CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
A 181 km round trip from Poiana Blenchii - roughly 3 h 27 in the saddle. On the way it passes Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1, Tihău - Dealul Cucului, Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei and back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Gâlgău - Casa Popii is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tihău - Dealul Cucului.
Dealul Cucului means cuckoo hill, and the name fits the place: a low, wooded rise above the village of Tihău, close to the town of Jibou in the Someș valley of Sălaj county, where in spring the cuckoo's call echoes across the meadows. The point belongs to the network of archaeological sites along the Roman frontier of Dacia in the northwest of the province, near the confluence of the Almaș and Someș rivers, a strategic spot where valleys meet and roads cross. As with many of these sites, there may be little to see on the surface, but the location makes sense once you look at the map.
Read the complete Tihău - Dealul Cucului write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Tihău - Dealul Cucului. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei, about halfway. Next is back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tihău - Dealul Cucului write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului sits at 103 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 comes up about 150 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gâlgău - Casa Popii.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gâlgău - Casa Popii write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Gâlgău - Casa Popii closes the day.
Gâlgău - Casa Popii → Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 → Tihău - Dealul Cucului is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tihău - Dealul Cucului → Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei → back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului → back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 → Gâlgău - Casa Popii is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.