Why this ride
259 km from Ibăneşti to Ibăneşti, about 5 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Domnești, Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 and back through Domnești.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică and Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 259 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 13
- 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. Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică
Up the Gurghiu valley in Mureș County, the villages still wear wood: carved gates, shingled roofs, little wooden churches and stacks of firewood against every wall. Ibănești is one of the best known of them, a long village strung along the valley where traditional dress, music and crafts have hung on more stubbornly than in most of Transylvania. On a hill nearby, Cetățuia Mică, the little citadel, marks a point on the eastern frontier of Roman Dacia, where a chain of small forts and watchtowers looked toward the volcanic Gurghiu mountains and the lands beyond. These eastern posts are part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listing for Dacia, added by UNESCO in 2024, though on the ground they are grassy earthworks rather than walls.
Read the complete Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică is where the day begins. Next is Domnești.
2. Domnești
Domnești sits in the hills just south of Bistrița, the old Saxon town in northeastern Transylvania, and like several places in this region it marks a point on the Roman frontier of Dacia, where watchtowers once looked out from the ridgetops over the province's edge. Nothing dramatic remains here, but the location is perfect for exploring a corner of Romania that mixes Roman, Saxon, Hungarian and Romanian history in a single valley.
Read the complete Domnești write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Domnești comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3.
3. Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3
Ciceu-Poieni is a scattered village in the hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county, with the ruins of Ciceu fortress somewhere in the story. The stronghold stood on a hilltop here, and in the fifteenth century Hungary's King Matthias Corvinus granted it, along with Cetatea de Baltă, to the Moldavian prince Stephen the Great, which tied this remote corner of Transylvania to Moldavia's fortunes for decades. Today little remains but crumbling walls and a good view, but the history gives the hills a certain weight.
Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 129 km into the recorded legs you reach Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3. Next is back through Domnești.
4. back through Domnești
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Domnești write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Domnești, late in the day. Next is Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică.
5. Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică to Domnești
Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică → Domnești is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Domnești to Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3
Domnești → Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 to back through Domnești
Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 → back through Domnești is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Domnești to Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică
back through Domnești → Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.