Why this ride
A 303 km round trip from Năsăud - roughly 7 h 49 in the saddle. The stops in between: Perisor - Corobana, Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2, Perișor - Vârful Zgăului and Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Salva - Dealul Dumbravă and Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 303 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 49
- 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. Salva - Dealul Dumbravă
The Someșul Mare valley around Năsăud was a frontier long before the Habsburgs made it one again. The Romans built watchtowers on the hills here to guard the northern edge of Dacia, and Salva - Dealul Dumbravă, the hill of the oak grove near the village of Salva, is one of the sites included in the UNESCO listing of the Dacian frontier in 2024. Sixteen centuries later, the Habsburg empire turned the region into a military border district, and the Năsăud border regiment, made up of local Romanian peasants, guarded the Carpathian passes in return for privileges and education.
Read the complete Salva - Dealul Dumbravă write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Salva - Dealul Dumbravă is where the day begins. Next is Perisor - Corobana.
2. Perisor - Corobana
Țara Năsăudului, the Land of Năsăud, is a hilly corner of Bistrița-Năsăud county in northern Romania, and it has a strong sense of its own identity. In the eighteenth century the Habsburgs organised the villages here into a military frontier district, with a Romanian border regiment that defended the empire's eastern edge in return for freedom from serfdom. The people of the area were proud of that status, and the schools and institutions founded with the regiment's funds helped create a remarkable tradition of learning. Two of Romania's best-loved writers grew up nearby: the poet George Coșbuc, born in the village that now bears his name, and the novelist Liviu Rebreanu, whose books describe the lives of Transylvanian peasants.
Read the complete Perisor - Corobana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Perisor - Corobana comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2.
3. Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2
Transylvania's northern hills look like a landscape painted by someone who liked orchards and haystacks. Purcărete lies in the folds of the country between the Someș valleys and the Bistrița river, a region that was colonised in the Middle Ages by German-speaking Saxons, who built fortified churches and walled towns, and by Hungarians and Romanians who farmed the slopes. The Saxon town of Bistrița, not far away, still has a tall Lutheran church with a spire that can be seen from miles, and a handsome old centre of arcaded houses.
Read the complete Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 78 km into the recorded legs you reach Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2. Next is Perișor - Vârful Zgăului.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3.
5. Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3
Ciceu-Poieni is a scattered village in the hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county, with the ruins of Ciceu fortress somewhere in the story. The stronghold stood on a hilltop here, and in the fifteenth century Hungary's King Matthias Corvinus granted it, along with Cetatea de Baltă, to the Moldavian prince Stephen the Great, which tied this remote corner of Transylvania to Moldavia's fortunes for decades. Today little remains but crumbling walls and a good view, but the history gives the hills a certain weight.
Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 sits at 70 km, about halfway. Next is back through Perișor - Vârful Zgăului.
6. back through 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 through Perișor - Vârful Zgăului comes up about 177 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2.
7. back through Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 226 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2. Next is back through Perisor - Corobana.
8. back through Perisor - Corobana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Perisor - Corobana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Perisor - Corobana, late in the day. Next is Salva - Dealul Dumbravă.
9. Salva - Dealul Dumbravă
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Salva - Dealul Dumbravă 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 303 km.
Leg by leg
Salva - Dealul Dumbravă to Perisor - Corobana
Salva - Dealul Dumbravă → Perisor - Corobana is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Perisor - Corobana to Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2
Perisor - Corobana → Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 to Perișor - Vârful Zgăului
Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 → Perișor - Vârful Zgăului is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Perișor - Vârful Zgăului to Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3
Perișor - Vârful Zgăului → Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 to back through Perișor - Vârful Zgăului
Ciceu-Poieni - Fața Carpenului 3 → back through Perișor - Vârful Zgăului is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Perișor - Vârful Zgăului to back through Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2
back through Perișor - Vârful Zgăului → back through Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 to back through Perisor - Corobana
back through Purcărete - Fața Carpenului 1 & 2 → back through Perisor - Corobana is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Perisor - Corobana to Salva - Dealul Dumbravă
back through Perisor - Corobana → Salva - Dealul Dumbravă is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.