The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
658 km from Petrila to Petrila, about 14 h 14 of riding. It goes by way of Costesti-Cetatuie, Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor, Vețel - Micia / Grădiște and Voislova - Gara CFR. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,450 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Comărnicel II
The Retezat range rises to the south, its granite peaks carrying snow into early summer, and the whole area belongs to Hunedoara county, a land of old mining, Dacian history and shepherds who still move flocks through the hills.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Comărnicel II is where the day begins. Next is Costesti-Cetatuie.
2. Costești-Cetățuie
The Dacians built their strongholds high in the Orăștie mountains, and the fortress of Costești-Cetățuie was one of the gateways to their heartland. Standing on a steep hill above the valley of the Grădiștea river, it was protected by walls built in the Dacian style, the murus dacicus, with large cut stone blocks bound by timber beams, and by earthen ramparts and palisades. It guarded the road up the valley to Sarmizegetusa Regia, the capital of King Decebalus, which the Romans captured in the wars of 101 to 106 that turned Dacia into a province. The fortresses of the Orăștie mountains are listed together by UNESCO.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Costești-Cetățuie comes up 44 km in. Next is Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor.
3. Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
The Romans loved hot water, and at Geoagiu-Băi, in the hills above the Mureș valley, they found it: thermal springs that fed baths at the settlement of Germisara, where soldiers and officials came to bathe and dedicated altars to the nymphs and gods of the waters. The Roman pools carved into the travertine are still visible, and the modern spa uses the same springs. Drumul Romanilor, the Romans' road, recalls the routes that linked the forts and towns of Dacia, and the area is part of the World Heritage listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
88 km in you reach Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor. Next is Vețel - Micia / Grădiște.
4. Vețel - Micia / Grădiște
The Mureș flows west across Transylvania towards Hungary, and near the village of Vețel, just west of Deva, the Romans built one of the most important forts in their province of Dacia. Micia guarded the river and the road along the valley, the main route between Transylvania and the Pannonian plain, and around the fort grew a large civil settlement with baths, temples and an amphitheatre. Excavations have revealed much of it, though part of the site lies under a power station built in the twentieth century.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vețel - Micia / Grădiște, about halfway. Next is Voislova - Gara CFR.
5. Voislova - Gara CFR
The Bistra valley is a natural corridor, and armies have known it for millennia. Running east from Caransebeș toward the Iron Gate of Transylvania and the Hațeg basin, it was the route by which Trajan's legions advanced on the Dacian heartland in the wars of AD 101 to 106, and later the road that linked Roman forts and towns along the way. Near the village of Voislova, by the railway station, the remains of a Roman site have been identified as counted within the UNESCO serial site of the Dacian frontier, a reminder of how important this valley was to the Roman presence in the province.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 658 km.
Leg by leg
Comărnicel II to Costesti-Cetatuie
Comărnicel II → Costesti-Cetatuie is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Costești-Cetățuie to Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
Costești-Cetățuie → Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor to Vețel - Micia / Grădiște
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor → Vețel - Micia / Grădiște is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vețel - Micia / Grădiște to Voislova - Gara CFR
Vețel - Micia / Grădiște → Voislova - Gara CFR is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Voislova - Gara CFR to back through Vețel - Micia / Grădiște
Voislova - Gara CFR → back through Vețel - Micia / Grădiște is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Vețel - Micia / Grădiște to back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
back through Vețel - Micia / Grădiște → back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor to back through Costesti-Cetatuie
back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor → back through Costesti-Cetatuie is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Costesti-Cetatuie to Comărnicel II
back through Costesti-Cetatuie → Comărnicel II is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.