Romania …. it was a dream?
Written and photographed by: Roni Ronan
7/9/21
Rosh Hashanah and the house is full of guests, in the news it is announced that there are some relaxations in the isolation laws for those returning from the sea and freedom of movement has suddenly become possible… My dear partner mumbles something about the upcoming planting in the farm that will be postponed for a few weeks and throws a question into the air whether I am available for a trip….
The wheels start to turn quickly, the laptop opens on the balcony, brings up the desirable TET trail on the map and looks for motorcycle rental agencies along it and what is the color of the country….
Shoots emails all over the place, the first one to answer in the affirmative is where I’ll buy tickets…
12/9/21
3:00 in the morning the clock rings and we leave for the National Museum of Israel.
Two trolls with sleeping bags, a small tent, storm suits, two helmets in hand, a huge suitcase containing riding boots, body protectors, tools and of course… 4 sets of our beloved MAD DOG bags!!
9:00 in the morning we land in Bucharest and immediately continue by minibus 200 km to Brasov, from there only one more short bus to the village of Rasnov.
16:00 pm We finally meet our partners for the nine days of the journey ahead of us.
A pair of exc 350s that look like they’ve been through a thing or two in life just the way we like them.
There were some concerns about the volume of the motorcycles since at home we are both used to a little more blush and a little more hp (two orange 500 and 690 cc) and yet we are happy.
Romeo, the owner of the agency, sees us from a distance and immediately jumps on one of the motorcycles (probably he didn’t fully believe we would come 😅) within twenty minutes and the motorcycle is lowered by 5 cm at the request of a dwarf like me.
9/13/21
7:00 we show up with great excitement back at Romeo’s garage – close the last paperwork, shake hands and say goodbye and go on an adventure. Nine full days of riding, mostly on the wonderful tet trail,
Eight of them in the field and one day of reducing distances on side country roads…
The motorcycles turned out to be the ultimate partners for this kind of journey – light and therefore not tiring, go through any route without fear of mud and to our surprise it’s not too bad to ride with them on side roads when necessary.
We rode from Rasnov north to the border of Ukraine and from there south to Sibiu and back east on the TET to Rasnov.
Between 150 and 200 km per day on average and a total of close to 2000 km in this magical green….
A land where time stood still – woodcutters, shepherds of sheep and cattle, herds of horses, sheep and cows, farmers raising pigs, horse-drawn carts at every corner, children waving goodbye with great excitement to riders passing by on the path with the aromas of the great world…
Forests, mountains, hills, water crossings, mud, lots of white paths, ups and downs, stones, rain, sun and indoor challenges in just the right dose.
Although we did not see bears, their presence in the area is felt at every moment.
The views that emerge are breathtaking time after time and the excitement makes the cold and the effort bearable even when you can barely feel your hands from the pain.
Until the next pleasure 🍓
