The Paschal Tour 2010 - part 3 (The great county of Hunedoara)

Soon as we go out of Brad we have to pass under an old railway viaduct that is closed down now.


We are crossing The Metalliferous Mountains which belong to the Western Carpathians. The spring has not yet come in this area.


After a few km of steady and easy climb, after Luncoiu de jos village we have to climb a hill and we face some swichbacks.


I am pretty fit and I unsuccessfuly try to outrun a truck on this climb.


To my sheer joy, the incline is a bit hard here and the climb is 2 km long.


I am the first to get to the top but Liviu is indeed a strong cycloclimber. In less then 1 minute he gets to the top, too.


From the top we have a steady and long but easy climb and we cycle a lot next to Fornadia stream.


In another one hour of cycling, near Soimus township we meet the great Mures River that is one of the best rivers from our country. In the distance we can see the Deva's citadel perched on the top of a hill.


After crossing a long bridge we get to a busy road and we have to pedal a few kms. annoyed by the heavy traffic and the horendous noise.


Soon we get to Deva which is the main town in the county of Hunedoara.


Here we meet Sebi, a friend of Liviu and we go together to play billiards and eventually I am a great loser.


Then we pay a visit to Sebi's family and his parents are very kind to us and give us very tasty food.


At about 4 o'clock PM we have to go, heading for Hunedoara, an industrial town that boasts one of the best castles in Romania.


In about half an hour we get to this martyr town that has such a gorgeous coat of arms.


From here we face another great climb on a secondary road with low traffic.


We are feeling so good and especially my I really enjoy this few kilometers of decent climb.


On top of the climb the road is rather winding.


And then after a short strech of false flat we have to struggle against a tough slope again.


All of a sudden we are delighted to run into Adrian Florin, one of the best cyclists from this region. He is happy to meet us and we tell him about our trip.


Then we carry on cycling on this scenic road who gained some altitude now.

Marele si inegalabilul Charles Aznavour - dedicatie speciala criticilor mei

The Paschal Tour 2010 - part 2 (The county of Hunedoara)

From here we cycle in a beautiful area full of bare trees. The traffic is low and he have a steady but weak ascent.


After a few kms. before reaching Gura Vaii village we get to a cave that was turned into a museum and hotel.


This is quite unique in Romania and one day I will bring my friends to spend a night here. The inside of this "hotel" is quite queer and interesting.


The landscapes are great, we are cycling in Codru Moma Mountains.


Near Aciuta village me find a large quarry.


And then we enjoy a great winding strech of road with very nice forest.


After another one hour of cycling we get to a nice chalet, on the top of Sortoc Hill near Halmagiu township. The last section of the climb is quite strenuous.


And here it's time for us to have a break and enjoy a beer. In the distance we can see Gaina (Hen) Mountain whose peak is the highest in the county of Arad (1486m).


Here we eat the best sausages from the area. They are quite tasty indeed.


From here we have a tough descent with the gradient of 10%.


Soon we enter the county of Hunenoara and it's rather late.


The night overtakes us and after cycling about 40 minutes in the dark, we decide to spend the night at "Forget me not" Inn where we eat very well and we feel very good.


After an enjoyable evening we withdraw to our room where he have some more fun. Liviu is a very jocular fellow.


The next day we get to Tebea, a very important pantheon of Romania.


Here it's time for us to stop and to pay our respects to the heroes buried here.


Here we have the honour to collect our thoughts before the tomb of the great Avram Iancu, the leader of the Transylvania's insurgents from the Revolution of 1848.


The Oak of Horea, another hero from XVIIIth century from Transylvania is to be found here.


We can find here many memorial plaques with important texts reminding us of the great feats of our forefathers.


It's time to go and against a blue sky, Metaliferi Mountains stand in front of us.


Soon we enter the municipality of Brad, that is the biggest town from "The Highlanders' Country".


It's here that the Peasant Uprising from 1784 was initiated.

Bombonel Cotoc si Briciu - Dedicatie speciala pt. prietenul meu Liviu Marunceac, mare cicloturist si ciclocatarator din Banat

The Paschal Tour 2010 - part 1 (The county of Arad)

It's 1st of April, it's an important day for me, the day when I met one of the keenest and the best cycle tourer from all the Banat Region. I knew him from the internet and I was so eager to meet him and to set out on a bike tour together.
Our meeting place was between Siria and Covasant. It's an historic moment for me and it it is an epoch-making event for the romanian cycle tourism's world.
Here we are Carpaticus and Liviu - a dreamy cycle team.


The weather is quite cold but I'm wearing summer outfit. With my Kona Sutra bike I cycled 35km in one hour and a few minutes. Now it's time for us to cycle to Ineu, to the place where I live.


We stop at Siria to have a beer and then we cycle till Ineu where we have a feast and we chat drinking beer till quite late.


Then I give him a room and we go to sleep. Next morning after the breakfast we are ready for the adventure. We take leave of my parents and off we go.


The weather is fine, the road is flawless, and the traffic is light. The denuded trees look so desolate.



Before reaching Bocsig we can see a fishery on the left.


We feel so good. I'm still wearing summer clothing despite the cold outside.


On the left, Codru Moma Mountains loom larger in the distance soon.


I am pretty fit, because during the long winter I trained a lot.


At Buteni, after cycling 28km we make the first halt to eat something. Here we are glad to see a girl riding a bicycle.


From here the relief changes a lot. We enter a hilly region with plenty of forests.


We are quite in a good mood and happy to be in the middle of nature on our bikes.


I am wearing about 25kilos but I'used to this.


Before entering Almas where I used to be a teacher a few years ago, we stopped to drink some water from a spring.


Here it's quite a nice cross and it is said to be the entrance in the Tara Motilor Criseni (The Highlanders' Country from the Crisius River's Valley)


As we carry on cycling we can see in the distance the snow-capped peaks from the Western Carpathians. The winter is still reigning there.


At Gurahont we have to stop to eat and drink something. I know here a restaurant where they have delicious traditional sausages.


It seems we get along just fine so it's time to celebrate our first 100km cycled together. Long live pur passion for cycle tourism!



Then we have a picture together on the bridge crossing the Crisius River that is the river of my childhood.


We cycle some more kms till I come across an interesting tree that I assume it was struck by lightening.