Why this ride
From Chiuiești it runs 192 km to Chiuiești; allow about 3 h 38 of riding. It goes by way of Bârsău Mare - Cetate, Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1, Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii and Popeni - Dumbravă.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii and Popeni - Dumbravă
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 192 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 38
- 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. Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii
North of Dej, the Someș river winds through a land of soft hills, orchards and scattered villages, and on the ridges above it the Romans once kept watch over the northern frontier of their province of Dacia. Chiuiești, a commune of small villages spread across the hills, is one of the places where archaeologists have identified the remains of watchtowers on high points along the frontier, including one on the hill known as Dealul Crucii, the Hill of the Cross. Little survives above ground beyond low mounds and traces in the grass, but the sites are included in the World Heritage inscription of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire in Dacia, added in 2024.
Read the complete Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii is where the day begins. Next is Bârsău Mare - Cetate.
2. Bârsău Mare - Cetate
In the north of Transylvania, the Someș river winds through a valley of green hills, woods and villages with wooden churches and haystacks, and on a hilltop near the village of Bârsău Mare, the faint remains of a Roman fortification overlook the valley. This was part of the northern frontier of Roman Dacia, the province created after Trajan's conquest in the early second century, and it is one of the sites included in the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia, listed by UNESCO in 2024.
Read the complete Bârsău Mare - Cetate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bârsău Mare - Cetate comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1.
3. Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1
The Someș river cuts through the low hills of north-western Transylvania in a series of wide loops, and at Cormeniș, a small village in Sălaj county, it passes below a bank where the Romans placed one of their watchtowers. This was the northern edge of the province of Dacia Porolissensis, the frontier facing the free Dacian tribes beyond, and a line of towers and small forts ran along the hills, linked by signals and patrols. The site at Râpa Malului, the riverbank cliff, is one of the many components of the Dacian frontier listed by UNESCO in 2024. As so often on the Dacian limes, there is little to see apart from a slight rise in a field, but standing up there with the river below, you can easily imagine a small garrison watching the valley.
Read the complete Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 56 km into the recorded legs you reach Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1. Next is Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii.
4. Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii
Surduc is a village in the Someș valley in Sălaj county, north-western Romania, where the river cuts a narrow path through hills on its way toward Baia Mare. Above the village, on a ridge overlooking the valley of the Hrăii stream, there are traces of a Roman watchtower, part of the frontier of the province of Dacia. The nearby villages of Tihău and Băbeni, and the town of Jibou, are all close by.
Read the complete Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii, about halfway. Next is Popeni - Dumbravă.
5. Popeni - Dumbravă
Think of the frontier of Roman Dacia not as a wall but as a net. In the hills of Sălaj, north of the town of Zalău, the Romans stretched a fine mesh of watchtowers, small forts and earthen barriers across the ridges, all centred on the great fortress of Porolissum, which controlled the most important pass from the province into the lands of the free Dacians. Popeni, a village near Jibou, sits near one of the outer strands of that net: at Dumbravă, a spot on the edge of a wood, the remains of a tower are part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list. You will see a bump in the ground and a lot of grass, and that is all the more reason to use your imagination.
Read the complete Popeni - Dumbravă write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Popeni - Dumbravă sits at 71 km, about halfway. Next is back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii.
6. back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii comes up about 117 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1.
7. back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 135 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1. Next is back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate.
8. back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bârsău Mare - Cetate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate, late in the day. Next is Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii.
9. Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii 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 192 km.
Leg by leg
Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii to Bârsău Mare - Cetate
Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii → Bârsău Mare - Cetate is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bârsău Mare - Cetate to Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1
Bârsău Mare - Cetate → Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 to Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii
Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 → Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii to Popeni - Dumbravă
Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii → Popeni - Dumbravă is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Popeni - Dumbravă to back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii
Popeni - Dumbravă → back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii to back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1
back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii → back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 to back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate
back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 → back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate to Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii
back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate → Chiuiești - Dealul Crucii is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.