Why this ride
186 km from Lozna to Lozna, about 3 h 51 of riding. It goes by way of Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii, Popeni - Dumbravă, Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei and Popeni - Voievodeasa 3.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 and Popeni - Voievodeasa 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 186 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 51
- 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. 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
Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 is where the day begins. Next is Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii.
2. 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 comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Popeni - Dumbravă.
3. 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
about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Popeni - Dumbravă. Next is Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei.
4. Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei
The Meseș mountains rise to the west of Zalău like a long green wall, and they formed the natural western boundary of Roman Dacia in this region. Along their crest and on the slopes above the plains, the Romans built a line of watchtowers, and the site above the fields with the evocative name of Șesurile Tâlhăroasei, roughly the robbers' flats, near the villages of Treznea and Aghireș, is one of them. It is part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list. Up in the forest the remains are modest, but the position, high on a slope with a view over the valley, shows how the frontier used every advantage of the terrain.
Read the complete Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei, about halfway. Next is Popeni - Voievodeasa 3.
5. Popeni - Voievodeasa 3
Voievodeasa means the voivode's wife, and the hill that carries the name is one of several summits that rise around Popeni, in the north-west of Sălaj. Who she was and which voivode she belonged to is not on any signpost, and local stories differ, so it is safest to say that the name belongs to the long age of Transylvanian princes and nobles whose estates, castles and quarrels once shaped these hills. The point lies about four kilometres from Creaca, a village of nearly three thousand.
Read the complete Popeni - Voievodeasa 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Popeni - Voievodeasa 3 sits at 70 km, about halfway. Next is back through Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei.
6. back through Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei comes up about 118 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Popeni - Dumbravă.
7. back through Popeni - Dumbravă
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
about 145 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Popeni - Dumbravă. Next is back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1.
9. 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
The route ends here after 186 km.
Leg by leg
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 Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei
Popeni - Dumbravă → Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei to Popeni - Voievodeasa 3
Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei → Popeni - Voievodeasa 3 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Popeni - Voievodeasa 3 to back through Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei
Popeni - Voievodeasa 3 → back through Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei to back through Popeni - Dumbravă
back through Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei → back through Popeni - Dumbravă is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Popeni - Dumbravă to back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii
back through 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 Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1
back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii → Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.