Bike trip in the Western Carpathians with my friend Marius Reghis - part 3

The road towards Poiana Horea is quite awful!

Today we will cycle till Fantanele resort where we will eat well at a restaurant and then we will sleep in a nice guest house.

In the morning we have a nice view over the lake from the guest house.

After we eat our breakfast at the same restaurant we will have a tough climb till Marisel.

From here we have a long descent till Tarnita lake.

Because of an annoying and long lasting rain we will stop earlier today and we`ll spend the night in a guest house in Somesu Rece. We`ll have a nice dinner and then a good sleep.

The next day we get to Cluj Napoca where we will eat well in a restaurant in the town` center.

From here we take a train till Teius and then we cycle till Alba Iulia where we will sleep in a cosy guest house. The next day we visit this wonderful town. First we visit the orthodox cathedral.

Here we can see many interesting statues.

The citadel is fully restored and looks great.

The old gates are exquisite.

After we eat well it`s time to start crossing the Western Carpathians on another route. We will cycle along the Ampoi River. At Ampoita we see great limestone formations.

The scenery is generous with plenty of hay cocks.

In Zlatna we stop to eat and we see the building where the national hero Avram Iancu studied when he was a schoolboy.

From here we`ll have to climb a new pass. On our way we pass by a derelict castle.

The last few km. of climb are difficult and when we get to the pass we take a picture on top of it.

We go down till Abrud where we stop to eat at a restaurant and here we meet Cosmin, a friend of mine that helped me in 2011, and he is so kind to pay our bill, he is very generous and we talk about my last cycling adventures. Then we carry on cycling till Rosia Montana where we sleep at a guest house. The next day we`ll enjoy a spectacular view from our balcony.

We like very much this village that could become an important touristic attraction.

From here we cycle toward Brad, we have a small climb till we reach Buces Vulcan` pass that has a spectacular view over a mountain.

Then we`ll enjoy a great descent with hairpins and soon we cycle next to Crisul Alb River and soon we say good bye to the mountains. From Brad we`ll take a train till home.

For this wonderful trip I thank very much my good friend Marius and I am grateful to him for inviting me to this beautiful and unexpected cycling holiday!

Eva Sarah Liga - Circle of friends!

Bike trip in the Western Carpathians with my friend Marius Reghis - part 2

This is not an easy footpath.

The gorges are spectacular.

Soon we get to an interesting waterfall.

We meet plenty of tourists.

After this magnificent section we have to climb again. We see huge rocks.

We follow the yellow markings.

In this region one can come across many caves.

Some sections are very steep indeed.

We also meet an karstic intermittent spring.

The last km. we strive hard in a heavy rain, but we get safe and sound to the chalet where we will spend a great night and we will sleep in the attic. Alex, the owner`s son was kind enough to let us sleep in the attic of his chalet. The next day it`s time to cycle again. We have to climb about 10km till Padis` resort.

Marius is a great rider.

We have asphalt till the top of the pass.

The weather is rather cloudy.

The road is in bad condition on the descent.

The landscapes are wild and scenic.

We cycle next to a sparkling stream.

Soon, we will have to climb again.

Soon the road disappears.

On our way to Calineasa we go to a sheepfold to ask the correct way to Calineasa` village. There we are attacked by 2 huge dogs and we are lucky the shepherd turned up and saved us. We are cycling in the middle of the nowhere on top of the mountains.

But after a few hours of wandering about, we reach Calineasa where I am so tired because last night I slept only 3 hours that I almost collapse. Marius is kind enough to wait for me 1 hour and a half, time that we spent in a room of a kind-hearted villager that took pity on me and gave me a room to rest for a while to overcome my fatigue. Then we carry on cycling, the weather is overcast and we have a descent towards Poiana Horea.

For this wonderful trip I thank very much my good friend Marius and I am grateful to him for inviting me to this beautiful and unexpected cycling holiday!

Bike trip in the Western Carpathians with my friend Marius Reghis - part 1

Between 3 and 10 august 2014 I made a gorgeous tour of the Western Carpathians together with my old and good friend Marius Reghis. The itinerary was the following - Ineu - Moneasa - Stei - Padis - Poiana Horea - Belis - Gilau - Cluj Napoca - Teius - Alba Iulia - Zlatna - Abrud - Rosia Montana - Ciuruleasa - Brad. The travel was interesting with plenty of emotions and memorable experiences. We started our tour from Ineu, the little town where we lived our eventful childhood and where I still live together with my parents even if most of my time especially in the warm seasons I was away following my dreams of travelling by bike throughout Romania and almost the entire Europe. After cycling 25km we made our first halt at Onyx restaurant, the best in Sebis` town, where we had something to drink as it was a hot day.

The terrace of the restaurant is overlooking a lake with lots of fish. I simply recommend this place where I stop every year to relax a bit.

After Dezna village we enter a mountain region. We are at the bottom of Codru Moma Mountains, the most easterly range of the Western Carpathians.

I stop for a while to take a snap of some lovely flowers.

Our next stop is in Moneasa spa, the best in the district of Arad where a hermitage was built recently. Here we will eat and drink something at a restaurant.

Then we have to climb about 10km on unasphalted road and then the descent is terrible because the road is heavily damaged, but in afew hours we get to the hamlet Ursesti which is so picturesque.

We spend our first night in a motel in Draganesti. I don`t sleep so well because Marius was snoring a few hours.

The next day we will have the strongest climb in our tour. Till Pietroasa for about 13km, the climb is steady but very light. From here till Boga ` touristic hamlet the climb will get tougher and we follow the Rocky River.

The route is wild, the asphalt is good and the weather is great. We meet many small waterfalls on our way.

After a few hours of climbing we get to the top, considering the last 9 km of climb being ferocious with an incline up to 15%.

Here is a great region very popular with tourists. We have another 4km of easy climb on unasphalted road till we get to Glavoi. The last time I was here was 9 years ago when I was going to have a magnificent tour of Romania by bike. When we get here we eat a delicious mushrooms` soup. It`s going to be a nice evening and we meet many tourists from all over Romania and not only.

The next day we will go trekking on a nice touristic route.

We come across many mushrooms.

The route is rather rocky with many climbs and descents.

Marius is a great mountain lover.

In a clearing we also meet lots of flowers.

After about 1 hour and a half of trekking we reach the Yellow River.

We will follow this river taking in amazing views.

This is not an easy route. You need to be fit to do this tour.

We meet some Hungarian ladies in this wilderness. We love this place.

For this wonderful trip I thank very much my good friend Marius and I am grateful to him for inviting me to this beautiful and unexpected cycling holiday!