Perișor - Păltiniș and Chiuiești - Dealul Podului

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Perișor - Păltiniș

   The hills of northern Transylvania, in Bistrita-Nasaud county, are quieter than the better-known Saxon towns further south, a country of wooded ridges, narrow valleys and farming villages where hay is still cut by hand and stacked on wooden poles. The Perisor to Paltinis label sits in this landscape, about four kilometres from the village of Spermezeu and not far from Zagra, in the foothills below the Rodna mountains.

   Read the complete Perișor - Păltiniș write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Perișor - Păltiniș is where the day begins. Next is Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului.

2. 2. Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului

   Bram Stoker never came to Transylvania, but he sent Jonathan Harker through Bistrița, and the town still enjoys the connection. Dealul Muncelului, a hill above the village of Negrilești, sits west of Bistrița in the Someș valley, and from here the road east leads through the Saxon town to the Tihuța pass, the Borgo Pass of the novel, where Count Dracula's carriage is supposed to have met his English visitor. It is a fine excuse for a ride, even if the vampire is fiction and the real history more interesting.

   Read the complete Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chiuiești - Dealul Podului.

3. 3. Chiuiești - Dealul Podului

   The hills above the Someș valley northeast of Dej roll away in long green waves, and the commune of Chiuiești sprawls across them in a scatter of hamlets, each tucked into its own fold of land. Dealul Podului, the Hill of the Bridge, is one of the ridges where traces of a Roman watchtower have been found, part of the chain of observation points that guarded the northern frontier of Dacia. The frontier was not a wall but a network of forts, towers and roads, and the Romans placed their towers where they could see far across the valleys and signal to one another. The site is one of the components of the World Heritage site of the Dacian frontier, although on the ground you will see little more than the shape of the hill and perhaps a low mound.

   Read the complete Chiuiești - Dealul Podului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 71 km into the recorded legs you reach Chiuiești - Dealul Podului. Next is back through Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului.

4. 4. back through Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Negrilești - Dealul Muncelului, late in the day. Next is Perișor - Păltiniș.

5. 5. Perișor - Păltiniș

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Perișor - Păltiniș write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Perișor - Păltiniș. That is the ride.