The Hidden Gem of Europe – Riding Through Romania’s Apuseni Mountains

From the green hills of Sălaj to the mountain roads of Apuseni, this ride feels like a trip through the Alps — only it’s Romania.
We start the day at Motoranch U Pytlaka, cross the E60 where I once met my wife 14 years ago, and end up on the spectacular Transapuseni route surrounded by pure wilderness and cinematic views.
Real roads. Real stories. Just riding.

🏍️ 🌲 ⛰️What’s inside:
00:00 – In this episode
00:14 – Talking about Motoranch and our plans
02:52 – Motoranch U Pytlaka, Făgetu
03:43 – Riding through hills of Sălaj County
06:29 – Road E60 and How I meet my Wife
07:46 – Welcome to Apuseni Mountains
09:30 – Riding through Apuseni Mountains
11:27 – Transapuseana
15:31 – Arriving to Aiud

🏍️ Watch the full Romania series with the Benelli TRK 502X:
🔗 Benelli TRK 502X Adventure Playlisthttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfZayyn6i5CSy2PSBSVyyEG6kpDkxBGI-

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Motorcycle: Benelli TRK 502X

#motorcycletravel #romaniatravel #benellitrk502x #apuseni #scenicroutes #advriding #beginnerrider #travelvlog
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ABOUT WHEELS ON, TRAVEL:

Motorcycle riding from a beginner’s seat—real adventures, honest mistakes, and practical tips. I’m back in the saddle after years away, exploring the magic of the motorcycle world: dual sport trails, long-distance travel, and garage maintenance. Whether I’m tackling adventure routes on my Benelli TRK 502X, learning at riding camps, or sharing DIY fixes, you’ll get authentic ADV riding experiences and lessons learned the hard way.

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Good late morning. We just woke up after fall night storm. We are in Czech Moto Ranch near village called Fagetu Fagetu, I think. And if I read correctly, it’s the village where Slos live. And this ranch is owned by Czech couples which are living here for a few years. They are both bikers and they originally made this for friends with bikes and slowly they building few new accommodation like this one behind me and another one over there. It’s still this one is brand new, recently built, but look at this this place here. Really amazing. And this place is somehow well hidden. You have to search for it to find it. You will not stumble just random around. So I will put on screen QR code with Google maps and for sure if you’re coming to this area stop here. You can get an accommodation. You can get hot food, cold beer, and are very friendly and nice. So, today looks like there are still some storms around, so most likely we will stay in wet gear all day. But we’re heading down to Auseni National Park and we want to pass uh Transa and head slowly to Carpatan Mountain to Transpina and we’ll see how it go. So let me take you and show you their pup and more of the yard. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] That grandma. All right. So, I’m sorry. [Music] I think there is. for the She need [Applause] more. My [Music] so big [Music] [Music] [Applause] Hide there. [Laughter] [Music] [Music] After leaving road DJ 110E and the beautiful ears of Salash country behind, we briefly joined the E60 main road from Horadel to Klush. And after a while, it started to feel very familiar. It was the same road I travel more than 14 years ago on my first trip to Romania back then to meet my girlfriend who is now actually my wife. Uh the road isn’t exactly the same anymore though. There are new safety features, extra lanes in some places, more rest stops with restaurant and gas station, and as well looks freshly paid. But one thing hasn’t changed. The heavy traffic and fast trucks. After a short trip down memory lane, we left the E60 and joined the DN1 R, a road crossing the beautiful Auseni National Park. Kilometers of brand new tarmac winding through stunning alpine forest full of breathtaking views and perfect curves left us completely speechless. Since it was the time between summer and winter season, the road was almost completely empty. [Music] [Music] [Music] As we continue towards the city of Albak, the forest open up and we passed through some really nice looking villages and small communities. A rural alpine Romania and in all its glory. Ben after ben we kept going soaking in the beauty of this area and enjoying pure riding ice. We stop only occasionally to take some photos or to avoid cows walking freely on the road. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Thermal [Music] [Music] Once we enter the more urban area around Albak, hungers kick in. So we stopped for very late lunch after some plenteza booking our accommodation for the night on the other side of the mountains and briefly getting lost in the city of Abbrut. We finally found the start of the youngest and less famous sister of Romania’s mountain highways. [Music] Transa was finished just last year. The idea behind this ambitious project, at least from what I could find, was to improve the connection between communities, promote tourism, and support the development of this wild and spectacular area of the Auseni Mountains. And I can tell you this, coming to Romania and skipping this road would be a big mistake. [Music] [Music] song. [Music] [Music] Real song. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] for [Music] We love [Music] [Music] see got Let’s put something [Music] here for the regret for this. [Music] She [Music] [Music] I close with [Music] [Applause] I I say, [Music] [Music] we came down from the mountains just before dusk and then continued towards the city of Aayud and our accommodation for uh the night. And tomorrow, Transylvania is waiting for us. [Music]