the Britts must have been bored with our slower pace. Again, the route was pretty easy so I felt comfortable leading acting as the guide. The logging road began as moderate ascent that was to lead into the back-country, but the combination of rain, mud, ruts from logging equipment and incline made for a gnarly climb! With about four inches of sloppy mud covering the ground, the only way up was to roll the throttle completely back and hang on! After several minutes of bouncing off the rev-limiter (I know two-strokes don’t have a rev-limiter), my trusty EXC 300, pinging and belching radiator fluid, I made it to the top, along with an additional 10 pounds of fresh Romanian muck. Stepping away from the billowing cloud coming from the radiator, I sat and waited for Scott and Ron, knowing they’d be riding the Struggle Bus to the top.
After several minutes of sitting and listening to a few intermittent and angry bursts of two-stroke reverberance, I knew they would not be joining me. Absolutely dreading the descent to the bottom, it wasn’t until I noticed a large pile of fresh Romanian brown bear scat that I was sufficiently motivated to vacate the area.
Within a few feet my front wheel was completely packed with mud making for a super-sketchy slide to the bottom. The mud then began to pack into every opening on the bike. I knew that if I flopped over, I may not be able find a foothold to pick the bike up given the additional 30-40 pounds of muck it was now carrying. Reunited at the bottom, we began scouting a few routes around the hill until Ron fell over and pulled his hamstring. Unable to continue on, we got in touch with the Xpower support vehicle and met them at the lunch spot. A short while later we had Ron loaded into the sprinter van and were on our way.
As a safety precaution each group is made to carry a GPS tracker for this very reason. We then ran into the beginner group as they were about to reach the clay hill climb, sparing them some misery. Realizing we would be running out of daylight, we examined the route on the GPS units and hopped on a paved road and rejoined the route, cutting out some 20 miles. Back on track, the rest of the day was pretty uneventful, save for the excellent single track and more quaint Romanian villages.
The highlight of day 5 however, was the hill climb in Gusterita that’s best known as the finish for the Red Bull Romaniacs. Fortunately, they flatten out the lead-up to the hill making it much more climbable, with the exception of the last 30-40 yards where it turns very steep, a wall, really. It was impressive seeing the beginner group tackle the hill, many of which would not have made it very far on Day 1. From Gusterita it was a short ride back to the Ibis Hotel to get ready for dinner on the town and the following days departure.
As I mentioned above, this was my first Dracula Trail and I’m glad I went. The accommodations are fantastic as is the riding. I’ve shied away from this tour in the past as I thought I’d find it too easy. While it was no beat-down (I did gain three pounds), it offered plenty of off-road diversity and route options to suite a variety of riding abilities. This is a great tour for riders of all ability levels. Staying in the shadow of Castle Dracula, along with the excellent food and camaraderie was worth the price of admission alone. I’ll be back for this tour again, probably in October. If interested, check out www.ridexpower.com for upcoming Dracula Tour dates.