It takes hills to have Castles - this one is in Deva, Romania
The distance to Deva from just north of Arad - 163 km
When I got to the highway, the sign said 163 km to Deva. There are no big towns between here and there and, in a way, this will be almost like riding across the loneliest parts of the North American plains. There are little towns, although they are far apart in some sections, and I hoped there there would be services I could use along the highway, but I could be in for a long day that failed to make Deva. I resolved to live in the moment, rather than worry about what might happen. I had prepared as best I could with food and water for a long days ride. I could deal with what happened, or, if I couldn't, I would find someone to help me. I relaxed, immersed myself in Romania, and had long, but good ride.
A horse drawn wagon, stopping on the highway to fill its tires from the air hose at a service station
Romania is a strange mix of old and new
A covered well, with a crank and bucket - I saw a lot of these
Haystacks, Romanian style
E68 on the Great Hungarian Plain, with train
A typical section of E68
A town on E68
The traffic on E68
Speaking of services, one section of E68 was very well serviced with working girls who service the truckers. I saw a trucker negotiating with a woman, another trucker stopped and picked up a woman while I waited behind him, and I saw another woman rubbing her hand and her face after she got out of a truck that drove on. Two, very attractive, women standing by the road just before a motel (Romania has motels and hotels), seemed interested in me as I rode by, but it was too early to stop
Although the riding was generally good, I did have a problem with vehicles passing into me. When cars were doing it, and I had a rideable shoulder, it was annoying. When two large trucks passed other large trucks in a blind corner where the shoulder went away, I had to bail out to keep from being killed. I like to think about things while I ride, and I've done a lot of that here, but it could get me killed if I'm not watching for those folks!
I also had the experience of having water dumped on me from the passenger side of a large truck. It was clean water from a water bottle and the jerk that did it was just having a good time. I raised a finger at him, he returned it, and then proceeded to dump water on a woman who was walking down the road ahead of me. I saw another wet spot a little later that I think was another of his victims. I did have stop and dry off my camera, but there was no real harm done.