Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului and Perișor - Vârful Colnicului

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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.

   Read the complete Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is where the day begins. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei.

2. 2. 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.

   Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Perișor - Vârful Colnicului.

3. 3. 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.

   Read the complete Perișor - Vârful Colnicului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Perișor - Vârful Colnicului. Next is back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei.

4. 4. back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei, late in the day. Next is Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.

5. 5. Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului. That is the ride.