Our starting point, Sibiu, lies in the middle of Romania in front of the Carpathian Mountains, a mountain range in Romania that rises up to 2,544 metres. The highest part of the range separates Transylvania from Wallachia on the southern side. Sibiu was founded by German settlers in the second half of the 12th century. Although many German-speaking Transylvanians emigrated to the west, German language skills are relatively common in Sibiu. However, this is no longer the case beyond the mountains.
Our round trip connects the two highest passes in the country on roads with mostly moderate traffic. The area of our first stage around the Transfăgărăşan road and Sibiu are particularly well developed for tourism.
Once over the Carpathians, once across, once back over the Carpathians - it is hardly surprising that this tour is an undertaking with an alpine character. Appropriate gear ratios are a must - especially with a rucksack. However, the long climbs are mostly between seven and ten per cent. The road conditions are very varied. In addition to very good asphalt (especially on the Transalpina), there are also rough sections and a few unpaved passages of several hundred metres in length, on which slightly wider clincher tyres (25 mm) help. Around a tenth of the more than 400 kilometres are on busy main roads. As the local drivers are not used to cyclists travelling out of town, you should drive defensively and carefully. However, we did not encounter any deliberately aggressive driving behaviour towards cyclists.
You can find the entire article with these tours as a PDF download below:
- Day 1: Strong opening (149 kilometres, 2,400 metres in altitude, max. 11 % gradient)
- Day 2: To Wallachia (100 kilometres, 1,000 metres in altitude, max. 10 % gradient)
- Day 3: Into the heart of darkness (83 kilometres, 2,600 metres in altitude, max. 11 % gradient)
- Day 4: Transylvania Express (122 kilometres, 1,200 metres in altitude, max. 12 % gradient)
