The Transfagarasan Pass - the bits Top Gear didn't show.

What a day of ups & downs ...

Left Sibiu at 8am as I knew it was going to be a long day ... how true that turned out to be.

There's the mountains.

 Within 30 minutes, I'm at the start of the Pass ...but wait, no, the GPS is indicating there is an "alternative" route, so curiosity gets the better of me, and and turn left.  Within a few km, the unpaved road, crosses a stream...

 With the stream successfully forded, the "road" becomes more like a "track" in my book ...

And then the track becomes more like path....

And wet grass with hidden ruts are a lethal combination, even for a Trail bike, let alone a fully laden Transalp with road tyres ......

& down we go !

No damage, just a loose mirror... carry on regardless, only to find a barbed wire fence across the track... bugger.
However, I see a gravel road ahead. so pick my way to it.

Now here is the most remarkable coincidence; I could have stopped anywhere on that road to straighten my mirror, but after I eased to a stop, got off, looked down, and I lie, not.
There is a crispy 100 Lei note (about £30) lying in the ditch.  This photo is exactly what I saw.

I don't believe in much that is not scientifically provable, but there's forces at work here !!  However, not to question the why's and wherefores of possible divine intervention .... I pocketed it !

So, back onto the tarmac and the Pass itself...

Avalanche tunnel

No guard rail on this drop off.

Couple of tunnels just before the summit.

Got a fellow biker to take this pic ....

Nice chap from Poland ... didn't know when I said bye, our paths would cross later in the day. 

Amazing civil engineering, if that sort of stuff impresses you.

Well back to the post title .... the Top Gear team claimed this was the ultimate road, and in fairness, it really is a fantastic ride, BUT....

They must have had the road to themselves that day, probably paid the Police off, and all they televised was the good bits.

In reality, on a weekend, the Pass is more like a procession of cars with ....

Stupid parking

Walkers everywhere

Stopping anywhere

Congestion

Buses blocking one lane of a tunnel entrance

Idiots backing out blindly

Poor road surface on corners.

So with the Pass behind me, it was a long hot afternoon of comparatively dull roads all the way to the Bulgarian border.

At 4pm, back on schedule, I hit the queue for the Border ... which is a long bridge over the River Danube.  The Romanian guards one side, and the Bulgarian the other.  However, the queue didn't move for 3 hours, and I'm just about wondering if it will be another night in Romania, perhaps in the tent.

All of a sudden, Brrrrub, honk, honk ... alongside pulls the Polish biker I met earlier on the pass.

He asks what the problem is, to which I shrug my shoulders.  He dismounts, walks away, is back in 10 mins and says follow me.  So up the side of the queue we jump ... the Police don't seem to worry, and within seconds we are on the bridge.  Once on the Bulgarian side, we queue jump straight to a barrier that is closed and unmanned.  A guard appears from no-where, checks our passports, and we are in.

Matey rides off with a wave ... don't know who he was, or what pull he had,... but as they say, never judge a book by its cover.

But my day doesn't end there ... 2.5 km exactly from the guest house ...

My first flat tyre.  Could see the nail, so pulled it out and tried the "Fix-a-flat" can.  Doesn't do exactly what it says on the tin.

So, out with the compressor, and put enough air in to get me to the Guest House.  Its getting dark, I have been on the road for 12 hours, so a beer, shower & bed was on the cards .  Yes, in that order.

I'll worry about the tyre in the morning ... Goodnight.