Mirșid - Poguior and Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Mirșid - Poguior

   Mirșid sits on the southern flank of the Meseș Mountains, in the county of Sălaj, a few kilometres from Zalău, and it is almost within sight of one of the best Roman sites in Romania. Porolissum, on the ridge above the village of Moigrad, was the capital of the Roman province of Dacia Porolissensis and a great frontier post on the northern edge of the empire, with large military forts, an amphitheatre, a customs post and a town with temples and baths, built after Trajan's conquest of Dacia in the early second century AD. The site is now an archaeological park, with the outline of the fort on a spur and, below, an amphitheatre cut into the hillside, and from the walls you can look over the Meseș Gate, the pass the Romans were guarding.

   Read the complete Mirșid - Poguior write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Mirșid - Poguior is where the day begins. Next is Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei.

2. 2. Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei

   Strâmtură means a narrowing, and the name fits. Just outside Gâlgău, a small Sălaj village on the Someș, the valley pinches between wooded slopes, and the Roman frontier made use of exactly such pinch points to control movement along the river. The site listed as Valea Strâmturei belongs to that northern Dacian line, and like most of its neighbours it is earthwork and setting rather than standing masonry. You come for the geography and the sense of a border that ran through these quiet hills nearly two thousand years ago.

   Read the complete Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei comes up 63 km in. Next is Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii.

3. 3. 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

   125 km in you reach Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii. Next is back through Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei.

4. 4. back through Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Gâlgău - Valea Strâmturei, late in the day. Next is Mirșid - Poguior.

5. 5. Mirșid - Poguior

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mirșid - Poguior write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Mirșid - Poguior. That is the ride.