Cycling in Romania. You often see this combination in the newspaper. Unfortunately, it is then combined with the words 'theft' or 'gang'. This does the promo for the country of Romania no favours. This is unjustified, because if you see the images and if you ride the routes, in our view Romania is the new Slovenia. All they need is a good pro who will come out hard in a race. Perhaps then we will start to see a bit more of what this magnificent country has to offer, beyond the insane palaver of fallen dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Cycling in Romania, that almost has to be the hit of the coming year.
Hairpin bends to drool over
Romania is located in eastern Europe, some 2,000km from Utrecht. Neighbouring Hungary, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia, it also has a stretch of land bordering the Black Sea. In the centre of the country you will find a mountainous, more rugged area, where cycling is also most beautiful. The Transylvania region is very beautiful and challenging for cycling.
TRANSFĂGĂRĂȘAN
This is Romania's beast. The Transfăgărășan. It runs straight through the Fagaras Mountains. The views and hairpin bends make you instantly love the Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux and Stelvio forgets. Well, proverbially then. The climb is 25 kilometres long in total and in itself goes up quite gradually. 5.2% average and in those 25 kilometres you go 1,500 metres into the air. But it's mostly about the scenery and the stunning hairpin turns. This makes this climb in central Romania an absolute bucket list item.
Basecamp Sibiu
Despite the fact that you would think: we fly to Bucharest and cycle from there, that comes out fairly cheated. The best thing to do from Bucharest is to travel on to Sibiu and store your basecamp there. From there, you can easily conquer the magnificent Transfagarasan. To the west you also have some nice climbs waiting for you. The climb to Poiana Sibiului is very nice but closer by you can also ride from Rasinari to Paltinis. A bit similar to the Grand Ballon, as you pick up almost 5% average in 18 kilometres there. The Carpathians are literally at your feet here.
The real deal - Transalpina Highway
If you do want to go for a brilliant queen's ride: Transalpina. The name says it all - you go through the Alps. It is a truly magnificent climb, which actually consists of several climbs if you take the north variant. You have hairpin turns, drive past Lake Oasa (with a dam) and then on. Because you (if you take the entire 67c route) do multiple climbs, it does make for a huge challenge. Long stretches of seven per cent and higher are no exception. It is also jokingly called 'the devil's path'.
The south variant actually starts in Sebeș. Or you pick up the north variant from Novaci, which is shorter, steeper but just as beautiful. If you've stored your camp in Sibiu, it's handy to drive to Sebeș with (some form of transport). Otherwise it will be a monster stage.
More to explore
Romania has much more to offer in terms of cycling. Of course, the area in Transylvania is the most challenging. If you basecamp in Brasov, you also have multiple opportunities for fantastic routes with climbs and towns for cultural and historical highlights. It's time to significantly update our image of this country, because that you can cycle beautifully in Romania is obvious. Basic info on Romania as a tourist destination can be found at this site
TIPS for bike hire and more
If you are planning an adventure in Romania, you will need to do some preparation. If you are not quite comfortable bringing your own bike, you can choose to hire one. We would opt for Light Cycling Transylvania, where they have a nice range of both road bikes and (e-)MTB. For a good PreRide Coffee stop by at La Cafei in Sibiu.
