Motorcycle Mecca

Yes, yes ,yes ,yes ,yes ,yes ,yes .... as you may have guessed I have done the length and breadth of the Transfagarasan. This is all about my BMW R1200GS and an epic road, so if you're not a motorhead the rest may be a little boring. Let me start at the beginning ...

Hotel Scala, Bucharest, Monday night. Light supper, two glasses of wine and in bed by 10.30pm. I want to be in top form for the big ride the next day. I've read and I've been told, by many, about its magnificence. Even Top Gear took a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and an Aston Martin to pay homage to the road of all roads.

I'm up early, consume a hearty breakfast and check-out; even the lady at reception knows I'm off to the Big T (word must have spread from the conversation at dinner with waiter Janoots who is also a keen biker). I repack all my luggage, shifting all the heavy stuff to the lowest point of the panniers, lightest in the top box, I want the centre of gravity to be as low as possible; I'm taking this very seriously. I load the bike and check everything, most importantly tyre pressures. She starts, she purrs, she respectfully caresses the cobbled drive of the hotel to a thumb's up from the concierge, Andre and we head for the only motorway in Romania. It's 100 kilometres in length, that's it, but it helps me get to Curtea de Arges quickly, the town that begins the DN 7C, the Transfagarasan. I'm not interested in looking at sights and horse'n'carts are now a hazard rather than a fascination; I'm an addict in withdrawal and I need the fix.

I purposefully let the tank run low and don't stop until I reach a Petrom petrol station as they have unleaded rated 100 octane; there is one in Curtea, I pull up and fill up. I wash and clean, the screen, lights, mirrors and visor, all is ready, I'm ready, the R1200GS is ready ... just one more thing. My normal, half-litre, gulp of water is all I usually need to focus but I decide to sharpen the image; I drown a can of Red Bull ... I will be climbing over 2,000 metres, I need wings!

I look up and the odd fluffy cotton ball dots a vast, pale blue sky, the weather is perfect and was worth the extra-expense wait. I keenly set off from the petrol station, the arrow-straight road pointing straight to the hills in the near distance; the gate-keepers of the Fagaras Mountains, they interlock like the fingers of two clasped hands.My excitement is building. I wave to a couple of enthused bikers as the first arrow-head signs warn me of the first of a thousand bends.

It twists, it turns, I'm in it, the Transfagarasan presents its worth. I quickly realise that I'm trying too hard, the adrenalin to great, my sweating palms gripping way too tight, "Enjoy the moment, Chris" I say to myself. I remember my California Superbike School lessons ... 'relax the hands and the rest will follow'.

I'm there, I'm at one with my two-wheeled beauty, like a horse, she knows and we gel together through corner after corner with ease of a dolphin through water, then a short distance after crossing the Vidraru Dam .... wollap! A pothole the size of a builders bucket, clatters through the front wheel and all of a sudden I'm standing on the pegs riding motocross style. The bends continue in abundance but the road surface and gravel have me still standing on the pegs for better forward vision of the irregular surface. I'm not perturbed as I know the road improves but the R1200 is just sapping all that is thrown at her and I keep up the pace passing same and similar bikes, not to mention cars that are literally crawling the terrain. A few bikers that pass in the opposite direction signal me to slow down; I understand their concern, the road is rough, the bends are sharp but it's not Sunday, I'm not on a school run, there are no towns or villages on this road, no traffic lights and no junctions; that's why it's a road to behold and I'm going to enjoy every last inch of it no matter its condition.

More importantly, ridiculous meets sublime and the tarmac just couldn't be better. Snow-white lined, jet-black, hot tarmac now stretches out in front me like the longest piece of licorice string you've ever gnawed and I know the worst is behind me. I now realise the significance of the advice to take on this road from South to North.
The bends start to flow like ripples on water with one in every 5 a hairpin. We are contouring the east side of Lake Vidraru, an enormous, spectacular, cauldron of green-blue water which, quite frankly I only glanced at, a couple of times; I was here for the road, not the view.

A small break at this point for some facts and figs of the Transfagarasan ... 92 kilometres of two-laned road that winds its way through the Fagaras Mountains that reach their highest point at 2,544 metres (approx 8,200 feet). The road itself hits a high point of 2,042 metres and is, consequently, only open for a few summer months of the year. Built in the early 70's, over 3 million tons of rock were removed using (according to Jeremy Clarkson) 6,000 tons of dynamite and 40 to 100 men lost their lives depending on which article you read. I won't go into detail but the amounts of concrete, steel, anchors, nets, tubes, pipes, gravel, etc., used, is mind-blowingly staggering and if you have a moment, I strongly recommend you take a look at the opening scenes on this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVa7ITLQAPU for an excellent view of this amazing piece of road and its surroundings.

Back to the ride ... by now I am totally 'in the zone', in motorcycle heaven and just when you think it couldn't get any better, it does. Enter the climb to the 2,000 plus metre peak and down the other side. Take a long piece of silk ribbon, scrunch it in your hands and let it drop to the floor; this section of road is the result. Hooks and bends, 90 degree corners, switch-backs that have the bike's foot-pegs scrapping the tarmac, hardly a straight piece of road connecting each turn; the concentration is immense. So much so, that I pass many tourists that have stopped at many a vantage point to awe at the view, but I don't stop, this is just too great. It took over the hour to complete but it felt like 15 minutes. Orgasmic!

Without hesitation, I must mention the bike; no matter the road condition, the corner characteristic, the altitude, hard acceleration, even harder braking, whatever was thrown at her she took it without complaint, never missing a beat and even more impressive, with full load. BMW R1200GS, you are truly the best all road bike I have ever ridden and probably the best all terrain motorcycle ever made.

Typing this account of the journey, one I will never forget, has me buzzing as I re-live the experience; again referring to Jeremy Clarkson, he described it as taking all the best corners from all the best race tracks and knitting them together. I agree with him, it is .... "the best road in the world".

Although not planned, the DN 7C was the turning point of my trip, the point at which I started my return journey to the UK. I know my trip is far from over but this has to be the pinnacle and what a pinnacle it was.

Thank you Transfagarasan ... you will never be forgotten.