why romania?

[bronx boy_imp]

maybe i should start at the beginning. in 2009, about six months after i started riding, i took a 10,000 mile ride around the states. it was life changing.

a few months ago i decided that i wanted to take another motorcycle ride. i thought about canada, maybe northwest united states, and maybe europe. basically in that order, since i already had a motorcycle that i could use to make the first two runs. at the time europe was a "rent a bike" idea, because if i went for a month it would be impractical to do anything else.

talking to mihai, a co-worker, i found out that he and his mom were thinking about going back to romania in september.
interesting thought, so i checked out motorcycle rental in romania. aside from it being brutally expensive, i didn't like the idea of renting a bike. you never know what that rented bike has been thru. how many times did it fall? did it get twisted around a tree, and straightened? what happened to the last guy who rented it? you get the idea. i didn't want my equipment to be the reason that i was flying off of some mountain cliff road. no, if i am going down, it is going to be my own fault. my last thought is not going to be "if only i didn't cheap out on the bike".

this brings me to the the thirty dollar helmet story. in 2008, when i first started riding, i bought a little yellow motorcycle helmet for $30.00. it was about the size of a construction hard hat. i liked it. it was on sale. it was a really good deal, and even though it was a little bit too big for my head, i could get it so that it didn't wobble around too much. it looked good and i was really proud of my yellow helmet. i put a red john civetta and sons sticker on it, and rode all around new york city on my scooter with it on my head. the new york post actually took a picture of me in my yellow helmet. of course, i didn't know it at the time. vivien texted me to tell me about it "...dad you are on page six of the newspaper..." but, that's a different story not for today.

anyway, i really liked this helmet and one day i had it sitting next to me on the bar at the huguenot yacht club. one of my friends walked in, sat down and asked me about my helmet. this guy was a bit frugal, so i figured i would impress him with my buying skills. i told him that i got the helmet for $30.00. he took one sip of his drink and said " teddy, if you have a $30.00 head, you wear a $30.00 helmet". point well taken. never wore that helmet again.

okay, so after recalling the thirty dollar helmet story, i decided that the prudent thing to do would be either to buy a bike there, but then i run into registration problems (i live in new york) or ship one from the usa. it turns out that things in the usa are cheaper than in europe. there are a lot of reasons but the vat tax is a big one.

so i bought the cb 1100 in the usa, rode it for two months, made sure it was good to go, modified it to the way i wanted it, and shipped it to romania. i am going to keep it in europe for the next couple of years, and ride it every six months or so, until i get tired of europe or run out of money. i figured the romanian connection, was my best shot at getting it over here and thru customs smoothly, and there is nothing better than when a plan works. besides, romania was the farthest east that i really wanted to go. as i ride west i intend to leave it with a dealer, or in storage.

mihai left yesterday. the first picture is of him and his auntie anca. we had lunch and dinner a few times with his family. these people know how to eat and they really know how to cook. sausages, ribs, polenta, eggplant salad, hot peppers, roasted peppers, zucchini, tomatoes all from the garden. and blackberries, strawberries, plums, pears and grapes also from their garden. homemade bread, cakes, pastries and pies...and of course auntie anca's vin de casa (damned good red wine), made from their grapes. these people eat like italians. i can't understand how they stay so slim. i think that i gained over five pounds this past week.

and that is how i ended up here. the second picture is of me and cb just after we cleared customs.

more posts to come, depending on the weather. sounds funny, but it is raining now so i have a little time. it snowed this morning on the mountains.

[the Ferret]

So dang cool it's just unbelievable. I love to read about other's motorcycle adventure stories...and this is an adventure! Can't wait for the next installment.

Thanks Bronx boy

[Inline4_imp]

So dang cool it's just unbelievable. I love to read about other's motorcycle adventure stories...and this is an adventure! Can't wait for the next installment.

Thanks Bronx boy

Indeed! I think most of us here are quite envious of your ability to travel/ride pretty much any where in the world you so desire.
If memory serves me correctly, back in the 70s Bell Helmets had an advertising campaign saying "if you have a $10 head then wear a $10 helmet".
Enjoy your ride across the world, Teddy.

[thumper_imp]

Very cool story. I'm going to travel vicariously through you.

Be sure to post updates often, so I know how we're doing!

Very cool indeed. Enjoy. Stay safe.

[lola_imp]

I am one of those that envy your travels....

My relationship with motorcycles are tinkering with them and ride them to work everyday. I wish my Wife was into motorcycles like myself or at least enjoys riding 2 up. I recently had a birthday and planned to just go north of california to ride through Yosemite and camp somewhere underneath them Giant Red Woods but the wifey did not like the idea of her folllowing me in her car so I spent my day with her down San Diego at
the Zoo

One Day I will plan something just for me but I really wan't to have her understand why I love Riding so much.

Am I venting or in envy? probably both.....

[mrhonda1987_imp]

Take a picture of a Dacia Sandero for me.

[bronx boy_imp]

Take a picture of a Dacia Sandero for me.

a sandero in romania? you have a better chance of finding a vintage ferrari from alaska.