Ceptura MTB Blue 49 km (ADE 142) Ceptura de Jos - Malu Rosu - Sangeru - Calugareni - Vadu Sapat - Ceptura de Jos

*** July 2022. Route length: 49 km. Offroad /gravel road: 29 km; asphalt /concrete slabs: 20 km

*** description, map & photos by FB page "Green trails MTB outdoor-fun"

*** Duration: 8h30m in my case, moderate pace; this duration included enough breaks to admire the landscapes, photos, visit some points of interest along the route and a lunch break at a location in the village of Vadu Sapat. Bike type: MTB XC hardtail (not an E-bike). The photos were taken on the uploaded route but may belong to different periods/seasons.

*** My favorites: --- the gravel road on the high hills and the views between the villages of Malu Rosu and Tataru between km 8.4 - 14.1; --- visiting the charming Museum of Stone in the village of Sangeru (km 19.5); descending on the rural road towards the village of Vadu Sapat between km 36 - 38.9.

*** On the route: Museum of Stone in the village of Sangeru (km 19.5)

I started this journey in the village of Ceptura de Jos, entering offroad at km 1.9, the road being mainly uphill between km 3.9 - 8.4 (on many sections - quite demanding). Between km 1.9 - 6.4 I rode on a rural road, mainly dirt - among the vineyards, followed by a forest path of 300 meters in the shade of a grove after which I continued for 1.6 km on asphalt until the village of Malu Rosu.

Between km 8.4 - 14.1, I pedaled on a gravel road that seemed okay for MTB, which goes over the high hills between the villages of Malu Rosu and Tataru and which opens in several places to nice landscapes both towards the high hills from Tataru and Calugareni (to the right of the road) and towards the villages near Urlati (views to the left). After a short detour on asphalt in the village of Tataru, a descent followed on the rural road, dirt - between km 15.1 - 18 until the village of Sangeru, and after visiting the charming Museum of Stone, I continued on asphalt for 9.3 km until the exit from the village of Miresu Mare.

Between km 27.3 - 32.9 I rode on the dirt rural road until the village of Calugareni - the first 1.7 km was a demanding climb where I also used pushbike, after which the downhill sections towards the village predominated. Upon leaving Calugareni, I followed the dirt car road between km 34.4 - 36 after which I kept right on the rural road for 2.9 km until the entrance to the village of Vadu Sapat. After a detour among the vineyards between km 40.9 - 45.3, I continued from km 46.2 on asphalt to Ceptura de Jos - at the place from which I started this bike trip.

*** For the part of the ride that takes place on asphalt - I found, in most cases, solutions to avoid the heavy traffic - using either sections that were next to the road (for example - additional space next to the traffic lane, green space; or bike lanes as far as they existed), or streets with lower traffic - which for me was safe enough.

*** How I got there: I took the train to Mizil, after which I pedaled 15 km to the village of Ceptura de Jos (on DJ 102K Mizil - Vadu Sapat - Fantanele - Ceptura de Jos and a few hundred meters on DJ 102N to the start location of the tour).

Have fun :)