Why this ride
From Dumitrița it runs 184 km to Dumitrița; allow about 4 h 16 of riding. On the way it passes Lunca - La Bolovani, Sântioana - Vârful Mortila, Sărățel - Cetate 1 and Șintereag - Dealul Oului.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului and Șintereag - Dealul Oului
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 184 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 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. Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului
Bistrița is the town where Jonathan Harker spends his last comfortable night before heading into the mountains in Bram Stoker's Dracula, and the village of Orheiu Bistriței lies just eight kilometres to the south-east, in the hills above the valley of the Bistrița river. In Roman times, this was the site of an auxiliary fort on the north-eastern frontier of Dacia, and the remains lie beneath the village itself, which the locals know as the vatra satului, the village hearth. Excavations have revealed the outline of the fort, and finds are displayed in the county museum in Bistrița.
Read the complete Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului is where the day begins. Next is Lunca - La Bolovani.
2. Lunca - La Bolovani
La Bolovani means at the boulders, which tells you most of what a local would have said about this spot on the hills near the village of Lunca, between Monor and Șieuț on the eastern edge of the Transylvanian basin. Archaeologists know it as one of the sites along the Roman frontier of Dacia, a small watch post on a ridge commanding views east towards the Călimani and Gurghiu mountains, beyond which lay lands Rome never controlled. In 2024 it joined the World Heritage listing of the Dacian limes, though in the field you will find a quiet hill, sheep and very few signs.
Read the complete Lunca - La Bolovani write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lunca - La Bolovani comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sântioana - Vârful Mortila.
3. Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
Sântioana sits in rolling country on the edge of the Transylvanian Plain, in Bistrița-Năsăud county, a gentle landscape of low hills, fields, orchards and scattered woods. The hilltop of Vârful Mortila, above the village, is one of the many archaeological places recorded in this part of Transylvania, a high point that would have made a natural lookout or settlement site for earlier peoples. There is little to see on the surface, but the view from the top gives a fine sense of the landscape, with the Transylvanian hills rolling away in every direction and the mountains rising on the horizon.
Read the complete Sântioana - Vârful Mortila write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Sântioana - Vârful Mortila. Next is Sărățel - Cetate 1.
4. Sărățel - Cetate 1
The name Sărățel means the little salty place, and this corner of Bistrița-Năsăud has salt underground: springs of brine rise here and there in the hills, and for centuries people used them for cooking, curing meat and treating animals. Salt was one of the reasons the Romans wanted Dacia, along with gold, and on a hill near the village they placed a fort, Cetate, meaning the citadel, at the north-eastern corner of their province. Behind it lay the valley of the Șieu and the road towards the interior; in front, the hills where the free Dacians lived. The site is now part of the Roman frontier of Dacia on the World Heritage list, though, like most of these places, it is visible mainly as an outline of banks and ditches.
Read the complete Sărățel - Cetate 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sărățel - Cetate 1, about halfway. Next is Șintereag - Dealul Oului.
5. Șintereag - Dealul Oului
Egg Hill, Dealul Oului, is a gentle rise near the village of Șintereag in Bistrița-Năsăud, and the Romans used it as a watch post on the north-eastern frontier of Dacia. Like the other sites in this area, it is part of the frontier listed by UNESCO in 2024, and like many of them, it is more a place to imagine than to see: a low hill, a few traces in the ground, a wide view over the valley of the Șieu and the hills toward Bistrița. Șintereag, a village of a few thousand, lies close by, with Șieu-Odorhei and Cociu as neighbours.
Read the complete Șintereag - Dealul Oului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Șintereag - Dealul Oului sits at 76 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sărățel - Cetate 1.
6. back through Sărățel - Cetate 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sărățel - Cetate 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sărățel - Cetate 1 comes up about 113 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila.
7. back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sântioana - Vârful Mortila write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 139 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila. Next is back through Lunca - La Bolovani.
8. back through Lunca - La Bolovani
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lunca - La Bolovani write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Lunca - La Bolovani, late in the day. Next is Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului.
9. Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului 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 184 km.
Leg by leg
Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului to Lunca - La Bolovani
Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului → Lunca - La Bolovani is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lunca - La Bolovani to Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
Lunca - La Bolovani → Sântioana - Vârful Mortila is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sântioana - Vârful Mortila to Sărățel - Cetate 1
Sântioana - Vârful Mortila → Sărățel - Cetate 1 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sărățel - Cetate 1 to Șintereag - Dealul Oului
Sărățel - Cetate 1 → Șintereag - Dealul Oului is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Șintereag - Dealul Oului to back through Sărățel - Cetate 1
Șintereag - Dealul Oului → back through Sărățel - Cetate 1 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sărățel - Cetate 1 to back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
back through Sărățel - Cetate 1 → back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila to back through Lunca - La Bolovani
back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila → back through Lunca - La Bolovani is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lunca - La Bolovani to Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului
back through Lunca - La Bolovani → Orheiu Bistriței - Vatra Satului is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.