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.
505 km from Ileanda to Ileanda, about 11 h 22 of riding. On the way it passes Tihău - Dealul Cucului, Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2, Bologa - Grădiște and Roșia Montană Mining Landscape. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,150 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
The ride follows Tihău - Dealul Cucului → Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 for 44 km.
Ileanda is a village in the north of Sălaj county, where the river Someș swings north-west out of the Transylvanian basin through a valley flanked by wooded hills. On the hill called Ciuha, above the village, the Romans had a post on the northern edge of their province of Dacia, one of the watchtowers and forts that guarded the frontier from the second to the third century. The site belongs to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia, inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. Do not expect a ruin with walls to wander through: what survives is mostly earthwork and traces in the ground, and the joy lies in the climb and the view rather than the remains.
Read the complete Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha is where the day begins. 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.
Tihău - Dealul Cucului comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2.
Treznea is a small village in the hills of Sălaj county, eleven kilometres east of Zalău, and its name carries a heavy weight in Romanian history. In September 1940, after northern Transylvania was transferred to Hungary by the Second Vienna Award, Hungarian troops entering the region killed scores of villagers here, Romanians and Jews, in one of the worst atrocities of that time. A memorial in the village remembers the victims. It is a sobering reminder that these quiet hills have seen terrible violence, and a short, respectful stop at the memorial is worth more than any viewpoint on the ride.
Read the complete Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 82 km into the recorded legs you reach Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2. Next is Bologa - Grădiște.
The village of Bologa lies in the valley of the Crișul Repede, on the main road between Cluj-Napoca and Oradea, where the river cuts through the hills between the Apuseni mountains and the Meseș. On a hill above the village, known locally as Grădiște, the Romans built the fort of Resculum, which guarded one of the main routes into the province of Dacia from the west. The fort was rebuilt several times, from earth and timber to stone, and archaeologists have uncovered its walls, gates and towers. It is part of the UNESCO listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia. On another hill above the village stand the ruins of a medieval castle, which controlled the same valley in later centuries. Climbing to either site gives fine views over the valley and the surrounding hills.
Read the complete Bologa - Grădiște write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Bologa - Grădiște, about halfway. Next is Roșia Montană Mining Landscape.
Gold has been mined at Roșia Montană, in the Apuseni mountains of western Romania, for over two thousand years. The Romans, who called the place Alburnus Maior, dug an extensive network of galleries into the mountains to extract the gold, and some of these galleries survive, along with wax tablets found in the mines, recording contracts and daily life. In 2021, after years of controversy, the mining landscape of Roșia Montană was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Roșia Montană Mining Landscape write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Roșia Montană Mining Landscape sits at 195 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bologa - Grădiște.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bologa - Grădiște write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Bologa - Grădiște comes up about 370 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 422 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2. 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, late in the day. Next is Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 505 km.
Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha → Tihău - Dealul Cucului is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tihău - Dealul Cucului → Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 → Bologa - Grădiște is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bologa - Grădiște → Roșia Montană Mining Landscape is 118 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Roșia Montană Mining Landscape → back through Bologa - Grădiște is 118 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Bologa - Grădiște → back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 → back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului → Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.