Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1 and Church of the Holy Parasceve
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
264 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 33
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
A 264 km round trip from Ciceu-Giurgeşti - roughly 6 h 33 in the saddle. The stops in between: Perișor - Păltiniș, Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci, Church of the Holy Parasceve and back through Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1
The northern edge of Roman Dacia was a long line of watchtowers, small forts and earthworks drawn across the hills of what is now northern Transylvania, and Dealul Podului, the bridge hill, near Dumbrăveni, was one of the points along it. Watchtowers here kept an eye on the valleys that led north from the province, toward the lands of the free Dacians and other peoples beyond the frontier, and their remains, now mostly low earthworks in the fields and forest, are part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listing for Dacia, added by UNESCO in 2024.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1 is where the day begins. Next is Perișor - Păltiniș.
2. Perișor - Păltiniș
The hills of northern Transylvania, in Bistrita-Nasaud county, are quieter than the better-known Saxon towns further south, a country of wooded ridges, narrow valleys and farming villages where hay is still cut by hand and stacked on wooden poles. The Perisor to Paltinis label sits in this landscape, about four kilometres from the village of Spermezeu and not far from Zagra, in the foothills below the Rodna mountains.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Perișor - Păltiniș comes up 28 km in. Next is Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci.
3. Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci
The Țibleș massif rises like a dark green wall between Maramureș and the Bistrița country of northern Romania, an old volcanic range topped by the Țibleș peak at around eighteen hundred metres. On its southern flanks, above the village of Groșii Țibleșului, lie the forests of Preluci, part of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe that UNESCO has protected as one sprawling, multi-country site. These are woods left largely to themselves, where old beeches grow huge, fall, rot and feed the next generation without a forester in sight.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
56 km in you reach Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci. Next is Church of the Holy Parasceve.
4. Church of the Holy Parasceve
Maramureș is one of the few corners of Europe where wood is still the language of the sacred, and the church of Saint Parascheva at Poienile Izei is a good place to learn it. It stands on a small rise above the Izei valley, a dark timber church with a steep, double-tiered shingled roof and a slender spire, built in the early seventeenth century and moved to its present spot later. Inside, the walls and ceiling carry painted scenes from the eighteenth century, and the one that always gets quoted is a vivid Last Judgment in which sinners get remarkably specific punishments.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1 to Perișor - Păltiniș
Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1 → Perișor - Păltiniș is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Perișor - Păltiniș to Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci
Perișor - Păltiniș → Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci to Church of the Holy Parasceve
Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci → Church of the Holy Parasceve is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of the Holy Parasceve to back through Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci
Church of the Holy Parasceve → back through Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci to back through Perișor - Păltiniș
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci → back through Perișor - Păltiniș is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Perișor - Păltiniș to Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1
back through Perișor - Păltiniș → Dumbrăveni - Dealul Podului 1 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.