Why this ride
325 km from Câţcău to Câţcău, about 6 h 16 of riding. It goes by way of Lozna - Curmăturița 1, Brebi - Dealul Mare 3, Lozna - Curmăturița 2 and Popeni - Dealul Racova. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului and Popeni - Dealul Racova
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 325 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 16
- 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. Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
The name is a mouthful, and a good one: the Ridge of the Wolf's Clearing, on the hill of Muncel, above the Someș valley north-east of Dej. Somewhere along this wooded crest the Romans kept a lookout on the northern border of Dacia, watching the valleys for movement from the free tribes beyond. Watchtowers like this one were the eyes of the frontier, signalling to the forts below, and the site is part of the Dacian frontier inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. On the ground, expect very little: perhaps a low mound, a ditch or scattered stones under the trees. It is a place for imagination and a walk rather than a monument.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is where the day begins. Next is Lozna - Curmăturița 1.
2. Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Lozna is a village in the northern hills of Sălaj county, close to the Someș river, a place of small farms, orchards and wooden houses, and Curmăturița is a saddle in the hills above it, where a Roman watchtower is thought to have stood. The northern frontier of Roman Dacia ran through this area, following ridges and river valleys, and small towers and forts were placed to watch over the approaches. Today there is little to see, but the view from the saddle, over the rolling hills and the Someș valley, is lovely, and it explains why the Romans chose the spot.
Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lozna - Curmăturița 1 comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Brebi - Dealul Mare 3.
3. Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Most people who know the Roman Empire think of Hadrian's Wall or the Rhine, but there was also a Roman frontier in the hills of north-western Transylvania, and this is part of it. The province of Dacia Porolissensis was guarded by a line of forts and wooden watchtowers on ridge tops, and the great fort and customs station at Porolissum, at Moigrad, was its centre. UNESCO added the Dacia Porolissensis frontier to its listing of Roman frontiers in 2024. Brebi lies close to Porolissum, and the ridge called Dealul Mare gives a sense of why the Romans chose these hills: wide views over the valleys and the approaches from the north.
Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Brebi - Dealul Mare 3. Next is Lozna - Curmăturița 2.
4. Lozna - Curmăturița 2
Lozna is a village on the southern edge of the Meseș mountains, and the pass above it, Curmătura, has been a gateway for thousands of years. Further up the range, near Moigrad, lay Porolissum, the largest Roman town in northern Dacia, with an amphitheatre, a customs post and a fort. The pass at the Porta Mesești, the Meseș Gate, was the road that led from the interior of Transylvania toward the plains of the north, and Roman watchtowers stood on the heights on either side, linked by a wall and ditch. The section is part of the World Heritage listing for the Dacian frontier.
Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lozna - Curmăturița 2, about halfway. Next is Popeni - Dealul Racova.
5. Popeni - Dealul Racova
Timber is the economy of the forest villages of Sălaj, and the roads show it. Popeni, in the north-west of the county, is among the hills that supply beech, oak and spruce to sawmills in the valleys, and the lane to Dealul Racova, about three kilometres from Mirșid, is one of the routes along which logging trucks run. You will see stacks of cut trunks beside the road waiting for collection, with bark and sawdust smells and big tyre marks in the mud.
Read the complete Popeni - Dealul Racova write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Popeni - Dealul Racova sits at 136 km, about halfway. Next is back through Lozna - Curmăturița 2.
6. back through Lozna - Curmăturița 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 2 comes up about 202 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Brebi - Dealul Mare 3.
7. back through Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 241 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Brebi - Dealul Mare 3. Next is back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1.
8. back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1, late in the day. Next is Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
9. Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului 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 325 km.
Leg by leg
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → Lozna - Curmăturița 1 is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lozna - Curmăturița 1 to Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Lozna - Curmăturița 1 → Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 to Lozna - Curmăturița 2
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 → Lozna - Curmăturița 2 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lozna - Curmăturița 2 to Popeni - Dealul Racova
Lozna - Curmăturița 2 → Popeni - Dealul Racova is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Popeni - Dealul Racova to back through Lozna - Curmăturița 2
Popeni - Dealul Racova → back through Lozna - Curmăturița 2 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 2 to back through Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 2 → back through Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 to back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1
back through Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 → back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 to Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 → Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.