We woke today with the skies clearing from a downpour last night. As I was slipping off to sleep last night you could hear the thunder in the distance and through the tent, see occasional flashes of lightening.
The storm must have been a weather front coming through because this morning the air was cool and fresh. A nice change from the past weeks.
The ride today is to the top of the Transfagarasan Highway. A crazy set of switchback that climb over 5,300 feet in less that 30 kilometers (~20 miles). We’re staying on the peak tonight in a hotel.
To get to the base of the climb we left the campground and peddled about 10 kilometers (~6 miles) through fields with the range of mountains growing higher with each peddle revolution. We tried to pick out the road as we got closer, but the dense forest hide it from us.
The forested road started to bend up slowly before the switchbacks started to appear. We must have been in the forest for several kilometers as we gained attitude because at one point and opening appered in the trees and you could view a valley below that went all the way down to the plains where we had started the climb.
At 20 kilometers (1/2 way) we came upon a tourist trap at the bend of the road that had nick-nacks, hats, coffee and sandwiches. We just had to stop. Within 10-15 minutes we had a gathering of 7 or 8 riders all drinking coffee and snacking on bread-like concoction that is rapped on a cylinder and roasted over coals and then covered in cinnamon and sugar. Then after a while it was time to continue up the hill. There was no need to hurry. The distance wasn't too long and we wouldn't be passing this way again, so just spin the peddles and make it to the top at a comfortable rate.
As we climbed you could look up and see where the next set of switchback would bring you to and the difference in height seemed incredible!! But with time you would be at the point that you had seen 20 minutes previous and be amazed at the progress!!
With about 10 kilometers to go, we popped about treeline and could see the final 10 km of switchbacks laid out in front of us. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't intimidated by the sight. But I kept in mind that the pitch of the road was likely to be similar to what we had already done and it wasn't going to be much worst. Also the weather had been on our side as well. The temperature was a perfect 60-65 degrees F and the sky was still overcast keeping the sun from beating down on us, which was fortunate because from not to the top we were exposed without any tree cover or shade.
I don’t think that the photos can capture the beauty of the vista as we completed the climb but as we got higher and higher, the road below started to remind me of slot car tracks that we had as children with the road winding up the mountain like discarded Christmas ribbon after the presents are opened.
Messages painted on the road started to count down as we approached the top; 3 km, 2 km, 1 km, 300 meters as our stops to take photos increased. There was no need to hurry. It was close to noon and lunch awaited us at the top. Finally 100 meters message rolled under our tires, a quick turn and we found ourselves in the middle of a completely unexpected set of tourist trap stands and the roadway blocked with cars all of them blocking our progress. Shirley was mixed in with the crowd directing us to the lunch stop. We had to dismount and walk our way through the combination of cars and people to find our way to the end of the ride.
Well gotta go, tomorrow will be a longer day and I need to get to bed.
Happy Biking,
Brian
The storm must have been a weather front coming through because this morning the air was cool and fresh. A nice change from the past weeks.
The ride today is to the top of the Transfagarasan Highway. A crazy set of switchback that climb over 5,300 feet in less that 30 kilometers (~20 miles). We’re staying on the peak tonight in a hotel.
To get to the base of the climb we left the campground and peddled about 10 kilometers (~6 miles) through fields with the range of mountains growing higher with each peddle revolution. We tried to pick out the road as we got closer, but the dense forest hide it from us.
The forested road started to bend up slowly before the switchbacks started to appear. We must have been in the forest for several kilometers as we gained attitude because at one point and opening appered in the trees and you could view a valley below that went all the way down to the plains where we had started the climb.
At 20 kilometers (1/2 way) we came upon a tourist trap at the bend of the road that had nick-nacks, hats, coffee and sandwiches. We just had to stop. Within 10-15 minutes we had a gathering of 7 or 8 riders all drinking coffee and snacking on bread-like concoction that is rapped on a cylinder and roasted over coals and then covered in cinnamon and sugar. Then after a while it was time to continue up the hill. There was no need to hurry. The distance wasn't too long and we wouldn't be passing this way again, so just spin the peddles and make it to the top at a comfortable rate.
As we climbed you could look up and see where the next set of switchback would bring you to and the difference in height seemed incredible!! But with time you would be at the point that you had seen 20 minutes previous and be amazed at the progress!!
With about 10 kilometers to go, we popped about treeline and could see the final 10 km of switchbacks laid out in front of us. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't intimidated by the sight. But I kept in mind that the pitch of the road was likely to be similar to what we had already done and it wasn't going to be much worst. Also the weather had been on our side as well. The temperature was a perfect 60-65 degrees F and the sky was still overcast keeping the sun from beating down on us, which was fortunate because from not to the top we were exposed without any tree cover or shade.
I don’t think that the photos can capture the beauty of the vista as we completed the climb but as we got higher and higher, the road below started to remind me of slot car tracks that we had as children with the road winding up the mountain like discarded Christmas ribbon after the presents are opened.
Messages painted on the road started to count down as we approached the top; 3 km, 2 km, 1 km, 300 meters as our stops to take photos increased. There was no need to hurry. It was close to noon and lunch awaited us at the top. Finally 100 meters message rolled under our tires, a quick turn and we found ourselves in the middle of a completely unexpected set of tourist trap stands and the roadway blocked with cars all of them blocking our progress. Shirley was mixed in with the crowd directing us to the lunch stop. We had to dismount and walk our way through the combination of cars and people to find our way to the end of the ride.
Well gotta go, tomorrow will be a longer day and I need to get to bed.
Happy Biking,
Brian
Great photos, love the trees and the water, photos to framed for sure, Bill Foothill
ReplyDeleteWow! A whole day of climbing. I cannot imagine what this would feel like riding only a few miles per hour for an entire day.
ReplyDelete