Ruth: We entered Bulgaria on the 1st of August at Ruse. While we were crossing the bridge over the Danube the weather seemed to change as the forecast had promised it would. Right after crossing the border we bumped into Martin, an Austrian cyclist that we had met the...
Gordon: From Brasov we climbed over the Carpathians one last time before descending to Sinaia. It should have been a spectacular ride, with the Bucegi range rising above the touristed mountain towns, but for us it was a world of water, with heavy rain...
Ruth: Ok, I have tried to be goodnatured about the weather in Romania this July, but after two days of complete soakings I am fed up. Yesterday morning our ride out of Sinaia was lovely, with the sun even making an appearance, but at noon we were caught in a huge...
Ruth: I was thinking that our blogs this trip lacked a certain Je n’est sais quoi, with our descriptions and pictures of countless churches. When I looked back over the last few posts I realized that they also lacked pictures. I have no idea what...
Gordon: Our guidebook described the area in eastern Transylvania, in the foothills of the Carpathians, as “Székely Land”. The Székely are a Hungarian group that have been in this area since at least the 13th century. The word “Székely” comes from the...
Gordon: Today the rain held off long enough to allow us to ride from Bicaz to Lacu Roșu (Red Lake). The scenery along the gentle climb up the Bicaz valley was reminiscent of Switzerland, with intensely green fields rising above quaint villages. The...
Gordon: Before we make a decision to travel to a particular destination we generally have a look at the weather that we can expect. The average temperature range in Cluj in July is a high of 26 degrees Celsius and a low of 13, with 9 days with...
Ruth: I am afraid Gord has lost his blogging privileges for a bit. He does struggle with what is acceptable in a post. This morning we visited our last Painted Monastery in Bucovina. Voroneț is the most visited of all the monasteries and at 9:30 in the...
Gordon: Another day, another monastery. Today’s ride took us to the quiet, less visited monastery at Humor. The paintings on this church had some of the same subjects that we have grown accustomed to seeing: the Tree of Jesse, the Last Judgement, and...
Ruth: After a beautiful climb up out Moldovița we were treated to one of the best descents ever. As cyclists what we always hope for is a slow long float. Fast enough for fun but without the need to break much. This one delivered that for about 18 kilometres. At...
Gordon:
Ruth: Just before we started the more serious climbing we passed through a village on market day where everything needed could be found from bicycle tires to tomb stones. We stocked up on some of the local sheep cheese and so lovely peaches.