Romania vol 2: Mototherapy Cleared My Mind!

The next morning, I calmly went for breakfast. I had no desire to go to the motorcycle because I didn’t know its condition and what would happen next. There was a light tremor in my soul because this time I had no shoulder to lean on, and I could only rely on myself.

Finally, I brought the machine from under the roof. I oiled the chain properly, and checked the engine oil. Started it. It worked. Twisted the throttle, and everything worked. What a relief, but still, there was no certainty that everything was okay.

Earlier, I had briefly complained to the hotel admin about my problem, and just in case, she took me to a nearby car workshop, serving as my translator. Besides the strange sound in yesterday’s rain, the lights also swayed, indicating a charging issue. Occasionally, some contacts and switches malfunctioned: the starter button didn’t make immediate contact, and the lights on the dashboard occasionally disappeared. Guided by Tuljo on the phone, we checked with the mechanic to ensure that the magneto nut hadn’t started to come loose. It was fine. However, the car mechanic immediately made a call to a friend who dealt with motorcycle repairs.

Was I out of my mind when I planned it?

A note was left at the hotel reception that the admin is away – she came along as a translator. The repairman ordered me to follow him, and so we drove seven kilometers from the town of Giraltovce in Slovakia. The next one was a delightfully eccentric character. He inspected the bike from all angles. Of course, the language barrier was significant because the admin also didn’t speak technical English. I tried to explain that perhaps the test drive for the engine was too short, and it just had a major overhaul before I came. At that moment, I thought I was in pure madness to come with a bike that had been standing for years to such a distance, but there was nothing to do anymore – I was already in Slovakia 😀

The cool bikeman took the helmet and asked if he could take the bike for a ride. Of course, he could! He went and revved a bit, praised the bike when he returned, and thought I could easily go to Romania. And if something happened, I should come back to him when I return. No service charge was accepted, and they wished me a good trip in every way. It was a truly wonderful experience. Abroad, I actually felt very well cared for by foreigners.

I always have it that when you pay something in advance, things go wrong. Since my idea to go to Romania came quite late, there were very expensive accommodations left in Sibiu. I inquired from our enduro group if anyone had anything extra booked. Someone did. So, I had to make a prepayment for my six nights. It was a bad premonition. And of course, I couldn’t start on the right day because my driver’s license had disappeared.

Don´t pay in advance – you´ll always lose

We searched, but we couldn’t find anything, and I had to wait until Monday morning to buy paper international driver’s licenses from the Road Administration. I didn’t mention anything there about my lost licenses and hoped that presenting those paper licenses along with the ID card would be enough. Moreover, I have never been asked for licenses at the border before. Now, at the Romanian border, it is required.

And you know what happened when I crossed the Romanian border? I was hit by an even worse thunderstorm and hours of pouring rain than the day before! In small villages, the roads were more like rivers, and I reached my destination in Sibiu at ten in the evening. It was once again an incredible day of driving where it was challenging to find even a dry place for a smoke break. The whole way, I motivated myself that in life, there is always a sun after the rain, and sometimes, for the sake of something nice and good, you need to push through even a heavy downpour.

As for Red Bull Romaniacs itself, it was, as always, spectacular! The impressions of Estonian competitors can be found on the motospirit.ee page.

I was sure I had accommodation until Sunday noon and could peacefully do all my writing after Romaniacs finished on Saturday. However, my apartment neighbors informed me on Friday night that the room must be empty by morning. This came as a big surprise! I was quite upset because the plan was actually to go to the city after the event’s closing, but I didn’t feel like looking for a new place to stay, and paying for a night alone for three people seemed ridiculous. Saturday morning, I decided that I wouldn’t stay there and started slowly heading towards Estonia from the finish line.

So, I set the course for home. I rode and contemplated life. Every morning and every moment when I had to do things like refuel the bike, oil the chain, check the oil level, add oil, pack my luggage onto the bike, made me think. Ladies, do we actually know how much men really do for us, taking care of all sorts of time-consuming details that we may not even notice? If you have a lot of vehicles and machinery at home, each of them requires checking and maintenance. Of course, women also do a million little things that men may not notice, but for some reason, the motorcycle journey made me think about how much Tuljo does for us, and I could notice and appreciate it more.

This journey totally cleared my mind!

What else did I think about? While imagining what the folks at home might be doing during the ride and how they were doing, I came to the idea that I could trust my partner more, especially in various everyday matters. I don’t know where and how some such thing has crept into our lives that a woman is always asked about what the children will wear, what to cook, what color to paint something, etc. Yes, certainly, major things are discussed, but I somehow came to the conclusion that I don’t know if I’ve been a bit of a “bitch,” actually criticizing how Tuljo has dressed the kids or chosen the color for the Kamaz crate. Like, why do I, as a woman, think that my decisions and taste preferences are somehow better than my partner’s? Stupid of me! And my goodness, how glad I was that I realized such a thing about myself. I won’t do that anymore. I will undoubtedly try to eliminate pondering and criticizing over trivial matters from my life and respect my partner’s choices and decisions more and even push him more towards making decisions.

A little about the Yamaha TDM – In Estonia, I barely managed to ride about 500-600 kilometers with it. The previous 15 years were spent on the road in the saddle of a completely old-school Kawasaki Zephyr, which was extremely comfortable to maneuver and very easy to ride. But when I sat on the TDM, I sighed heavily and thought that I had fought all my previous motorcycle trips in the saddle and struggled immensely. The old bike had no windscreen or anything that would make life easier when traveling at 100+ km/h, but those 4200 kilometers with the TDM somehow felt much easier and more effortless!

In any case, the return journey went without a hitch, although sometimes in the rain. It was damn good and cool to be alone and challenge myself! For all moms who feel lost somewhere, I warmly recommend taking time for yourself and seriously challenging yourself with something cool in a completely different situation than everyday life can offer. It was extremely fun to enjoy the views and philosophize about life alone in the motorcycle saddle. If there’s any chance, I would gladly repeat such a solo trip for sure!