Crossing Romania by bike with a friend from Canada in april 2009 ( part 3)

In Voineasa we sleep in a guest house and we spend an enyoyable evening after eating in a restaurant. The next day we have a long climb. The first few km. are quite easy. Then we meet an old man with an old romanian car and Razvan enter into conversation with him. He is a native and very proud of his area.


Soon we find a spring and there we meet another funny old man we talk to.


Soon we have to face a long climb with many hairpins.


After more than one hour of hard climbing we get to an area whre we can see snow beside the road.


One more hour of cyclung and we get to the top of the Curmatura Vidrutei Pass (1575m).


We enyoy the splendid view and we are quite excited.


Then we have 5 km. of descent on a road full of potholes, and then we climb one more km to get to Vidra, a ghostly ski resort.


The view is quite spectacular, but it's a pity this resort fell into ruin.


From here we have to cycle another 17 km on a rather flat road next to Vidra lake, but it's interesting the lake seems to have been drained.


At Obarsia Lotrului we have a great time, we eat a delicious trout with garlic sauce and polenta and we drink a very good hot red wine together with some amiable boozers.
Then we rent a cabin and have a sound sleep till morning.


The next day we have to climb Tartarau Pass (1678m) in Parang Mountains. Here at Obarsia Lotrului we are at an elevetion of 1340m, the air is strong and chilly but the landscapes are great.


Soon we gain altitude and we are immersed in the empire of the coniferous trees.


It is a wild area, the road is unpaved, we feel so good in the middle of the sublime nature.


As we make a slow progress upwards, the road gets muddy and the snow surrounds us.


Not far from the top of the pass, the layer of snow beside the road is pretty thick even if we are on 23th of april.


We even come across trecherous and difficult sections of the road where we can hardly ride our bikes.


Soon we get to the pass and we enter the county of Alba belonging to Transylvania region. We leave Oltenia behind us, and we reach a more developped and more civilized region of the beautiful Romania.


The descent is very spectacular in a lovely coniferous area.


Soon we get to the clear ans sparkling waters of the Sebes River. The snow is still present.


The road even if it is muddy, it is rideable and in a good condition.

Oda a mi bicicleta - Dedicatie pt. toate fostele si viitoarele mele biciclete

Crossing Romania by bike with a friend from Canada in april 2009 ( part 2)

After the hailstorm subsides, the clouds begin to dissipate slowly.


We have to climb another 10 km but with an easy incline till we reach Giuvala Pass(1290m). Then we go down quickly till Podu Dambovitei, a very nice touristic village where we find a traditional guest house and we stay to have a deliciuos lunch here. We enjoy a great trout with polenta and garlic sauce and we drink a tasty billberry brandy.


Here I make a new friend, a playful and cute dog which I play with a lot.


Then we enjoy a great day with plenty of majestic views. This is one of the most spectacular routes from our country. We stay over nigh in Mateias boarding house, not far from Campulung Muscel.
The next morning we visit a mausoleum that's only 200m away from the guest house. Bloody battles took place in this region in the 1st and 2nd world war. The mausoleum was built in the memory of the romanian soldiers and officers that laid down their lives in this region.


From here we have a nice bird's eye view over the Campulung Muscel, we are situated on the Mateias Hill.


After Campulung Muscel we have a strenuous route with 7 big hills to climb. It's one of the toughest routes from Romania. But the region is very green and scenic.


After Slanic village, we turn right to cycle another 5km on a unpaved road to reach Slanic Monastery where Razvan has to go to meet the abbot. On our way we run into a nice chapel.


We have to climb a lot and it's not easy especially for me for I'm also carrying a rucksack but we enjoy it so much.


The road is winding and the landscapes are so engaging, the spring is setting in, we are so happy.


When we get to the monastery we find out that the abbot is away, so we have a rest next to a lake.


Then we return to the main road and till Curtea de Arges we enjoy nice sceneries with gentle rolling hills and we have some tough climbs.


From Curtea de Arges we cycle another 20km till we find a nice camping place just outside the vilage of Burlusi and we decide to rent a small cabin and we spend the night here. They have here a restaurant and we eat well. We also meet a lovely dog and we spend a great evening.


The next morning we have a clear sky with lots of sunshine. The weather gets warmer and we are ready to climb the Comarnic hill that's ahead of us.


We have 2 more hills to climb till we get to Ramnicu Valcea, from here we choose a secondary road to avoid the busy traffic from the european road. In the distance we can see Cozia Mountains and we cycle next to mighty Olt River.


We have to cycle a few km. on the busy road but before taking this risk we make a halt to a restaurant where we have a tasty lunch and we help a poor gipsy girl with some money. She is so cute, the poor but pure girl!


From Brezoi we turn left heading for the Latoritei Mountains and we enjoy again cycling on a secondary road with light traffic. After about half an hour of cycling we stop a bit to admire a chapel.


Here we meet an old woman and Razvan is happy to have an interesting talk with her.


On our way to Voineasa resort we have a steady but easy climb of about 40km. The views are very nice and we cycle next to Lotru River.


We really like the recrudescent colour of the trees covering the rolling hills.


After Malaia township we get to a huge lake and we cycle a few km. next to this endless water surrounded by steep hills.

La Legende du Cheval Blanc - dedicatie pt. bunul meu prieten Razvan Anton

Crossing Romania by bike with a friend from Canada in april 2009 ( part 1)

On 17th of april I arrive at Bucharest after an eventful journey in Romania and about 1500km of cycling. Here I cycle with some friends among which Florin Leonte, a cycling trainer, one of the most fervent cycling promoters in Romania. The last 30 km till Bucharest I cycled together with Florin and another 2 cycling friends Horia and Alex.
In the evening I go to Horia Nitu, a friend of mine, a keen cyclist and after a good meal and a few beers, quite late after chatting so much I decide to sleep in his garden in my sleeping bed on an iron bed under an apple tree in full blossom .
Oh, I slept so well, dreaming about my cycling travels. The next morning we snapped a photo with us and that wonderful tree.


It's a grand day for me. After cycling more than 100 000km in the last 10 years, after some memorable bike tours in Europe, after appearing in some important newspapers and even TV reports, I became pretty well-known as a cycletourer in our cycling community from Romania. Therefore one of the most successful patron of bike shops from our country, Mr. Mircea Florescu invited me to Bucharest to give me a great bike.
On 18th of april 2009 is the great day one of the happiest of my life.
I go to one of his bike shops accompanied by Horia, I meet the kind hearted patron, I am verry emotional, and I also meet Dan Mazilu, the editor-in-chief of Mbike, the only one bike magazine from Romania. He snapps photos of me, I'll be a star in the bike magazine. Oh yes!
I receive a Kona Sutra, a bike more expensive than my father's old car. I should have worked hard 10 years in Romania to be able to save money for such a bike.
The generous patron also gives some nice outfit, some special trousers, cycling T-shirts and a crash helmet.
God bless Mircea Florescu! I was a happy young cyling star!


Then I wait a bit till Razvan Anton makes his appearance. He pops out of a cab carrying a super heavy bag. He came by plane from Ottawa, Canada just to cycle with me a couple of weeks. He is such a good friend of mine.
I give him my brand new Kona and I cycle on my old MTB. The first day we cycle just a bit about 40km till the village Luciana where we are allowed to pitch out our tent in the garden of a local businessman on a perfect lawn. Here we eat well and we enjoy some beers. We spend a great evening.


The next day I am impressed by the wooden cart I see in this garden. It was one of my best camping places ever.


After the breakfast we start pedalling. On our way we meet some interesting carts.


It's Easter day, so buck up friend! We stop in a village to make merry with some youngsters.


In a couple of hours we get to Targoviste, an old town with many touristic attractions. Here I catch a glimpse of Chindiei Tower that dates back to XVI century. It's one of the most beautiful bastions from Romania and it is 27m high.


Then we cycle some more 25km till we get to a guest house in Fieni where we spend the night. The next day we start climbing. We will cross the Charpatians soon.


We have to climb a pass that gets to 1100m high. As we climb more the temperature gets chilly but I endure quite well.


After the descent we pass through the most important ski resorts from Romania which are quite long especially Sinaia and the traffic is busy. From Predeal we turn left on a secundary road. We have to climb a few km till we get to another pass. Here we halt to have a dinner in a nice restaurant. We stay on the terrace and we admire the view. We can see the Postovaru massif.


Then we carry on cycling for the accommodation here is very expensive. We have to go down about 15 km on a bumpy road full of potholes and we take risks for it's getting dark and this area is famous for the great amount of bears roaming freely. Finally we get to a safe place where we find a hotel that is quite costly but it can't be helped. We rent a room and we have a tasty dinner.
The next day we are ready for the adventure.


Near the hotel we see a pool full of fish. Here we buy the most expensive bottle of mineral water from all my life.


After less than 30 minutes of cycling we get to Bran where one can see the most famous castle from all Romania.


Here we find a tiny spectacular old church.


After the Moeciu de Jos'touristic village we start climbing and the route is scenic with many hairpins.


We gain altitude soon and we enjoy the gorgeous views. Below us we can see Moeciu de jos village.


Then in the distance we can gaze at the snow-capped Piatra Craiului' massif.


Razvan says my Kona Sutra bike works miracles. We stop to snap a picture with her and the lovely scenery.


After an half of hour of climbing, the weather dramatically changes, bleak clouds are invading the sky.


The storm overtakes us en route and we get under a shelter very wet.


We are lucky to have reached under this shelter and from here we can attend to a terrible hailstorm that lasts only a few minutes. Then all around us we can see plenty of ice.