 101 to 106, and later the road that linked Roman forts and towns along the way. Near the village of Voislova, by the railway station, the remains of a Roman site have been identified as counted within the UNESCO serial site of the Dacian frontier, a reminder of how important this valley was to the Roman presence in the province.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Bănița - Jigoru Mare. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Bănița - Jigoru Mare to Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
Bănița - Jigoru Mare → Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor is 99 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor to Voislova - Gara CFR
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor → Voislova - Gara CFR is 98 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Voislova - Gara CFR to back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
Voislova - Gara CFR → back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor to Bănița - Jigoru Mare
back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor → Bănița - Jigoru Mare is 93 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.