Why this ride
A 366 km round trip from Nimigea de Sus - roughly 7 h 08 in the saddle. On the way it passes Dumbrăveni, Bârsău Mare - Cetate, Tihău - Grădiște and Trezenea - Gura Teghișului. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Salva - Roata lui Todoran and Trezenea - Gura Teghișului
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 366 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 08
- 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 - Roata lui Todoran
Salva is a railway village. Trains for the Maramureș line split off here from the route along the Someșul Mare, and the place has a slightly busy, crossroads feel for a commune of a little over four thousand people. The site called Roata lui Todoran, Todoran's wheel, sits right by the village in the Năsăud country of Bistrița-Năsăud, a region that marked the northern edge of Roman Dacia and later formed part of a Habsburg border regiment. Few places in Transylvania have been a frontier for quite so long.
Read the complete Salva - Roata lui Todoran write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Salva - Roata lui Todoran is where the day begins. Next is Dumbrăveni.
2. Dumbrăveni
Dumbrăveni sits in the quiet hill country above the Someş Mare, where the river curves west towards Dej and the land folds into low ridges, orchards and small woods of oak and hornbeam. Like several places on these rides, it marks a point on the old northern edge of Roman Dacia, one of the scattered watchtower and earthwork sites listed in 2024 as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Expect a hill and a view rather than masonry, and enjoy the feeling of being somewhere few travellers bother to stop.
Read the complete Dumbrăveni write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dumbrăveni comes up about 48 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bârsău Mare - Cetate.
3. Bârsău Mare - Cetate
In the north of Transylvania, the Someș river winds through a valley of green hills, woods and villages with wooden churches and haystacks, and on a hilltop near the village of Bârsău Mare, the faint remains of a Roman fortification overlook the valley. This was part of the northern frontier of Roman Dacia, the province created after Trajan's conquest in the early second century, and it is one of the sites included in the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia, listed by UNESCO in 2024.
Read the complete Bârsău Mare - Cetate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 95 km into the recorded legs you reach Bârsău Mare - Cetate. Next is Tihău - Grădiște.
4. Tihău - Grădiște
The Someș river makes its way through the hills of north-western Romania between Cluj and Baia Mare, and near the small town of Jibou, in Sălaj county, it passes through a narrow valley guarded on its slopes by the remains of a Roman fort. The site, known locally as Grădiște, which simply means old fort, lies above the village of Tihău, close to Surduc and Gâlgău Almașului.
Read the complete Tihău - Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tihău - Grădiște, about halfway. Next is Trezenea - Gura Teghișului.
5. Trezenea - Gura Teghișului
The Meseș mountains are a low, forested ridge in northwestern Transylvania, and for the Romans they formed a natural wall at the edge of the province of Dacia. Along the ridge, they built a chain of forts, watchtowers and earthworks, and the big fort of Porolissum, near Zalău, was the key to it all, guarding a pass through the mountains used by traders and travellers. In 2024, much of this frontier was listed by UNESCO as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia, and the site between Treznea and Gura Teghișului is one of its components. On the ground, there is little more than a line of ditches, banks and the foundations of towers, hidden in the forest.
Read the complete Trezenea - Gura Teghișului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Trezenea - Gura Teghișului sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tihău - Grădiște.
6. back through Tihău - Grădiște
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tihău - Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tihău - Grădiște comes up about 220 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate.
7. back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bârsău Mare - Cetate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 269 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate. Next is back through Dumbrăveni.
8. back through Dumbrăveni
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dumbrăveni write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dumbrăveni, late in the day. Next is Salva - Roata lui Todoran.
9. Salva - Roata lui Todoran
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Salva - Roata lui Todoran 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 366 km.
Leg by leg
Salva - Roata lui Todoran to Dumbrăveni
Salva - Roata lui Todoran → Dumbrăveni is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dumbrăveni to Bârsău Mare - Cetate
Dumbrăveni → Bârsău Mare - Cetate is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bârsău Mare - Cetate to Tihău - Grădiște
Bârsău Mare - Cetate → Tihău - Grădiște is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tihău - Grădiște to Trezenea - Gura Teghișului
Tihău - Grădiște → Trezenea - Gura Teghișului is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Trezenea - Gura Teghișului to back through Tihău - Grădiște
Trezenea - Gura Teghișului → back through Tihău - Grădiște is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tihău - Grădiște to back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate
back through Tihău - Grădiște → back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate to back through Dumbrăveni
back through Bârsău Mare - Cetate → back through Dumbrăveni is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dumbrăveni to Salva - Roata lui Todoran
back through Dumbrăveni → Salva - Roata lui Todoran is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.