The Adventurists must be the first motorcycle touring company to offer tours on monkey bikes and now add tours of Romania riding one of the most famous roads in the world.
Two years ago they launched the Monkey Run in the Sahara, crossing the Atlas Mountains to the Moroccan coast on 50cc Monkey Bikes and followed up with the Monkey Run Peru.
Now they will tackle Romania’s famous Transfăgărășan Highway.
Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson called it “the best road in the world”.
We don’t often agree with the bike-hating TV presenter, but we have to agree on his verdict of this challenging piece of heaven.
Cost and charity
The Adventurists will operate two Romanian Monkey Runs in 2019 at the end of June and in mid-September, costing £1295 (about $A2320, $US1665).
As per all their adventures, The Adventurists ask participants to all raise £1000 in charity donations.
Half goes to their charity partner Cool Earth and the other half goes to which ever charity is chosen by the participant. Since they started, they have raised £7.5million for charity.
Secret location
Apart from riding monkey bikes, the tour will be unique because there is no defined route, says MD Daniel Reeds.
It starts in Sighetu Marmatiei, close to the border with Ukraine, before travelling a few hundred kilometres to a secret location.
The route in between is not set, but Daniel urges riders to include the paved Transfăgărășan Highway across the Carpathian Mountains. The road was built in the early 1970s as a strategic military route and goes into Transylvania were riders can visit Dracula’s Castle.
Transfăgărășan Highway“Beyond that we encourage riders to look at their maps as little as possible,” Daniel says.
“The idea of the Monkey Runs is to give people a true adventure that allows them to get under the skin of the country they’re in in a way that a normal holiday wouldn’t.
“There’s no set route, no backup and no support. That’s the whole point. You could just rock up, enjoy the launch party, team up with another rider and ride in tandem the length of the country to the finish line and you’d have an amazing time.”
Monkey Bikes
This aim for adventure is why The Adventurists chose Honda Monkey Bikes, rather than more comfortable or powerful rides.
“Monkey Bikes are a whole lot of fun and it’s hard to take a serious fall,” Daniel says.
“Because they’re low to the ground they also feel much faster than they are, but in reality they’re slow enough for you to truly appreciate the landscape you’re travelling through.
“They’re perfect for this trip and they’re bound to break down at some point, which means you’ll be forced to engage with the locals and find out what the country and culture are all about.”