RAID CARPATES

Route Description:

In 2009, for the 15-th year running, the “Raid Carpates” will offer riders and drivers the chance to undertake a unique panoramic off-road tour of the Carpathian Mountains. These mountains are the “backbone” of Romania and home to Europe’s highest concentrations of wolves, bears and lynx.

“XV RAID CARPATES”

02.08.2009 – 12.08.2009

In 2009, for the 15-th year running, the “Raid Carpates” will offer riders and drivers the chance to undertake a unique panoramic off-road tour of the Carpathian Mountains. These mountains are the ‘backbone’ of Romania and home to Europe’s highest concentrations of wolves, bears and lynx.
Imagine sunny alpine meadows, dark forest tracks, dusty country roads and barren mountain tops. Imagine passing horse-drawn carts piled high with hay, sharing lunch with a shepherd, and riding for days without seeing a gate. Imagine a land without ramblers, route closures, and miserable locals, where beer and petrol cost both cost less than 50p a litre, and where people smile and wave at you just because you ride a dirt bike!
If you join the raid, not only will you have the chance to ride fantastic trails in one of Europe’s last remaining wilderness areas, you will get to see and experience a beautiful country and meet a people who are happy, generous and very friendly. This unique adventure will place you shoulder to shoulder with Romanians with whom you will share the experience of a lifetime. Each evening, a bed will await you in a small hotel or guest house, and although the surroundings may sometimes be humble, the food will always be good and the welcome will always be warm.
“Romanian hospitality is formidable. These people spill their hearts to you, welcome you with open arms into their modest homes, feed you until you burst and expect nothing in return except simple friendship.” (Lonely Planet Guide, 2001)
This classic non-competitive rally takes place in 11 stages and involves as much off-tarmac riding as we can fit in. Your safety is a priority and our back up team of qualified medical personnel and mechanical experts will never be far away. Although the routes are within the capability of the average British trail-rider, it will usually be possible to ride round the most difficult sections. You can ride at your own pace, using the GPS to navigate, or you may choose to take a more leisurely approach and ride behind our guide. Gasoline will be available at maximum 100 km, at checkpoints or petrol stations, so you won’t need a long distance fuel tank. Apart from fitting your bike with a GPS holder, your usual trail riding preparation is all that is necessary.
We try to keep the rally small and friendly and for this reason the total number of vehicles (bikes and 4x4s) is limited to 35. Places fill up fast and are allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, so if you want to experience one of dirt-biking’s best kept secrets before it’s ‘discovered’ by the West, get your entry in now!

What’s included?

The 850 Euro entry fee includes the following:
· 11 nights shared accommodation
· Full-board – breakfast; lunch; dinner including ½ litre of wine
· Medical assistance during the rally
· Commemorative T-shirt and stickers
· Transportation of 15 kg of baggage and spares during the rally
· Advice about how to prepare for your trip: equipment to bring; driving to Romania
· Secure parking for the vehicle used to transport your bike to Romania
What’s not included?
· Fuel
· Personal expenses, water and drinks
· Transportation of you and your bike to and from Romania
· Medical and motor insurance

For families who wish to follow their rider using their own car and driving on paved roads, we can provide a special ‘tourist itinerary’. Navigating by road-book, people on this tour will meet the raid at all checkpoints and will enjoy the same services and benefits as those in the taking part in the raid.

Preparing your Trip

“Romania is a country of crazy superstitions and fantastic legends. With its dramatic castles and medieval towns where mass tourism means you, a horse and cart and a handful of farmers, Romania is the Wild West of Eastern Europe.” (Lonely Planet Guide, 2001)
You are going to discover the country of “Count Dracula” the mythical vampire invented by the Irish novelist Bram Stoker. Stoker’s mythical vampire was inspired by Vlad Tepes, nicknamed “Vlad the Impaler”, a 13th century Romanian resistance hero against Turkish and continues to which continues to sustain an extraordinary subculture. On your trip to Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains, you will meet more buffaloes, bears or wolves than bloodsucking vampires! So to prepare for your trip, don’t pack garlic, just follow these guidelines…

Getting here

· The raid starts in Sibiu, Romania. The journey down is straightforward: enter Romania from Hungary at Nadlac using the E68 and stay on the same road all the way to Sibiu.
· See the www.aferry.to website for cheap tickets and plan your journey using the AA website at www.theaa.com or RAC website at www.rac.co.uk
· Most of the drive down is on good fast motorways. You will need to buy a motorway vignette for Austria (€6.00) and Hungary (€7.60), available at the border crossing points 24 hours a day.
· Good quality fuel, food and drink are available at regular intervals all the way down.
· You can buy fuel using your credit cards in all EU countries. Credit cards aren’t used as widely in Romania and you should be prepared to pay using the local currency (Lei).
· Speed limits are strictly in all the countries you pass through (including Romania), and you may have to pay on the spot with cash if caught.
· Radar traps are frequent and you should be particularly careful when approaching built-up areas.
· EU and Romanian drink-drive laws are stricter than in the UK with blood-alcohol limits of 0.01%. Getting caught drink driving may mean your vehicle is impounded.
· For details of driving regulations for each country, including details of speed limits and things you must carry, visit www.eurodriveregs.co.uk
· Although the roads in Romania and Hungary are generally good, they can suddenly turn into pot-holed nightmares, so take care especially at night. Look out for animals in the road; trucks, cars and horse drawn carts without lights and other drivers swerving to avoid hazards. A branch in the road may be the only warning of potholes, subsidence or even road works!
· Although you need to be on your guard against pickpockets, scammers and thieves at the border zones, Romania is generally a very safe country for foreign visitors to travel through (see the Lonely Planet guide to Romania and Moldova (2004) for more information – available from www.amazon.co.uk )

Documents:

· Bring your drivers’ licence and an international drivers’ licence (£5.50 from the AA or RAC)
· Bring registration documents and MOT certificates for all vehicles
· You will need road insurance cover for you and your vehicle. Make sure your ‘green card’ covers Romania
· You must arrange appropriate medical insurance, including repatriation cover. The raid is a motorcycle tour not a competitive event, so you don’t need ‘competition’ insurance.
· Change Euros or Sterling for Romanian Lei near the border. The bureau de change are regulated, all offer the same rates, do not charge commission and will not rip you off!
· The current rate is about 1.00 Euro = 4 Lei.
· Romanians usually only accept mint condition bank notes (Sterling, Euros and Lei).
· Travellers’ cheques and credit cards can be used in the larger cities, but changing money is a problem in the countryside. Romanians like cash, so don’t count on using anything other than Lei during the Raid!

Luggage & Equipment

· Your bike needs to be in perfect condition and have been serviced before you arrive.
· It will need an GPS.
· You will be doing a lot of off-road miles, so replace the tyres, chain, sprockets, brake pads, wheel bearings and air filter.
· Spares are virtually impossible to find in Romania, so as well as your normal trail-riding or enduro spares and tools, bring anything you might need to replace in the next 1000 miles.
· As a minimum, you should include spare levers; cables; split links; spark plug, spokes, break pads and bearings. Don’t forget a headlamp torch (£2.50 from Hein Gericke)
· Although road-side ‘vulcanizari’ or tyre-repair shops will patch an inner-tube for about £2.00 you will need to carry a spare and a pump. If you don’t like punctures, consider fitting heavy-duty tubes or Bib-mousse.
· EU quality 95-98 octane unleaded petrol is available all over Romania, but 2-stroke riders should bring their own 2-T oil.
· Summer downpours are generally brief but heavy, so bring lightweight waterproofs. Lightweight, quick-drying clothing, including a fleece, is useful for the evenings.
· Although a qualified medical practitioner accompanies the raid and high quality private medical care is available in the larger Romanian cities, you may want to bring a small first-aid kit including: pain-killers, anti-histamines, plasters, diarrhoea tablets (immodium), wound dressings, antibiotics, antifungal powder, antiseptic cream.
· Mobile phone coverage is surprisingly good in Romania and you can make a call using your UK phone from almost anywhere.
· Motorcycle spares and gear are expensive for Romanians, so if you have any riding gear or bike spares that you no longer want, bring them down and give them to the local lads.

General

· Although Romania doesn’t have much of a tourist industry, souvenirs are available from vendors on most main road and especially near border crossings.
· In the cities many ‘Western’ goods are becoming available at low prices.
· Romanian food is hearty and plentiful. The style is similar to Hungary and Germany.
· The climate is continental, with hot, sunny summers and cold winters.
· Romanians have a “Latin” temperament: friendly, passionate and with a laid-back attitude to meals and time-keeping
· English and French are taught in school and younger Romanians are practically fluent in one or both.
· Local time is GMT + 2 hours.
· Power is 220V 50Hz AC and uses a two round-pin plug/socket

XVth RAID CARPATES 2009 : RULES

· ARTICLE 1:

a) The XV Raid Carpates will take place on the 2th-12th August, 2009.
b) Raid Carpates is a rally that can in no way be considered a race and which has no notion of competition. There are no prizes or classifications awarded on the basis of speed or reliability.

· ARTICLE 2: CONDITIONS FOR REGISTRATION

a) The Raid is open to drivers, and riders holding a valid licence for their vehicle and having paid the full entry fee.
b) The Raid is limited to 30 enduro motorbikes and 4x4s, in road-worthy condition, registered and insured with a valid Green Card and appropriate medical repatriation insurance. Riders or drivers without the required insurance will not be allowed to start the Raid.
c) Subscription opens on 1.11.2008 and closes on 30.06.2009 or when 30 motorbikes and 5 off-road cars have been registered.
d) To enter, participants must send a completed entry form and 50 € deposit to the organizer. The balance must be received by the organizer before the 30.06.2009 deadline, otherwise registration will be canceled and the deposit will be forfeit.
e) Cancellations must be notified to the organizer by registered letter before 01.08.2009 otherwise a refund will not be made.
f) 100 € cash deposit must be provided by all participants at the commencement of the Raid and will be refunded on the evening of August 12th.
g) For persons under 18 years of age, a letter, dated and signed by parents, releasing the organizers from responsibility for injury or loss during the Raid must be enclosed with the registration form.
h) Failure to comply with these rules or the organizer’s instructions may result in being asked to leave without any refund being made.

· ARTICLE 3: PRICE

a) Price for participants, with full-board and shared accomodation: 850 € per person
b) Option “Special Tourist Itinerary” is offered to families with car or roadster motorbikes. Price with full board and shared accommodation is 600 € per person. This tourist itinerary will partly follow the assistance van, joining the Raid motorcyclists at the Check Points.
f) Passenger following the Raid in an off-road vehicle provided by the organizers. Price with full board and shared accommodation is 950 € .
g) The price includes a commemorative T-shirt and stickers; advice about preparing for your trip and the transport of 10kg of baggage during the Raid.
h) Accommodation is shared and of motel, guesthouse, B&B standard. Full board includes breakfast, restaurant or picnic lunch, evening meal with ½ litre of wine, and a celebratory banquet on the last night.
c) Registration is free for Romanian riders, but does not include accommodation, food or any additional benefits.
d) The organizers reserve the right to cancel at any time prior to the start of the Raid, in which case a full refund will be made within 30 days, but no liability will be accepted for any other costs incurred.
e) No refund will be made to participants who fail to arrive at the rendezvous point in time for the start of the Raid.

· ARTICLE 4: DESCRIPTION

c) Raid Carpates is a rally of approximately 1500km. It will take place within the borders of Romania and will guide participants through the Carpathian Mountains and Transylvanian hills using unsurfaced roads and byways wherever possible.
d) Participants agree to display the organisers’ and/or sponsors’ stickers on their machines.
e) The Organisers will provide check points where riders can purchase fuel at local rates
f) Except in the case of ‘major force’ or on the specific instructions of the organizers, it is forbidden to move away from the route prescribe.
g) The Raid has been designed for riders with off-road experience, however, the most difficult obstacles (degree 4 & 5) can be avoided by taking an easier route.
h) Participants must, under all circumstances, respect the Romanian Highway Code and motoring laws.

· ARTICLE 5: SECURITY

a) For safety reasons, all participants must register at all check points each day.
b) In case of accident, participants must notify the organizers immediately, providing details of the accident as well as the geographical location. Participants must not, except when instructed by the organizers, drive alone or at night.
c) Participants must provide and wear protective equipment appropriate for off-road motorcycling, including: helmet, goggles, boots, gloves, knee and elbow armour.
d) Helmets and dipped headlights are compulsory. Riding without these may lead to immediate exclusion without a refund
e) Motorcycles must be road-registered, insured, taxed, fitted with working lights, speedometer, suitable off-road tyres and display a legible number plate. Exhausts must conform to current FIM/ACU enduro sound limits.
f) Riders must carry their passport, insurance certificate and log book at all times.
g) A suitable first aid kit

· ARTICLE 6: RESPECT FOR NATURE AND LOCAL PEOPLE

a) The raid takes place on public tracks open to, and regularly used, by others.
b) Riding off the indicated route, track or trail is forbidden.
c) Participants undertake not to ride in any way that would present a danger to other road users, including pulling wheelies or other forms of stunt riding.
d) When riding through towns and villages, participants must respect all local speed limits.
e) When approaching or overtaking horses and carts, riders must not exceed 20km/h on tracks and 40km/h on surfaced roads.
f) Any deliberately harmful, dangerous or disrespectful behaviour may result in exclusion.

ITINERARY:

SIBIU – TRANSFAGARASAN

TRANSFAGARASAN – MASIVUL BUCEGI

MASIVUL BUCEGI – BUZAU

BUZAU – BRASOV

BRASOV – SIBIU

SIBIU – ORASTIE

ORASTIE – MUNTII APUSENI

MUNTII APUSENI – DEVA

DEVA – PETROSANI

PETROSANI – VOINEASA

VOINEASA – SIBIU

THESE ITINERARIES WILL BE PROVIDED BY DAN PASTEANU – TEAM

PHOTOS OF THIS TOUR

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