Gorj

It was very cold when we got on the bikes only 6°C. Our goal was to cycle Transalpina, the second famous panoramic mountain road in Romania. Our strategy was to start early and beat the traffic, so we were on the road by 7am.
We had to climb from 1300m to 2100m. And the climb at Transalpina was definitely harder than the one at Transfaragashan, steeper with an average of 7% elevation gain plus really nasty headwinds coming from the top of the mountains. However, on the way up we had the road pretty much to ourselves.
At the top, we stopped for a coffee. A German speaking gentleman saw us and offered us a Palinka to warm up. We had a nice chat about our biketour. The lady who sold the coffee also brought me a blanket when she saw the goosebumps on my legs - it was damn cold and windy up there...
But the views were stunning. Compared to the Transfaragashan, the Transalpina was less spectacular as you couldn't see all the turns from above. But we liked it a lot because it seems more natural.
On the way down, we were happy to have started early, because many many cars came driving up the road. The downhill was relatively steep and fast and the winds made it challenging. Within less than 30km, we were back at 500m where we followed a rolling, slightly descending road for the last 45km to Targu Jiu. As it was now over 35°C, it was quite exhausting. In the city, we treated ourselves to a guesthouse, did some laundry and visited the city. Apart from 3 sculptures, the Kissing Gate, the Table of Silence and the Infinity Column, it wasn't too intersting, so we went back to the guesthouse, cooked dinner and went to bed early.Read more