Romania_Cartisoara to TransAlpina

There is a lot of unavoidable highway on this route all the way from Cartisoara to Brezoi where the turnoff on a quiet road begins. Roads E 68 and E81 are crazy with traffic. Big trucks. E81 is very scenic and a wonderful downhill following a river but there is no shoulder on much of the road. It's a very fast ride as the pavement is smooth but it also feels dangerous. Number 7A from Brezoi all the way across to 67C (TransAlpina) is the prize. 7A is a narrow, quiet road with high scenic value. Climbing is gentle. Voineasa is an authentic mountain village with lots of pensions that are not on Booking.com. A very nice cycling route.

 DN 7A is a two lane narrow mountain road with no shoulder. It is paved throughout. The quality changes from very smooth to slightly rough. Leaving Voineasa and heading west towards the TransAlpina, the road climbs seriously with lots of switchbacks and some quite steep sections. It is a very scenic ride overall and traffic is mostly cars. As is the case in Romania,  certain elevations are heavily forested. The ride around Lake Vidra is through this forest, hence, there are only a few places where one can actually see the lake. At the junction with DN67C (TransAlpina route) there is a collection of transient sellers, food and some lodging.  The main high passes of the TransAlpina are to the south. To the north is the very long descent to Sebes. We found arriving at the base of the TransAlpina via DN 7A an attractive route to the best parts of the TransAlpina, thus avoiding the long slog uphill from Sebes. Each to their own idea! One more thought: The TransAlpina high passes are much easier going from north to south. Starting in Novaci and climbing northwards to the passes is much steeper as is explained in the TransAlpina Ride.