Why this ride
271 km from Zalău to Zalău, about 5 h 55 of riding. It goes by way of Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2, Tihău - Grădiște, Rogna - La Bontauă and back through Tihău - Grădiște. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii and Rogna - La Bontauă
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 271 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 55
- 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. Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii
Zalău is the county seat of Sălaj, a city of around sixty thousand people sitting in a shallow valley where the Meseș hills fold down toward the Transylvanian plain. The stop sits just north of the Măgurii stream, on the edge of the town, which means you arrive through suburbs and allotments rather than through any grand gateway. That suits the county. Sălaj is not a place of famous passes; it is a place of rolling ridges, orchards, hay meadows and small roads that wander from one village to the next without much of a plan.
Read the complete Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii is where the day begins. Next is Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2.
2. Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2
Arsura is Romanian for a burn, a scorch, or a heat rash, and it turns up on rural maps wherever a hillside was cleared by fire. The name, though, tells a small story of its own, since a clearing burned for pasture or for planting is exactly the sort of place where people leave pottery, charcoal and traces of a settlement.
Read the complete Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 comes up about 52 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tihău - Grădiște.
3. 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
about 102 km into the recorded legs you reach Tihău - Grădiște. Next is Rogna - La Bontauă.
4. Rogna - La Bontauă
Rogna is a scatter of farms in the hills of northern Sălaj, close to the Someș valley and the border with Maramureș, and La Bontauă is the name the locals give to a piece of high ground where a Roman frontier site has been recorded. The northern edge of Roman Dacia ran through these hills, and the Romans placed watchtowers and small forts on high points to keep an eye on the river valleys and the free Dacians to the north. Today there is little to see apart from the shape of the land, but the view over the rolling hills makes it easy to imagine a sentry looking out across the valley.
Read the complete Rogna - La Bontauă write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rogna - La Bontauă, about halfway. Next is back through Tihău - Grădiște.
5. 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 sits at 141 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2.
6. back through Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 comes up about 220 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii.
7. Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii closes the day.
Leg by leg
Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii to Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2
Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii → Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 to Tihău - Grădiște
Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 → Tihău - Grădiște is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tihău - Grădiște to Rogna - La Bontauă
Tihău - Grădiște → Rogna - La Bontauă is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Rogna - La Bontauă to back through Tihău - Grădiște
Rogna - La Bontauă → back through Tihău - Grădiște is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tihău - Grădiște to back through Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2
back through Tihău - Grădiște → back through Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 to Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii
back through Hurez - Arsură 1 & 2 → Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.