Poieni - Horhiș and Agrij - Osoiul Ciontului 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Poieni - Horhiș

   The Crisul Repede is the river that cuts through the Apuseni Mountains in north-western Romania, and it carries the main road and the railway between Cluj and Oradea along its valley. Poieni and Horhis lie on the hills just above this corridor, in the zone where the great bulk of the Apuseni gives way to lower, rolling farmland. Ciucea, down in the valley, is the nearest village of any size, and is known for a small castle that once belonged to Octavian Goga, a Romanian poet who briefly served as prime minister in the 1930s. He is buried there, and the house is now a museum.

   Read the complete Poieni - Horhiș write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Poieni - Horhiș is where the day begins. Next is Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură.

2. 2. Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură

   Somewhere between Dealul Mare and Arsură, two wooded hills above the village of Hurez in Sălaj county, the Roman frontier of Dacia ran along the heights, marked by watchtowers and small earthworks that are now almost hidden by forest. Together with the towers further north on the Meseș ridge, they formed a line that looked west towards the lands beyond the empire, and they were included in the World Heritage listing of the Dacian frontier in 2024. Finding the remains requires a map and some determination; the reward is a sense of how thinly Rome stretched its soldiers across these hills.

   Read the complete Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Agrij - Osoiul Ciontului 2.

3. 3. Agrij - Osoiul Ciontului 2

   The Meseș hills are a long, wooded ridge in northwestern Romania, and for the Romans they were the edge of the world. Beyond them lay the free Dacians and the peoples of the great plain; on this side lay the province of Dacia, conquered by Trajan in the early second century. The valley of the Agrij river, which runs along the southern side of the ridge in Sălaj county, is dotted with archaeological sites, and Osoiul Ciontului is one of many places in the area where traces of ancient settlement have been recorded. There may be little to see at the spot itself, but the landscape around it is rich in history and quiet beauty.

   Read the complete Agrij - Osoiul Ciontului 2 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Agrij - Osoiul Ciontului 2. Next is back through Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură.

4. 4. back through Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Hurez - Între Dealul Mare și Arsură, late in the day. Next is Poieni - Horhiș.

5. 5. Poieni - Horhiș

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Poieni - Horhiș write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Poieni - Horhiș. That is the ride.