Perișor - Vârful Zgăului and Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Perișor - Vârful Zgăului

   Perișor lies in the hills north of Năsăud, in the county of Bistrița-Năsăud, and Vârful Zgăului is the hilltop to which the label points. Zagra and Spermezeu are the nearest villages, while the great wall of the Rodna Mountains stands to the east, the highest part of the northern Eastern Carpathians, with peaks over two thousand metres and glacial lakes among the crags. The Rodna range is a national park and a biosphere reserve, home to chamois, marmots, brown bears and a rich alpine flora. On a clear day the sharp, pale line of the ridge can be seen from many of the hills around.

   Read the complete Perișor - Vârful Zgăului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Perișor - Vârful Zgăului is where the day begins. Next is Glod - Toaca Glodului 1.

2. 2. Glod - Toaca Glodului 1

   Between Dej and Jibou the Someș river squeezes through a narrow, winding valley, with the railway, the road and the river taking turns to cross each other. On the hills above, near the village of Glod and the larger villages of Rus and Ileanda, the Romans kept a watch on the north-western edge of Dacia, and Toaca Glodului is one of their watchtower positions, among the components of UNESCO's Dacian frontier listing. Toaca is the name of the wooden board struck in Romanian monasteries to call the monks to prayer, and the hill may owe its name to its shape or to some long-forgotten story.

   Read the complete Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 comes up about 74 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei.

3. 3. Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei

   The Meseș mountains rise to the west of Zalău like a long green wall, and they formed the natural western boundary of Roman Dacia in this region. Along their crest and on the slopes above the plains, the Romans built a line of watchtowers, and the site above the fields with the evocative name of Șesurile Tâlhăroasei, roughly the robbers' flats, near the villages of Treznea and Aghireș, is one of them. It is part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list. Up in the forest the remains are modest, but the position, high on a slope with a view over the valley, shows how the frontier used every advantage of the terrain.

   Read the complete Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 152 km into the recorded legs you reach Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei. Next is back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1.

4. 4. back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1, late in the day. Next is Perișor - Vârful Zgăului.

5. 5. Perișor - Vârful Zgăului

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Perișor - Vârful Zgăului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Perișor - Vârful Zgăului. That is the ride.