Woohoo. For a change of scenery, we are riding the famous Transfăgărășan, the second highest paved
road in Romania... perfect for our first Romanian adventure ride. Nicolae Ceaușescu was one of the
most repressive communist leaders in Europe and was shot when his government was overthrown. He
ordered this 90 km long road to be built in the 1970s between two of Romania's highest peaks
through alpine country. Hundreds of workers died during construction, and while it was originally
for military purposes, it is now an incredibly scenic route... and awesome fun on a motorbike.
So what am I doing in Romania? I'm here to film the Romaniacs event.
And do an enduro tour as well as adventure riding in Romania. You can see a pile of videos about
all of that on the enduro channel. Today, we are giving the dirt bikes are rest and going
for an adventure ride instead. The Carpathian Mountains make for some incredible enduro riding,
and adventure riding as well. Our farmhouse is in this beautiful little village, barely changed for
hundreds of years, and the various enduro tracks are between thirty seconds to one minute from our
doorstep... a bit further though for adventure riding in Romania. The Alpine pass is about
an hour away, so we ride through a succession of small villages, and despite the country developing
rapidly, it's great to see that Romanians aren't complete suckers for the modern lifestyle.
Romanians are famous for their hospitality and it really shows when you are a motorbike. With
the dirt bikes we are actually riding on private property of shepherds much of the time. Back home
we would be dodging bullets from angry farmers. But here the shepherds just save and say 'buna!'
It's the same with the adventure bikes. Friendly smiles wherever we stop. When western Europe is
banning most off road riding and putting such restrictions on motorbikes, Romania is like
the wild west where pretty much anything goes as long as you respect the locals. Stunning views,
a rich culture, great cuisine with this Romanian adventure ride. And of course amazing riding.
And then it's time for the hairpins, switchbacks and incredible mountain
scenery of the Transfargarasean mountain pass. It's the middle of summer but we
can see spots of snow in the distance with this adventure riding in Romania. The road
is closed during winter due to heavy snow falls.
Back home in Australia our tallest mountains would only be foothills in Romania, so this
is truly spectacular riding. And now I can tick off alpine highway riding from my bucket list!
Enjoyed this little Romanian adventure ride? Hang around for more! And remember we are
regularly punching out videos about our Romanian dirt riding over on the enduro channel.