Why this ride
A 366 km round trip from Poiana Blenchii - roughly 7 h 42 in the saddle. The stops in between: Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii, Livezile - Poderei and back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gâlgău - Casa Popii and Livezile - Poderei
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 366 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 42
- 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.
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. Gâlgău - Casa Popii
The Someș river winds through northern Transylvania in a broad valley between rolling hills, and near Gâlgău and Poiana Blenchii, it forms a natural corridor between the Transylvanian plateau and the northwest. In Roman times, this valley marked the northern edge of the province of Dacia, and the frontier ran along the hills above it, with watchtowers and small forts. Casa Popii, the priest's house, near Gâlgău, is one of the sites of that frontier listed by UNESCO in 2024: probably a watchtower position on a ridge overlooking the valley. As with many of these sites, there is little to see above ground, but the views over the valley and the hills explain its purpose.
Read the complete Gâlgău - Casa Popii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gâlgău - Casa Popii is where the day begins. Next is Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii.
2. Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
The Țibleș mountains rise like a dark wall between the Lăpuș country and the valleys of Maramureș, a volcanic range of dense spruce and beech forest topping out at nearly two thousand metres. On their slopes, near the source known as Izvorul Șurii above the village of Groșii Țibleșului, the forest feels almost untouched: springs bubbling out of mossy banks, fallen trunks covered in fungi, and a silence broken only by woodpeckers and the wind. This is bear country, and wolves and lynx roam these woods too. The area lies on the edge of the Maramureș region, famous for its wooden churches, carved gates and deeply traditional village life.
Read the complete Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii comes up 65 km in. Next is Livezile - Poderei.
3. Livezile - Poderei
Leave Bistriţa eastwards on the DN17 and within minutes you are in Livezile, a long village strung out along the valley of the Bistriţa river where the Transylvanian hills start to bunch up towards the Eastern Carpathians. Poderei is the name of a hillside here where the Romans kept watch over the northern edge of their province of Dacia, and the site is one of the many small components of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listed in Romania in 2024. There is nothing to visit in the sense of ruins; what you get is the hill, the view up the valley and the knowledge that legionaries stared at the same ridges.
Read the complete Livezile - Poderei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
129 km in you reach Livezile - Poderei. Next is back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii.
4. back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii, late in the day. Next is Gâlgău - Casa Popii.
5. Gâlgău - Casa Popii
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gâlgău - Casa Popii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Gâlgău - Casa Popii. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Gâlgău - Casa Popii to Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
Gâlgău - Casa Popii → Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii to Livezile - Poderei
Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii → Livezile - Poderei is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Livezile - Poderei to back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
Livezile - Poderei → back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii to Gâlgău - Casa Popii
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii → Gâlgău - Casa Popii is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.