Why this ride
90 km from Lechinţa to Lechinţa, about 1 h 56 of riding. On the way it passes Sântioana - Vârful Mortila, Lunca - La Bolovani and back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sărățel - Cetate 1 and Lunca - La Bolovani
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 90 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 56
- 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. Sărățel - Cetate 1
The name Sărățel means the little salty place, and this corner of Bistrița-Năsăud has salt underground: springs of brine rise here and there in the hills, and for centuries people used them for cooking, curing meat and treating animals. Salt was one of the reasons the Romans wanted Dacia, along with gold, and on a hill near the village they placed a fort, Cetate, meaning the citadel, at the north-eastern corner of their province. Behind it lay the valley of the Șieu and the road towards the interior; in front, the hills where the free Dacians lived. The site is now part of the Roman frontier of Dacia on the World Heritage list, though, like most of these places, it is visible mainly as an outline of banks and ditches.
Read the complete Sărățel - Cetate 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sărățel - Cetate 1 is where the day begins. Next is Sântioana - Vârful Mortila.
2. Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
Sântioana sits in rolling country on the edge of the Transylvanian Plain, in Bistrița-Năsăud county, a gentle landscape of low hills, fields, orchards and scattered woods. The hilltop of Vârful Mortila, above the village, is one of the many archaeological places recorded in this part of Transylvania, a high point that would have made a natural lookout or settlement site for earlier peoples. There is little to see on the surface, but the view from the top gives a fine sense of the landscape, with the Transylvanian hills rolling away in every direction and the mountains rising on the horizon.
Read the complete Sântioana - Vârful Mortila write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sântioana - Vârful Mortila comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Lunca - La Bolovani.
3. Lunca - La Bolovani
La Bolovani means at the boulders, which tells you most of what a local would have said about this spot on the hills near the village of Lunca, between Monor and Șieuț on the eastern edge of the Transylvanian basin. Archaeologists know it as one of the sites along the Roman frontier of Dacia, a small watch post on a ridge commanding views east towards the Călimani and Gurghiu mountains, beyond which lay lands Rome never controlled. In 2024 it joined the World Heritage listing of the Dacian limes, though in the field you will find a quiet hill, sheep and very few signs.
Read the complete Lunca - La Bolovani write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Lunca - La Bolovani. Next is back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila.
4. back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sântioana - Vârful Mortila write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila, late in the day. Next is Sărățel - Cetate 1.
5. Sărățel - Cetate 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sărățel - Cetate 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Sărățel - Cetate 1. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Sărățel - Cetate 1 to Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
Sărățel - Cetate 1 → Sântioana - Vârful Mortila is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sântioana - Vârful Mortila to Lunca - La Bolovani
Sântioana - Vârful Mortila → Lunca - La Bolovani is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lunca - La Bolovani to back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila
Lunca - La Bolovani → back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila to Sărățel - Cetate 1
back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila → Sărățel - Cetate 1 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.