Beius (ROM) to Abrud (ROM)

Today was the toughest stage so far but by far the most spectacular.

I made my way from “Beius down the busy E79 to “Lunca” where I took the 75 and was soon to face my first real mountain climb of the tour. In a mere 20km I climbed 1000m but the descent was through some stunning countryside as I followed the course of the river through the ski resort of “Vartop” and some lovely villages such as “Izlaz”, “Arieseni”, “Raul Valcea” “Ursoaia”, “Vadu Motilor”, the thriving town of “Campeni” and on to “Abrud”. It was 35c at the bottom of the climb and only slightly cooler at the summit.

As tough as today was I am fully aware that the big climbs are in a couple of days time.

Making my way across the Transylvanian mountains

The charming village or Vartop