Our group consists of three NETRA Riders that include me, Ron Farkash and Scott Gessin. Also with us are nine regional beer-drinking champions from the UK, a gentleman from Norway and two Romanian guides. Abilities range from Romaniacs and Sea to Sky finishers to learning-to-ride-novices. Eventually a route is burnt in and the group adopts a team approach to get everyone to the top before taking on the off-camber traverse.
The off camber is a tricky traverse with an approximate 45-degree grade lined with saplings that require some careful throttle/clutch control and maneuvering. Many riders lose the back wheel and begin a slow, demoralizing slide to the base. It’s almost an hour later before all of the bikes are gathered atop and we’re back on the trail. With headlights on, we emerge from the forest and happen upon some pavement as the last rays of sunlight disappear behind the horizon. As if on cue, cell phones light up and we find a paved route to Sighisoara, unwilling to make the last leg of the journey in the darkness through a vast tract of Transylvanian wilderness. It is almost Halloween after all and we’re quite literally in the shadow of Castle Dracula. Instead, we take a series of backroads and cross the city limits into the Sighisoara 30 minutes later.
Within moments of entering the city we see the lights of Castle Dracula high above the city below. We make our way through the Old Town, over the ancient cobblestone streets and climb a series of cobblestone switchbacks before the gates of the fortified castle creek open and we emerge into what appears to be a Halloween festival. The whole scene inside the castle walls is surreal. Realizing we’ve taken a wrong turn, we backtrack past an ancient cemetery and rumble into patio area of the Hotel Sighioara, footsteps from the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler. Within moments of arriving, the Britt’s have cluttered the table with amber colored beer steins, goggles and gloves. Mud-stained riding jackets are draped over a line of outside barstools. Our accommodations are an authentic Romanian lodge that is within the fortified walls of Castle Dracula. From my second-floor room I can see the bell tower of Castle Dracula and the city below.
The following morning, I draw back the curtain from hotel room window and look out to see the entire castle is shrouded in fog. The only thing visible is a brown, leafless tree branch a few meters from my window. Given that we’re not starting today’s ride until 10:00 a.m., I get dressed and walk the cobblestone streets around the castle before breakfast.
As the U.S. agent for Ride Xpower, I’ve had the opportunity to ride in Romania annually since 2014-sometimes going twice a year. Given my pivot toward the hard enduro scene, I’ve grown enamored (infatuated, really) with the steep and extreme terrain of Sibiu. The Dracula Trail by contrast starts and ends in Sibiu, but heads North into the Hungarian Region of Romania
The Shadow of Dracula Castle - Kevin Novello