To Beius, Romania
Today we left Hungary and entered Romania. Including today, we have 10 days of riding in Romania, matching Germany for the most of our trip. However, the character of these miles will be very different than in Germany. In Germany, we were following the Danube, so our days had minimal climbing. In Romania, we will be crossing over the Carpathian Mountains.
Shortly after crossing into Romania, we could see foothills in the far distance.
Prior to entering Romania, we were given some guidance on a variety of changes we might notice. From now on, cycling on bike paths will be uncommon. In the mountains, we may see black bears. Also, a fair number of dogs run loose, so there has been discussions about how to handle them. Well, this was my first encounter with a loose dog. He didn’t even bother to look my way for a photo. Later in the day, I saw two loose yellow labs snoozing. So far, all has been good on the loose dog front.
I passed this Technology High School in one of the early towns I rode through.
So far in Romania, there have been many churches, often two or three in a single town. This is a relatively new Romanian Orthodox church, the dominant religion in Romania. However, there are Roman Catholic and Protestant churches as well.
Most of the towns we rode through were rather small. In most towns, essentially all of the homes were along the main road. At lunch, several riders commented that today’s riding reminded them of cycling through Mexico.
Outside of the towns, the landscape was rather arid. I saw sunflower fields, corn, and some wheat, but mostly just hay fields or scrub land.
Here is a photo of a parched sunflower field I passed.
This picture gives a sense of how dry it has been. You can’t see it, but there is a tractor driving along the field making that dust storm.
This was a slightly larger and apparently more prosperous town than many we rode through today.
In this town, we rode through a farmer’s market. The church in the background is likely a Roman Catholic church.
As the day progressed, the hills in the background slowly got closer.
Our last 20 kilometers or so were gently climbing in the foothills. Tomorrow, we have a 15 mile, 3000’ climb, so I will definitely be cycling slower. The good news is that the temperatures should be more reasonable.