Why this ride
339 km from Veţel to Veţel, about 6 h 50 of riding. It goes by way of Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor, Costesti-Cetatuie, Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor and Costesti -Blidaru. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Vețel - Micia / Grădiște and Costesti -Blidaru
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 339 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 50
- 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. Vețel - Micia / Grădiște
The Mureș flows west across Transylvania towards Hungary, and near the village of Vețel, just west of Deva, the Romans built one of the most important forts in their province of Dacia. Micia guarded the river and the road along the valley, the main route between Transylvania and the Pannonian plain, and around the fort grew a large civil settlement with baths, temples and an amphitheatre. Excavations have revealed much of it, though part of the site lies under a power station built in the twentieth century.
Read the complete Vețel - Micia / Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vețel - Micia / Grădiște is where the day begins. Next is Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor.
2. Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor
The Romans never met a hot spring they did not want to bathe in, and at Germisara, now Geoagiu-Băi, they found warm water bubbling from the ground in a valley at the edge of the Apuseni mountains. They built baths, carved pools into the rock and dedicated offerings to the nymphs and to the healing gods, including small gold plaques found by archaeologists in one of the pools. The site, called Dâmbul Romanilor, the Romans' hillock, sits on the World Heritage list as part of the Dacian frontier, together with the military fort of Germisara in the Mureș valley below. Today, Geoagiu-Băi is again a spa resort, with modern pools fed by the same warm springs.
Read the complete Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Costesti-Cetatuie.
3. Costești-Cetățuie
The Dacians built their strongholds high in the Orăștie mountains, and the fortress of Costești-Cetățuie was one of the gateways to their heartland. Standing on a steep hill above the valley of the Grădiștea river, it was protected by walls built in the Dacian style, the murus dacicus, with large cut stone blocks bound by timber beams, and by earthen ramparts and palisades. It guarded the road up the valley to Sarmizegetusa Regia, the capital of King Decebalus, which the Romans captured in the wars of 101 to 106 that turned Dacia into a province. The fortresses of the Orăștie mountains are listed together by UNESCO.
Read the complete Costesti-Cetatuie write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Costesti-Cetatuie. Next is Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor.
4. Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
The Romans loved hot water, and at Geoagiu-Băi, in the hills above the Mureș valley, they found it: thermal springs that fed baths at the settlement of Germisara, where soldiers and officials came to bathe and dedicated altars to the nymphs and gods of the waters. The Roman pools carved into the travertine are still visible, and the modern spa uses the same springs. Drumul Romanilor, the Romans' road, recalls the routes that linked the forts and towns of Dacia, and the area is part of the World Heritage listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia.
Read the complete Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor, about halfway. Next is Costesti -Blidaru.
5. Costesti -Blidaru
Blidaru is the Dacian fortress that makes you rethink what you know about the people Rome conquered. It stands on a steep hill above the village of Costești, in the Orăștie mountains of Transylvania, and its walls are built of precisely cut limestone blocks, laid in the Dacian style called murus dacicus, with timber ties inside to absorb shocks. The builders learned from Greek masonry, and the result is a fortress with strong corner towers and a small square citadel, built on a terrace carved out of the mountain. It was one of the defences guarding Sarmizegetusa Regia, the Dacian capital, a few valleys away, and the group of Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie mountains was listed by UNESCO in 1999.
Read the complete Costesti -Blidaru write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Costesti -Blidaru sits at 145 km, about halfway. Next is back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor.
6. back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor comes up about 207 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Costesti-Cetatuie.
7. back through Costesti-Cetatuie
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Costesti-Cetatuie write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 245 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Costesti-Cetatuie. Next is back through Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor.
8. back through Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor, late in the day. Next is Vețel - Micia / Grădiște.
9. Vețel - Micia / Grădiște
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vețel - Micia / Grădiște 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 339 km.
Leg by leg
Vețel - Micia / Grădiște to Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor
Vețel - Micia / Grădiște → Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor to Costesti-Cetatuie
Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor → Costesti-Cetatuie is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Costești-Cetățuie to Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
Costești-Cetățuie → Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor to Costesti -Blidaru
Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor → Costesti -Blidaru is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Costesti -Blidaru to back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor
Costesti -Blidaru → back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor to back through Costesti-Cetatuie
back through Geoagiu / Drumul Romanilor → back through Costesti-Cetatuie is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Costesti-Cetatuie to back through Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor
back through Costesti-Cetatuie → back through Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor to Vețel - Micia / Grădiște
back through Geoagiu-Băi - Germisara / Dâmbul Romanilor → Vețel - Micia / Grădiște is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.