Why this ride
224 km from Poiana Blenchii to Poiana Blenchii, about 5 h 14 of riding. It goes by way of Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum, Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului, Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei and Perișor - Vârful Colnicului.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gâlgău - Casa Popii and Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 224 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 14
- 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. 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 Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -.
2. Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -
On a terrace above the river Someș, near the village of Cășeiu, a few kilometres from Dej in northern Transylvania, the Romans built a fort they called Samum. It guarded the northern edge of their province of Dacia, which they conquered in the early second century after two hard wars against the Dacian king Decebalus. The fort controlled the valley and the routes into the province, and today its outline can still be traced in the fields, with low walls and earthworks where archaeologists have uncovered gates, towers and barracks. In 2024 the Dacian frontier was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.
3. Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
North of Dej, in the hills of Cluj county, the land rises into a rolling upland of pastures, orchards and beech woods, cut by small valleys and dotted with villages. Muncelul Chiuieștiului is one of the hilltops above the village of Chiuiești, and the name is listed among archaeological sites of the Roman frontier in Dacia, which in this region ran along the hills to protect the province from the free Dacians and other peoples to the north. What exactly stood on this hilltop is something to learn from the local signs rather than assume; much of the frontier here consisted of small watchtowers and earthworks that left only faint traces.
Read the complete Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei.
4. Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Ciceu-Poieni is a tiny village in the hills north of the Someș, the kind of place that rarely appears on a map, and near it, at a spot called Podul Milcoaiei, the Romans placed a watchtower on the northern border of Dacia. It is part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list, and today it is just a slight hump in the ground among fields and woods, but its position on the high ground gives a wide view over the valleys, which is exactly why it was chosen. The towers were placed so that each could see its neighbours and pass signals along the frontier with fire and smoke.
Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei, about halfway. Next is Perișor - Vârful Colnicului.
5. Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
The upper valley of the Zagra stream, in the hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county in northern Transylvania, is the sort of place that has produced poets. The village of Hordou, now named Coșbuc, birthplace of the poet George Coșbuc, lies not far away, near Năsăud, and Liviu Rebreanu, one of Romania's great novelists, was born in Târlișua, a little to the west. The hills around Perișor and Zagra, with the summit called Vârful Colnicului, are a landscape of meadows, beech woods and scattered farms that seems to have stepped out of their books.
Read the complete Perișor - Vârful Colnicului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului sits at 70 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei.
6. back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei comes up about 139 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.
7. back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 179 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului. Next is back through Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -.
8. back through Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -, late in the day. Next is Gâlgău - Casa Popii.
9. 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
The route ends here after 224 km.
Leg by leg
Gâlgău - Casa Popii to Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -
Gâlgău - Casa Popii → Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - to Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - → Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului to Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului → Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei to Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei → Perișor - Vârful Colnicului is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului to back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului → back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei to back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei → back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului to back through Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum -
back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului → back through Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - to Gâlgău - Casa Popii
back through Cășeiu - Cetățele / Samvm Cășeiu -Samum - → Gâlgău - Casa Popii is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.