Romaniacs : Off-Road Day 3
Romaniacs is a grueling 4-day test of skill and endurance. And, the rules are plain; if you do not finish 2 days, you are no longer allowed to race. But, with the addition of the Marathon Stage this year, we had a bit of an exception and Andy had a chance at redemption. He woke up in Râmnicu Vâlcea with no schedule, no agenda and no pressure. Literally hundreds of other riders found themselves in the same position with just one agenda item: traverse the 100+km north to the race paddock in Sibiu. For those that were exhausted from 2 days of fighting the off-road terrain, taking the Transalpina highway across mountain switchbacks was a welcome respite, even on a dirt bike with mousses. This would have been a perfectly acceptable, and perhaps even enjoyable option on a Tenere. But, Andy opted for the DQ tracks. These are loaded onto the GPS and follow an off-road route that primarily tracks against the Atom class race route. It goes through checkpoints and even lands you at the service point to meet your crew and fuel up.
The Atom class tracks proved to be just right for an amateur rider on a big bike. The riders still had to make it across the Carpathians, so there were still tricky climbs and steep descents, but nothing to the extent that Andy had experienced on off-road days 1 and 2. And, of course, as luck would have it, nature gave Andy absolutely perfect conditions with cool temps and no precipitation. There were fast connectors across gravel and prime dirt where the Tenere could really sing. There is no doubt the dirt bikes were not expecting this beast to pass them so easily. I’ve been in their boots and experienced first hand what it’s like to be on the pipe, pushing a 2-stroke as fast as I think is possible only to hear the growl of a 689cc parallel twin barreling down behind me. And then…the horn. That silly horn just taunting the dirtbikers as they’re passed easily by a pink and purple beast.
Andy was able to keep a fantastic pace and make it to the service point without the pressure of a race. He got to take in the chaos and visit with friends who were still in the hunt before continuing towards Sibiu.
That’s not to say the course was without its challenges. The GPS was showing that the end was near, and if he cut the engine on his bike, Andy could hear the roar of the crowd at the race finish. Just as he was feeling good about the course, there was an off-camber side hill. Andy took it slow to avoid rolling off the side of a cliff, when all of a sudden, the front tire gave and the bike slid off the side. But, again, spirits were high and Andy stayed calm and turned the regret of that first fall on off-road day 1 into a lesson learned. He took out his Green Chile ADV Z-Drag and got to work. This was the sole track to the finish line, so any riders coming up on him found that there was no go around and it would be in their best interest to help. The Z-Drag made relatively quick work of a precarious situation and Andy rolled across the finish all smiles.
