Bicycle Touring On Some Of Romania’s Worst Roads

I woke from my tent and found myself surrounded in a thick cloud of fog. Luckily, the fog didn’t last long. The cold, however, never let up.

I cycled from Baile Tusnad, through the city of Miercurea-Ciuc, to the tiny village of Frumoasa, where the road turned to dirt and a steep mountain climb ensued. I wasn’t able to tackle the climb that day, so I camped in the woods near the bottom of the hill, knowing that when I woke the next morning I would have a long uphill push ahead of me.

I met this man (above) just before pitching my tent in the woods for the night. I asked him if the dirt road you see behind him led to the town of Lupeni, which he said it did. And even though I don’t speak Romania, I knew what else he was telling me. He was saying, “Don’t go that way. It is very steep, windy, uphill. Very bad road. Muddy. You will have to push your bike for several kilometers. Very difficult. You can go that way, but it is very, very hard.”

Of course, I thanked the man… and just kept going.