Day 4 – 30 Aug 2017 – Enduromania to Transalpina (Romania)
Definitely in the mountains now – cool morning air and fog to greet us when we woke at EnduromaniaWe’d done some off-road practice the evening before and Amand had damaged a crash bar……luckily we found a couple of builders in Mehadia who were doing some welding, and they were more than happy to help us out……amazing we found what we needed in such a tiny town, thanks Mehadia 🙂We headed into Parcul National Domogled-Valea Cernei – the sign says don’t go this way….….Steve says “this looks awesome, let’s go this way!!”The trucks say “this is a piece of cake!!”Stunning countryside alongside Acumularea Cerna just beyond Cerna SatA stunning spot to stop just beyond Acumularea Cerna – Sam had camped here on a previous trip
A great chance to test out the new off-skills – as we headed about 400m from the road to this spotA little friend stopped by to say hello while we were taking a breatherRiding up the isolated valley beyond Cerna Sat……before crossing another booming ridge to drop down to Câmpu lui NeagStopping at a deserted restaurant for a break in Câmpu lui Neag, obviously not the only ones with the same ideaAs we headed towards the top of Transalpina we caught the sun setting over the mountains – a great moment to stop and appreciate life!A beautiful sunset in another beautiful place – we are so lucky!It was darker than it looks as we searched for a campsite on top of Transalpina… …we headed down that gravel road in the distance to find a place to pitch the tents. Sam wanted to go up onto the ridge line in the distance but we didn’t make it so camped in the saddle over the first rise.The sun goes down as we find a place for our tents at over 2000m.A stunning starry evening – although a bit chilly!
Day 5 – 31 Aug 2017 – Transalpina to Transfăgărășan (Romania)
Transaplina – what a spot to wake up to……so TRONOs seemed like the best idea!Packing up our campsite, it was very chilly and then it got pretty hot!A couple of old shepherds were mustering their sheep past as we were packing up the bikes… …like a couple of old mountain goats……they clambered around the mountains…
…a unique and special encounter! On top of Transalpina – quite spectacular really!Grit and Sprit does Transalpina!
Out on the south side of the Carpathians and finding our way along to head back up to the TransfăgărășanA relaxing lunchtime break in Milostea What this does say is “this way to an amazing road”!!Lots of roadside stall – this one with a particularly cheeky boy!!Weird Romanian Iron Man sculpture at Vidraru Dam .Ran into some Austrians also a long way from homeOn towards the mountains again and Transfăgărășan. Including a brief off-road detour to drop down to the dam for a swim.The most amazing ride up the Transfăgărășan……it was almost impossible to get a photo to do this side justice……but we tried. It is totally unbelievable how it tracks up three parts of the valley. What a mind-blowing period of riding!!
The view from the top is something else…
…dwarfed by massive mountains all around,
…just no way to show the scale…
…in one photo!
The feeling on reaching the top was so special!!
Our Romanian isn’t great, but I’m pretty sure this says”Cars, watch out! This is a bike’s playground!”. See the little side road just on the right of the sign up to the stone buildings, we popped up there to a small flat space and pitched our tents, right above Balea Tunnel Cottage. What a spot!
We’ve camped in places with worse views!
After a day of riding down Transalpina and up Transfăgărășan and then finding this campsite…
…are we now in heaven…
…with salami for dinner?
Two nights in a row in stunning spots at over 2000m – we are super lucky adventurers!!
Day 6 – 1 Sept 2017 – Transfăgărășan to Adjud (Romania)
The tunnel at the top of Transfăgărășan – some might say its the tunnel to wonderland!
The other side of Transfăgărășan can be summed up in just one photo…
…and it’s just about unbelievable!
Wow, just WOW, WOW, WOW!!!
It looks just like a race track…so we just plodded on down – yeah right!!Steve flying 🙂
The joy…
…of Transfăgărășan 🙂
Back on the flat lands. We had a great time playing in traffic coming into Brasov and then found the central square for some lunchGrit and Sprit does Brașov Council Square
Mickey does Grit and Sprit!
We stopped in Adjud for dinner and found a pensiunea, who were so welcoming including us getting involved in a local birthday party
