Why this ride
A 281 km round trip from Ieud - roughly 6 h 44 in the saddle. The stops in between: Negrilești - Negru Vodă, Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului and back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 281 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 44
- 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. Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
Ieud is a long village strung along a side valley of the Iza river in Maramureș, in Romania's far north, and it has not one but two wooden churches. The one on the hill, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, is one of the eight Wooden Churches of Maramureș listed by UNESCO, and it is one of the oldest, with a tall, slender bell tower and a double roof of wooden shingles that reaches almost to the ground. Inside, the walls are covered with eighteenth-century paintings on wood and cloth, with scenes from the Last Judgement in which the damned are dressed in the clothes of the local enemies of the time. The church is also known for the Ieud Codex, a manuscript found here, one of the oldest texts written in the Romanian language.
Read the complete Church of the Nativity of the Virgin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is where the day begins. Next is Negrilești - Negru Vodă.
2. Negrilești - Negru Vodă
Negrilești is a small village in Bistrița-Năsăud county, in the hills of northern Transylvania, near the valley of the Someș Mare. The name of the site, Negru Vodă, recalls the legendary founder of Wallachia, a figure from the Romanian chronicles who is said to have crossed the Carpathians in the thirteenth century to found the principality; whether he existed at all is still debated, and many places in Romania bear his name. The site itself is part of the UNESCO listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia, probably a watchtower or a small fortification on a hill, part of the northern frontier of the province. Little is visible, but the hills offer good views over the surrounding countryside.
Read the complete Negrilești - Negru Vodă write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Negrilești - Negru Vodă comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului.
3. Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului
Bistrița is the town where Jonathan Harker spends his last comfortable night before heading into the mountains in Bram Stoker's Dracula, and the village of Orheiu Bistriței lies just eight kilometres to the south-east, in the hills above the valley of the Bistrița river. In Roman times, this was the site of an auxiliary fort on the north-eastern frontier of Dacia, and the remains lie beneath the village itself, which the locals know as the vatra satului, the village hearth. Excavations have revealed the outline of the fort, and finds are displayed in the county museum in Bistrița.
Read the complete Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 138 km into the recorded legs you reach Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului. Next is back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă.
4. back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Negrilești - Negru Vodă write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă, late in the day. Next is Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.
5. Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Nativity of the Virgin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin to Negrilești - Negru Vodă
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin → Negrilești - Negru Vodă is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Negrilești - Negru Vodă to Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului
Negrilești - Negru Vodă → Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului to back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă
Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului → back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă to Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
back through Negrilești - Negru Vodă → Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.