Buciumi - Grădiște and Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Buciumi - Grădiște

   Buciumi has a Roman fort, and a proper one. On a low hill above the village, the outline of a rectangular auxiliary fort has been excavated, with walls, gates and the foundations of the buildings inside, laid out to the standard Roman pattern with the headquarters in the middle and barracks to either side. It was one of the forts guarding the road and the passes of the Meseş mountains, a few kilometres from the larger fortress and town at Porolissum, and it held a unit of auxiliary troops, soldiers recruited from the provinces rather than citizen legionaries.

   Read the complete Buciumi - Grădiște write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Buciumi - Grădiște is where the day begins. Next is Lozna - Curmăturița 1.

2. 2. Lozna - Curmăturița 1

   Lozna is a village in the northern hills of Sălaj county, close to the Someș river, a place of small farms, orchards and wooden houses, and Curmăturița is a saddle in the hills above it, where a Roman watchtower is thought to have stood. The northern frontier of Roman Dacia ran through this area, following ridges and river valleys, and small towers and forts were placed to watch over the approaches. Today there is little to see, but the view from the saddle, over the rolling hills and the Someș valley, is lovely, and it explains why the Romans chose the spot.

   Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Lozna - Curmăturița 1 comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3.

3. 3. Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3

   Ciceu-Poieni is a scattered village in the hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county, with the ruins of Ciceu fortress somewhere in the story. The stronghold stood on a hilltop here, and in the fifteenth century Hungary's King Matthias Corvinus granted it, along with Cetatea de Baltă, to the Moldavian prince Stephen the Great, which tied this remote corner of Transylvania to Moldavia's fortunes for decades. Today little remains but crumbling walls and a good view, but the history gives the hills a certain weight.

   Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 145 km into the recorded legs you reach Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3. Next is back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1.

4. 4. back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1, late in the day. Next is Buciumi - Grădiște.

5. 5. Buciumi - Grădiște

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Buciumi - Grădiște write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Buciumi - Grădiște. That is the ride.