Why this ride
From Dej it runs 342 km to Dej; allow about 7 h 09 of riding. On the way it passes Dobricel - Vârful Lazului, Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului, Lozna - Curmăturița 1 and Brebi - Dealul Mare 3. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - and Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 342 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 09
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -
On a terrace above the river Someș, near the village of Cășeiu, a few kilometres from Dej in northern Transylvania, the Romans built a fort they called Samum. It guarded the northern edge of their province of Dacia, which they conquered in the early second century after two hard wars against the Dacian king Decebalus. The fort controlled the valley and the routes into the province, and today its outline can still be traced in the fields, with low walls and earthworks where archaeologists have uncovered gates, towers and barracks. In 2024 the Dacian frontier was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - is where the day begins. Next is Dobricel - Vârful Lazului.
2. Dobricel - Vârful Lazului
Spermezeu is the kind of place a road atlas barely notices: a commune of scattered villages in the hills of Bistrița-Năsăud, in northern Transylvania, between the upper Someș valley and the Țibleș mountains. The site of Dobricel, on the hilltop known as Vârful Lazului, is one of the many archaeological places recorded in the area, a high point above the valleys where traces of earlier inhabitants have been noted. There is not much to see without an archaeologist's eye, but the hilltop and the country around it are a good excuse for a ride through a region few foreigners ever visit.
Read the complete Dobricel - Vârful Lazului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dobricel - Vârful Lazului comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
3. Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
The name is a mouthful, and a good one: the Ridge of the Wolf's Clearing, on the hill of Muncel, above the Someș valley north-east of Dej. Somewhere along this wooded crest the Romans kept a lookout on the northern border of Dacia, watching the valleys for movement from the free tribes beyond. Watchtowers like this one were the eyes of the frontier, signalling to the forts below, and the site is part of the Dacian frontier inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. On the ground, expect very little: perhaps a low mound, a ditch or scattered stones under the trees. It is a place for imagination and a walk rather than a monument.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 88 km into the recorded legs you reach Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului. Next is Lozna - Curmăturița 1.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Brebi - Dealul Mare 3.
5. Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Most people who know the Roman Empire think of Hadrian's Wall or the Rhine, but there was also a Roman frontier in the hills of north-western Transylvania, and this is part of it. The province of Dacia Porolissensis was guarded by a line of forts and wooden watchtowers on ridge tops, and the great fort and customs station at Porolissum, at Moigrad, was its centre. UNESCO added the Dacia Porolissensis frontier to its listing of Roman frontiers in 2024. Brebi lies close to Porolissum, and the ridge called Dealul Mare gives a sense of why the Romans chose these hills: wide views over the valleys and the approaches from the north.
Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1.
6. 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 comes up about 210 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
7. back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 253 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului. Next is back through Dobricel - Vârful Lazului.
8. back through Dobricel - Vârful Lazului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dobricel - Vârful Lazului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dobricel - Vârful Lazului, late in the day. Next is Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -.
9. Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 342 km.
Leg by leg
Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - to Dobricel - Vârful Lazului
Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - → Dobricel - Vârful Lazului is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dobricel - Vârful Lazului to Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Dobricel - Vârful Lazului → Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → Lozna - Curmăturița 1 is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lozna - Curmăturița 1 to Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Lozna - Curmăturița 1 → Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 to back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 → back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 to back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 → back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to back through Dobricel - Vârful Lazului
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → back through Dobricel - Vârful Lazului is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dobricel - Vârful Lazului to Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -
back through Dobricel - Vârful Lazului → Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.