What a nice and calm night this was – it was definitely the right idea to stay!
The day greets me with a deep blue and super-clear sky and very cool air – the Transalpina pass awaits in the distance and I’m more than ready to enjoy today!
I check-out from the hotel and load my stuff into the TWIKE – and off we go!
From Randa the road first stays pretty flat for a few km before a very steep incline – at one of the hairpin bends off this first incline all the where all the pictures of Randa are taken from.
However, there is something else I need to mention – it’s pretty cold up here at 7am! The sun is out but 11°C with an open canopy and wind is borderline very cold!
And, well, you can see how warm I felt in the next photo! 😉
The pass continues to dish out hairpin bend after hairpin bend – and the road remains very steep.
Not a problem, though… as the pass is – technically – still closed until 8 am, I’m basically alone on the road.
The views remain stunning – clear air and the rising sun bathe the ‘unlimited resolution’ landscape in a warm yellow – I stop over and over to just take in the views.
The ‘teasing’ continues – every time I’m convinced that this is the last hill and that there is nothing beyond that hill… there is another one that pops up just after –
And even more hairpin bends – lots of fun & my right arm will definitely have done some work at the end of today!
Close to the top, the air is so clear and clean that visibility is virtually unlimited. This makes the following pictures look unreal. I confirm that reality looked exactly the same!
Then, with my GPS app telling me we’re at 1980m, the pass throws in a last very steep climb, before the road just flattens out and takes me another few kilometres to the highest point of the pass.
Unlike in central Europe, there is no ‘here is the pass’ sign anywhere. So I just park in front of the Transalpina Summit Restaurant as a ‘proof of performance’.
I’m here with just a handful of other people that somehow made it up here this early. The coffee machine was literally switched on for me.
All the souvenir and trinket sellers were still setting up their stalls. I can only imagine how this place will fill up in just an hour or so!
As the parking lot was still completely empty, I took the opportunity to take some pictures of TW560 with some dramatic backdrops.
And with the Transalpina pass ticked off my list of European passes I’ve already crossed with TW560, we’re ready to make our way back down to the heat waiting for us there.
Back under the treeline the views remain unreal – just take the photo below: AI or stock photo? Norway or North America?
Not everything is great, however.
Whilst the road was pretty good on the other side of the pass, here ‘bumpy’ doesn’t really describe how awful certain parts of this road were – I have been on very bad roads with TW560 previously… this one competes *EASILY* with them.
I was not having any fun on these 30km, to say the least!
The views, however, were great!
Just a short while later, my TWIKE started making a noise I already have heard before and which means “STOP RIGHT NOW, IMMEDIATELY!” (otherwise…this will happen)
And lo and behold, it was exactly what I had expected – the rim had broken from the punishment received by the last stretch of road.
“This is the end, my friend” – this TWIKE is going not going anywhere anymore.
THUB2026 is over.
I was lucky: I’m in a very small settlement (albeit in the middle of nowhere) – in front of a restaurant that will open in an hour’s time. It’s very hot, but that’s survivable until the restaurant opens.
I call my Swiss mobility insurer and organise a pick-up and transport to the next larger town around 65 km further down the road.
The pick up takes longer than expected and I not only get to sit in the aircon heaven of the restaurant, I get to drink some beers and eat something.
Survival is assured 😉
After nearly 4 hours, the transport arrives and loads the TWIKE onto the flatbed.
I take stock of the exact damage in order to assess if the TWIKE is transportable via the normal vehicle transport methods or if I need a direct transfer of TW560. This means looking at the rims closer…
I determine that the TWIKE can be transported and moved by normal road transport means and started sketching and writing instructions on how to handle the TWIKE during transport.
Also, I already was planning my return to Switzerland – flights and all transport involved confirmed to be paid for by my insurance.
…that was, until the insurance called and said that they determined that spare rims were available and could be sent to Romania and then the TWIKE would be able to be driven back to Switzerland by me again. (which would mean that I would have to pay for a flight back to Bucharest and then a 250 km bus / taxi ride before getting to my TWIKE, then having to figure out who would repair the TWIKE and then pay for hotels during that time etc. etc. etc. Definitely not a viable option)
Arrrgh. First of all, there aren’t many (new-old) rims left, it’s Sunday and it will take at least 4 (to 5) days until it arrives at the off-the-beaten-path place I’m at and then… it’s going to be a very, very long 2000 km drive back home.
I was somewhat sad that the trip had come to an end like this and was already planning on how I could get back and complete the other pass in Romania.
During the transfer, I call my trusted mechanic, Andi who immediately offered to ship me a rim, which I kindly declined as I still have one (new-old stock) at home and my wife already offered to take it to a courier on Monday early morning, if I decided to go down that road.
After me telling him that I really hated the idea having to end my trip here, he then out of the blue he asked: couldn’t you organise someone to weld the rims tomorrow?
I asked him if this would be a safe solution? His answer was pretty pragmatic: at least the next cracks will form elsewhere and not where the rims had been welded!
By the time I had arrived, in Ramnicu Valeca, I had determined with the help of the road assistance guy Daniel that there was a really good welder in town whom many know and that we would meet up the next day at 7 am to bring the TWIKE to his workshop and he would start working on the rim first thing in the morning.
Then, I was brought to a hotel of an also really kind acquaintance of Daniel who then proceeded to take me into the town centre by car – all the while telling me that I’d certainly be back on the road tomorrow, promise!
After a really good meal at the restaurant the hotel owner had recommended, I retired to my room to enjoy some more aircon and write another entry of my blog.
There are no stats for today as first of all starting at 1500m with a not fully charged battery (to allow for extensive recuperation on the way down) and then completing the rest of the trip on a flat bed.
I really hope the promise ‘you’re going to be on the road again tomorrow’ is going to turn out to be true! – I’d love to continue my trip!
Let’s see & keep our fingers crossed!