Căpâlna - Hotroapă and Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
236 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 49
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
From Poiana Blenchii it runs 236 km to Poiana Blenchii; allow about 5 h 49 of riding. The stops in between: Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului, Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei, Perișor - Vârful Colnicului and Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Căpâlna - Hotroapă
Căpâlna sits in the Someș country northwest of Dej, in a landscape of long, rounded hills that the Transylvanian plateau does so well. Orchards, hayfields and small woods climb the slopes, villages sit where streams meet, and the horizon always seems to hold another soft ridge.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Căpâlna - Hotroapă is where the day begins. Next is Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.
2. Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
North of Dej, in the hills of Cluj county, the land rises into a rolling upland of pastures, orchards and beech woods, cut by small valleys and dotted with villages. Muncelul Chiuieștiului is one of the hilltops above the village of Chiuiești, and the name is listed among archaeological sites of the Roman frontier in Dacia, which in this region ran along the hills to protect the province from the free Dacians and other peoples to the north. What exactly stood on this hilltop is something to learn from the local signs rather than assume; much of the frontier here consisted of small watchtowers and earthworks that left only faint traces.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei.
3. Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Ciceu-Poieni is a tiny village in the hills north of the Someș, the kind of place that rarely appears on a map, and near it, at a spot called Podul Milcoaiei, the Romans placed a watchtower on the northern border of Dacia. It is part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list, and today it is just a slight hump in the ground among fields and woods, but its position on the high ground gives a wide view over the valleys, which is exactly why it was chosen. The towers were placed so that each could see its neighbours and pass signals along the frontier with fire and smoke.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 63 km into the recorded legs you reach Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei. Next is Perișor - Vârful Colnicului.
4. Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
The upper valley of the Zagra stream, in the hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county in northern Transylvania, is the sort of place that has produced poets. The village of Hordou, now named Coșbuc, birthplace of the poet George Coșbuc, lies not far away, near Năsăud, and Liviu Rebreanu, one of Romania's great novelists, was born in Târlișua, a little to the west. The hills around Perișor and Zagra, with the summit called Vârful Colnicului, are a landscape of meadows, beech woods and scattered farms that seems to have stepped out of their books.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului, about halfway. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului.
5. Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului
Hay is still cut by hand in the hills of northern Transylvania, and the slopes near Ciceu-Poieni are as good a place as any to see why that matters. This is a country of steep meadows above small villages, with clumps of forest, plum trees along the lanes and the stone-and-wood houses of farmers who still keep a few cows and sheep. Vârful Osoiului is a hilltop name rather than a signed attraction, about four kilometres from Negrilești, and it works best as a way to understand the landscape between the Someș valley and the hills of the north.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 236 km.
Leg by leg
Căpâlna - Hotroapă to Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
Căpâlna - Hotroapă → Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului to Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului → Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei to Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei → Perișor - Vârful Colnicului is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului to Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului → Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului to back through Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
Ciceu-Poieni - Vârful Osoiului → back through Perișor - Vârful Colnicului is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Perișor - Vârful Colnicului to back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
back through Perișor - Vârful Colnicului → back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei to back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei → back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului to Căpâlna - Hotroapă
back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului → Căpâlna - Hotroapă is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.