CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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 Groşi it runs 256 km to Groşi; allow about 4 h 59 of riding. On the way it passes Church of the Holy Paraskeva, Church of the Holy Archangels, back through Church of the Holy Archangels and back through Church of the Holy Paraskeva.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 48 km this is Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Just outside Baia Mare, where the city gives way to the hills, the countryside of northern Romania begins to show the tradition that made this region famous: churches built entirely of wood, with steep shingled roofs and tall, needle-like spires. Many of them are dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and this dedication is common across the region, from small village churches to some of the eight Wooden Churches of Maramureș listed by UNESCO in 1999. Surdești and Plopiș, both within a short ride of Baia Mare, are among the finest of those, with spires that seem far too tall for the buildings beneath them.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Church of the Holy Archangels is where the day begins. Next is Church of the Holy Paraskeva.
In 1780 a painter named Radu Munteanu covered the inside of the wooden church at Desești with scenes that still shock and delight: a Last Judgment in which sinners are marched off to a hell full of grinning devils, alongside saints, prophets and lively village figures. The church, dedicated to the Holy Paraskeva and built in 1770 from oak logs, rises above the village with a tall, slender tower and a steep double roof of shingles. It is one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș inscribed by UNESCO in 1999, and its paintings are among the best preserved of them all.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Paraskeva write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Church of the Holy Paraskeva comes up about 48 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of the Holy Archangels.
Șurdești is a small village in the hills of Maramureș, in the north of Romania, and its wooden church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel is famous for its spire. Built in the eighteenth century from oak logs, the church has a steep double roof covered in shingles and a slender tower that rises far above the trees, among the tallest wooden church towers in the region. It is one of eight wooden churches of Maramureș listed by UNESCO in 1999, each a masterpiece of local carpentry, built by village craftsmen using traditional techniques.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 89 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of the Holy Archangels. Next is Church of the Holy Archangels.
The wooden church at Rogoz stands in the Lăpuș country, a quieter, lesser-known corner of Maramureș, south of the mountains and away from the main tourist circuits. Built in the seventeenth century and dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, it is unusual in shape: the roof is asymmetric and overhangs deeply on one side, and the eaves are supported by carved wooden brackets shaped like horse heads, a detail that seems to come straight out of folk tradition. Inside, the walls are painted with scenes from the Bible, including a vivid Last Judgement. It is one of the eight churches in the UNESCO listing of the Wooden Churches of Maramureș.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Church of the Holy Archangels, about halfway. Next is back through Church of the Holy Archangels.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Church of the Holy Archangels sits at 122 km, about halfway. Next is back through Church of the Holy Paraskeva.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Paraskeva write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Church of the Holy Paraskeva comes up about 207 km into the recorded legs.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Church of the Holy Archangels closes the day.
Church of the Holy Archangels → Church of the Holy Paraskeva is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of the Holy Paraskeva → Church of the Holy Archangels is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of the Holy Archangels → Church of the Holy Archangels is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of the Holy Archangels → back through Church of the Holy Paraskeva is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of the Holy Paraskeva → Church of the Holy Archangels is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.